As some of you know, I came to blogging via a convex route: aka my companion Remi telling me that, as my career as a travel writer had been put on hold, I had to start doing something creative as an outlet because my restlessness was driving him crazy. He suggested that I start a blog. This blog, actually. But at the time, blogs were still…questionably legitimate. Coming from the background of already being a professional journalist, I puffed up as a snob. That is until I started looking further into what they were. The very first blog that I found which clicked with me was My French Country Home. As soon as I began delving into the fine phrasing and poring over all of the lush, original photography, I quickly changed my tune to, “Oh my goodness, I can’t do this!” Finally, I decided to stop reading it for a while until I found my own voice, my own way of doing things.
Interestingly enough, today I am really grateful to call Sharon Santoni, who is the blog’s author, a friend – albeit one that I haven’t met yet in person, as hard as that is to remember sometimes. She is an amazing woman – smart as a whip, thoughtful, romantic yet driven, extremely generous in her support, incredibly funny and has pitch-perfect taste. My French Country Home only continues to grow and accrue enormous success with thousands of readers all around the world. And she deserves every bit of it as she is an unbelievably hard-worker who has persistently pushes herself and her aesthetic at a non-stop pace…all while making it appear…effortless.
Eh, oui. C’est ça l’histoire. And it something that she has very much in common with the subjects of her new book, “My Stylish French Girlfriends.”
Now, listen. I am as over the deification of the French woman as the next person. I know plenty of seriously hot messes here in Provence and remember thinking when I first moved to Paris fourteen years ago that, “New Yorkers dress better than les Parisiennes! Ha!” But…but…I have to admit that when the French woman gets it right…she nails it. Because for her, it goes far beyond appearance to constructing an interesting and interested full life, one that often has been settled on her own terms too.
Does money help in this process? Well, of course it can. And I will admit (with embarrassment) that when Sharon first told me about this project I had a wee apprehension of “Will this only be about wealthy women who have access to everything?” shimmy over me but of course I should have given my friend more credit than that (sorry!) for she was determined to present twenty women of all age ranges with varied careers and economic statuses who live throughout this glorious hexagone called France.
The common thread that unites them is that they are not in search of perfection (an evil, poisonous word if ever there was one) but of authenticity by making specific choices to build a life true to their spirit and dreams. We are first introduced to Alicia, a charming young redhead (a-hem) who left school at the age of fifteen to join a circus and now is a gifted stylist and brocanteuse. Several chapters later, we meet Evelyne, une femme d’un certain age, who, as the fifth generation to run Boizel, her family’s champagne vineyard, is searching for new resources to keep their bubbly relevant in this digital age. Amongst the women there are quite a few designers and decorators of varying tastes, as well as artists, antique dealers and business women with quite different lifestyles.
Through the gorgeous photography by Franck Schmitt, we are invited into the personal spaces that they share with their loved ones, creating an ambiance as intimate as the stories that Sharon reveals about each of her girlfriends. I know her writing well and her naturally calming cadence perfectly compliments Franck’s use of depth of field to softly guide the eye. Is the result quite glamorous? Yes, delightfully so but also grounded and real. The women do not appear to be overly made-up for the camera and Sharon states that the homes were not styled beyond the addition of fresh flowers. For me, that makes it especially appealing. Finely printed, it is a beautiful book.
Another aspect that Sharon fought hard for during its inception was its size. It is big but not too much, just perfect to balance on one’s knees and yet not so small as to be shuffled away on a bookshelf…ça serait dommage. I was given “My Stylish French Girlfriends” as a birthday gift from another wonderful friend, La Contessa. That was in August, so why am I only sharing it with you now? Well, I wanted to savor it. Rather than read it all at one go, I would sit down on the terrace in the end of summer light with a glass of wine and read a chapter, maybe two. It was enough to give me quite a lot to think about or swoon over, both equally important. And I still go back to simmer over the images and the text because in creating “My Stylish French Girlfriends” Sharon Santoni has given us a wonderful resource to something that all of these women exude…inspiration.
To get a glimpse, watch the video below…
This video and all images inside the book courtesy of ©MyStylishFrenchGirlfriends
To buy “My Stylish French Girlfriends” in the US through Amazon, click: here.
To buy it directly through her publisher, Gibbs Smith, click: here.
Pour l’acheter en France, cliquez: ici.
While there is a Kindle edition, I really think that the hardbound is best in this case.
While there is a Kindle edition, I really think that the hardbound is best in this case.
To discover Sharon’s blog, by all means go to: http://sharonsantoni.com/
To follow her adventures on instagram: +Sharon Santoni
Her online brocante shop can be found: here.
For more information about her brocante and lifestyle tours, click: here.
And to inquire about staying at her guest cottage, click: here.
Her online brocante shop can be found: here.
For more information about her brocante and lifestyle tours, click: here.
And to inquire about staying at her guest cottage, click: here.
See? I told you that she is a hard-worker!
Sharon has no idea that I am doing this post today. But this month’s By Invitation Only topic – which reunites a group of bloggers around the globe to discuss a pre-determined theme – reintroduced last October’s question of, “What is the one thing that you can’t live without this Fall?” and I immediately thought, “inspiration” which lead me pronto to Sharon’s book. I know that quite a few of you already know and love it but for those of you who don’t, well, I hope that you enjoy “My French Stylish Girlfriends” as much as I do. Brava, Sharon!
To discover what the other bloggers have cooked up for this months theme, please visit: here.
With all of my Best from Provence,
Heather
PS. It goes without saying that, especially as he is a ladies man, Ben gives his hearty approval to “My Stylish French Girlfriends”…
It definitely changes one's mind, I have to say. It isn't even that I love every single woman's tastes either but just the way that Sharon shared them with us as a whole that is gorgeous. Thank you for your kind words about my review.
Sending you lots of Love,
H
Oh I hope that it was more wonderful than challenging and that you were able to spend some good quality time with your son!
Speaking of NYC, I miss their library system terribly. I couldn't afford books for most of the years that I lived there (well, at not regularly enough to keep me happy) and so the library totally saved me. I was just talking about the three volumes of John Richardson's biography of Picasso – that is a perfect example of something that I would never have been able to have read otherwise.
Well, it is what I quite appreciated in these women and I am glad that you enjoyed that description. It is a lovely book. Mrs. Abstract might enjoy it too.
Thank you for your lovely comment.
I agree Karena and I absolutely feel the same. I am so grateful that you found me here and have stuck around these years! I think that you are one of the longest standing readers (that isn't family 🙂 that I have.
Thank you!
I did too! I called Sharon immediately to congratulate her before reading more than the introduction. Just lovely…
You're the third person who has reviewed this book and loved it. I may have to put it on my Christmas wish list
Gorgeous review – beautifully written, so clear, and honestly 'praiseful' of Sharon's book. I, too, love to read Sharon's blog, and I am always amazed at how much she experiences, accomplishes, with such ease. I just may need to treat myself with this beautiful, insightful book when I get to my daughter's house. Then we can share the beauty and wisdom of these accomplished, fully alive women.
After what feels like a long wait, I'm second on the list of holds for Sharon's book at our local library, so I should soon have three weeks to savor it! (My husband and I own so many books, and we are in the process of rather drastically downsizing, so for the last few years we have had a rule that a book must be borrowed from the library and read before we can consider purchasing it.) Your review makes me look forward even more to delving into this book! Just back from a challenging and wonderful week in NYC, Leslie in Oregon
Inspiration, one of the gifts from the gods.
"But…but…I have to admit that when the French woman gets it right…she nails it. Because for her, it goes far beyond appearance to constructing an interesting and interested full life… … they are not in search of perfection…but of authenticity"
With these words you made the book irresistible for me not to read.