Famous in France Again

The film crew was here, at my loft this week, taping us for a multi-part documentary to air on France 5 television a year from now. On Women and Beauty, we represented New York City as one segment, and we would argue the most important segment in the series.

       

                 

Antoine Lassaigne, the director, instructed his crew mike us up like reality show participants. The crew hail from Montreal, and we women decided that such Quebecois can come visit us any old time. Once wired, Antoine popped a series of words, one at a time, and asked that we repeat each of those words within our responses.

I'm sure I don't remember all of the words, but here's a truncated list, and my answers. I should add that I went last, in the "wrap position," so I took the liberty to embroider, to add deeper context. Not sure how it will turn out - for all I know I may be cut out and left on the editing room floor (if not, the French dub or subtitles may distort what I said), but here's a gander:

Make-up: I find that as the years speed by, I prefer to wear less and less. Light powders, simple lipsticks, decent mascara and eyebrow liners. Not much else. When I was in my twenties, I liked to wear more, but now I find that it can look garish and cheap, somehow. A little goes a longer way.

Clothing: I like garments that stay close to the body, that show the body. I am a little bit of a Pilates junkie, so when I feel confident about my body, I like to wear form-fitting clothing.

Hair: Ah, hair. I am blond-ed, as if the word were a verb. I have no idea what my actual hair color is, but I love going to the hairdresser for highlights. I have to sit still for almost three hours while professionals play with my hair. It feels glorious, It calms me down. As with most American women who color their hair, I prefer it to look fairly natural.

Plastic surgery: No knives, no cutting. I don't mind injectables, and I am overdue. I had Botox done from the outside of laughline area of one eye, clear across the brow to the other side. But I can wiggle my eyebrows right now.

Shoes: We women love shoes. It has been said that women look at shoes the way men look at breasts: there are two of them, they come in pairs, and we want to own (or at least fondle) all of them. Maybe it's evolutionary, biological, but no woman I know can walk by the window of a shoe store without staring, or stopping to look.

Beauty - are you beautiful? But of course. And the reason why I believe I am beautiful, the reason why I feel beautiful, is because of my friends, my women and men friends. The love and regard we have for one another makes us shine, and I could not be beautiful without them.

Now gals - and you know who you are - tell me what your responses were, or how you remember them. And if forgot any of the trigger words, let me know those too. I desire completion, or at least more than this.

For me, this will be the third time my mug appears on French television. The last two times were France 2, and Arte.

Another New Yorker "big" in France. Not the ranks of Paul Auster or Jim Jarmusch, but hey, in the remotest of senses, this could be the start of something.

Comments

[Katie Hallison]

Wow, now that's confidence! Just stay happy and keep smiling 'cause that's one of the simplest image enhancers that a person has. Some really consider plastic surgery to improve their image. It would be much better if you would consider having that treatment for its medical benefits.