Bonjour de la belle France....

Bonjour, mes adorable mesdames. And the occasional monsieur ;)

I hope nous are all well?

Yep, here I am on holiday in a rather lovely Biarritz and still sending my 45 Not Out newsletter. But, the lovely 45 Not Out community is never far from my mind, and I thought I’d share with you one or two thoughts that I’ve had whilst I’ve been here.

The first is how differently French mid-life and older women seem to be treated here. And also how they present themselves to the world. So let’s take them individually.

The first one is the reverence with which older women seem to be treated. I’ve experienced that myself. With staying in right in the centre of a buzzy Biarritz (but somehow managing to choose an AirBnB that is really peaceful and quiet!) I’ve been in and out of shops (and the wonderful daily market - Les Halles) and each and every time the shop keeper, regardless of their age or gender, have greeted me with genuine warmth and a smile with a cheery “Bonjour Madam!”.

And, I’ve seen it in the streets of the city centre - mid-life and older ladies have had young men stood chatting in the street move out of the way for them, and in bars & restaurants, they get served first!.

Isn’t that totally the opposite of how we’re treated in the UK?

And my second point - how they present themselves to the world. Either I’ve missed it before or the other times I’ve been to France, I’ve gone around with my eyes closed. But, the myths seem to be true. French women are so chic and well turned out. And especially the older women.

I’ve never seen such beautiful women - chic haircuts, make-up everyday (regardless if they’re only doing the supermarket shop), and even casual outfits chosen with care. And, of course, they don’t even try to emulate what the 20-something models are wearing. It’s clear that they’ve got to their stage in life, knowing what suits them. And they wear it so well.

It’s given me a complete kick up the backside to rethink how I dress when I get home. Even on a dull day when all I’m doing is schlepping around at home, I will make an effort to put something matching on and put make-up on.

Because, how we treat ourselves makes a difference to how we think about ourselves. And, in my book, that means that the fact I take time to make myself look the best I can, will only reflect in my self-image and boost self worth etc.

So, if come the end of June when I get home, you see me schlepping around looking like a tramp (scruffy clothes, unwashed hair and no make-up) you totally have my permission to remind me of my mission and tell me to go and sort myself out!

So, a short and sweet issue from me, but I hope you’ll forgive me with being “en vacance”.

Sending you chic French vibes until next time

Take care

Una x