Welcome to Rachel Kaplan's Secrets to French Chic 

PARIS--As the author of Best Buys to French Chic, I have been taking lessons in chic every since I first stepped foot in France. The lessons have come in all forms, from studying street fashions in cafés and restaurants to window-shopping to learning from both fashion designers and editors, as well as other French women. As the correspondant for Czech Elle in the mid-90s, I learned about high fashion, interviewing writing articles on such designers as Emmanel Ungaro, Jean-Paul Gaulthier, Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano, and Sonia Rykiel.

However, while it was fun to attend fashion shows and discover the most extravagant makeup and hairstyle, I quickly understood that this type of chic was inaccessible to almost everyone. The world of the runway was a far cry from the everyday world of the businessman and businesswomen, not to mention the stay-at-home mother or the teen who was into the latest streetwear fad.  While we are all happy to spend a few dollars or euros on a fashion magazine, most of us lack the means to reproduce what we see in those glossy pages. We have neither the figures nor the incomes to do so.

That is how Best Buys to French Chic was born. I decided to create a shopping guide that revealed how French women and men dress and shop for food and fashion in Paris, and make it relevant to the English-speaking reader. People love the shopping guide so much that I have had to reprint it twice this year! Inspired by this reader response, I have now decided to expand the concept by creating a blog with regular monthly columns on Parisian chic and savoir-vivre.

Here, readers will discover how to shop and dress like a chic Parisian, and learn about the latest shops, hotels, restaurants and designers. We aim to be resource center for visitors to Paris as well as people who live here on a full or part-time basis. In addition, people who visit www.chicparisienne.com will be able to sign up for tours and concierge services that they cannot find elsewhere. We will be organizing private VIP visits to top designers' studios, as well as to unique jewelers and makers of accessories. Our plan is to also offer you a personal stylist who can assist you with finding the ideal hairdresser, manicurist, and spa services, as well as be your fashion/shopping consultant. In addition, we are planning to offer a membership program for the readers of www.chicparisienne.com that will allow you to take advantage of special offers and confidential addresses.  

If you are living or relocating to Paris, our team of experts can assist you with setting up a chic apartment, and pulling together a list of chic addresses for both shopping and entertaining. We are in the midst of creating a listing of chic florists, chic chocolatiers, chic designers, chic hotels, chic restaurants and more. We also welcome your suggestions and comments on any of your own special finds. Please feel free to contact Rachel Kaplan at rachel.kaplan@orange.fr