"A Guide to the French: Handle With Care"

- New York Times by Elaine Sciolino

"6: Don’t Wear Jogging Clothes to Buy a Pound of Butter

Rules govern even the smallest activities. I was making chocolate chip cookies one Saturday afternoon and ran out of butter. Dusted with flour, still in my morning jogging clothes, I dashed out to the convenience store up the street. The problem was that it is not just any street. It’s the Rue du Bac, one of the most chic places to see and be seen on Saturdays. I heard my name called and turned to face a senior Foreign Ministry official, dressed in pressed jeans and a soft-as-butter leather jacket, wearing an amused look, and carrying a small Nespresso shopping bag.

We went to a corner cafe for a drink. The Swedish ambassador and his wife stopped as they were riding by on their bikes. Both were in tailored tweed blazers, slim pants and loafers. Then Robert M. Kimmitt, the deputy treasury secretary, walked by.

He and my foreign ministry friend joked that my style didn’t match the setting. I made the point that it was my neighborhood and I could dress however I wanted. But as my French women friends told me afterward, jogging clothes (shoes included) are to be removed as soon as one’s exercise is over."

See the rest of the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/weekinreview/23sciolino.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5070&en=577b14d94f8534c4&ex=1206936000&emc=eta1

Thanks Daniel! An amusing article about the generalities of Parisian life - though I have one main correction to make:

°4 - There are women butchers in France and I have one! She is marvelous, and the article is correct in that once you get to know your butcher, they will treat you as a dear friend. Butchers may very well be the friendliest people in Paris. My first time into her shop, we had a nice chat about where I was from and her children. She then told me that I must say hello every time I walk past. In addition, butchers cut the meat for you - in any wacky way you desire, do you want it cubed, sliced, tranched...

Oh and °6 - wearing the sweats - is the hugest faux pas ever. I really can't believe this journalist was so out of it, but alas, typical American mistake there.

Always be prepared! You never know whom you are going to meet! --Isn't that correspondent 101?