In 2008 France, The Flat Rules

I've discovered that French shoe fashion doesn't follow what most women in America prefer. I first noticed this when I saw a women wearing ballet slippers. These women at my cooking school all agreed--the flat rules. No chunky heels here, no big high clogs or high heeled sneakers.

I had written on my other blog about how if you want to NOT look like an American, you should lose the white athletic shoes. (Hey Paul, that's a hint!) So that made me more aware of footwear and I've been looking at shoes here ever since.

I noticed that few women were wearing heels. They all had on flats, of various types, but mostly really slipperlike shoes and few had on flip-flops. I've seen almost no women here wearing sneakers.

One resident, who's about 50, said she thought it had to do with Carla Bruni, Sarkozy's foxy new wife. She stands a bit taller than the president, so she always wears flats. But after I asked a few more women, the answer came back that it's just the style and it's not because of Carla. Flats, they said, are just more comfortable.

We got stuck in a rainstorm and my city tour guide and I sat under an umbrella in a doorway waiting for the rain to let up. A woman walked by with a pair of totally soaked and soggy ballet slippers--showing that what's in style is not always the most practical.