Blake Lively’s internet site Preserve.us has abandoned its American roots, but not URL, for a post about French fashion. In summary, the article is: I don’t know what. But don’t worry. In case you don’t know this already, the act of “not knowing what” is very French. They call it: Je ne sais quoi.
In adherence to this chic enigma, Lively’s website identified a handful of French-seeming mysteries:
Do French women really wake up with that ready-to-wear bedhead?
It’s just their je ne sais quoi.
How do they make the Breton stripe so eternally chic?
It’s their je ne sais quoi, but with a shirt over it.
And do they actually shamelessly snack on bread, cheese and sweets, without ever stepping into a gym?
Their metabolisms also have the je ne sais quoi.
Does something look familiar?
They know what actually, for this question. The familiar item is a striped top. Lively’s Preserve is selling French fashion in the form of a striped shirt called the Francoise top. Preserve provides history and a few product details:
The original Breton stripe design—a very fashionable uniform for French seamen in the 19th century—featured a stripe for every one of Napoleon’s victories, which totaled 21. We have no clue how many stripes are on the Francoise top, but we do know it has style in spades.
And now, for the final time, regarding the number of stripes in a shirt pictured at least seven times on her website: It’s a je ne sais quoi number of stripes or, also, 21 stripes. But, if you have to ask, you’re missing the point about the incomprehensible French way. Americans are just so literal, aren’t they.
