It's become a cliché to say French women are known for their beauty and style, but that doesn't change the fact. Is it genetics? Voodoo? No it is not.
So how do they have their chocolate croissant and eat it too? Avoid the gym and wear a size 6 into middle age? It's mostly in the way they think about their lives, it seems. Plus a few rules.
These thoughts have been chronicled in countless books and magazine articles through the decades (most recently in the New York Times), but we've broken down the finer points for you.
Credit: iStockPhoto