So, one thing I love to do when I travel is seeing if I get mistaken for a local, especially somewhere like Paris. The first time I attempted to blend into Parisian culture was when I studied abroad in college. I had long, blondish brunette hair at the time but felt it was my moral imperative to go straight brunette so I wouldn’t stand out too much as an American. I realize there are several other things that could make me stand out as an American besides my hair color, but it just felt like I was being culturally respectful at the impressionable age of 20. Fast forward to the end of my study abroad semester and my host mom, Katie’s, best friend, Francis, felt it was important I was given a bleach blond bob like Charlize Theron (said in the thickest French accent possible) so that’s exactly what we did in Katie’s kitchen. This was back in the day of not having photos on our phone in 2004 so needless to say, my boyfriend at the time was not expecting it when I got off the plane and he was meeting me at the airport. He’s my husband now so it must not have spooked him too much. 

The second time was when I had the opportunity to return to Paris for work. I love wearing black so obviously had to embrace wearing all black on my flight over, with trendy tennis shoes and a polka dot peacoat. I’m pretty sure I secured this peacoat about 20 years ago when I needed my first nice jacket for work so luckily, if you hold onto things for 20 years, it’ll become popular again. But I digress. After the long flight and getting through customs, I needed to use the restroom. I was next in line and a girl came out and said, very slowly and in a higher volume that there was “no more toilet paper”, probably assuming I wouldn’t understand since I was obviously Parisian. Since the one language I do speak, outside of English, is French, I had to have some fun so responded in French, “Oh la la, merci.” I’m not sure what my face was saying after that long, overnight flight but was happy it must have given off some sort of Parisian vibes, even if only for a minute or two. 

Clearly, there’s not necessarily a secret recipe for success to be mistaken for a local in the chicest city in the world, in my opinion, but always worth a shot!