The Fashion of French Food

by Tamara Tucci

The other day my friend and I were strolling by a patisserie in the Republique area when we stopped to admire the beautiful pastries in the shop window. I wanted to choose one--but I couldn't-- I wanted to buy each and every one of them. The colors, the quality, the attention to detail...they all looked so good. Seeing the alluring pastries in the window reminded me of how the Galleries LaFayette assembles mannequins in their store windows. Both beautiful food and beautiful garments entice the customers into the shop. This particular patisserie lured me in, and I waited on a long line of customers who were also interested in buying the lovely pastries. I bought something beautiful, a delicious miniature cheesecake woven with ribbons of raspberry and white chocolate. That's when I realized something: in terms of fashion and aesthetic value, food has a lot in common with clothing. Their buying power--their desirability--rests in their beauty. When it comes down to it, we want to consume beautiful things. There are no greater examples of elegant and fashionable pastries than in the patisseries of Paris.