The show has taught me everything I know about French people,some of which may even be true. It’s also taught me a lot about American exceptionalism,most of which is undoubtedly false.
Here,then,are some of the life lessons I have gleaned fromEmily in Paris. May they come in handy as you,too,seek to derive wisdom from the show – or at least to pretend you’re not just frittering away your valuable time on a guilty pleasure with all the substance of a glass of bubbly.
Language is no barrier
To the truly gifted individual,not speaking the local language is no impediment to making a go of life in a foreign country. Emily waltzes into a marketing agency whose clients are all French,yet miraculously everyone speaks impeccable English and is willing to accommodate the fact she speaks not a word of their native tongue. Clients included. On the rare occasion that doesn’t work,there’s always Google Translate. But that doesn’t mean there’s no place for language classes:they’re a great place to pull. No sooner has Emily begun to brush up on her French than she starts smooshing up against English banker Alfie (Lucien Laviscount). If that’s not an inducement to hit the books,what is?
You are the brand
When Emily arrives in Paris in the first episode of season one,she has an Instagram account in her own name with just 48 followers. A quick rebrand to @emilyinparis and by the end of her first day she has 230. By season three she has more than 113,000. Given how much time the show spends trying to convince us that Emily is a social media savant,you’d think she’d be able to monetise the hell out of that. But by the end of her first day of “funemployment”,she’s so jack of it that she takes a job as a waiter instead. It’s hard work,this social media malarkey. Who knew? (Not Em,it seems.)
You are what you wear
Perhaps the greatest life lessonEIP has to impart is that a day in which you don’t wear five different outfits is a day wasted. Apparently,no one simply goes out for dinner in Paris without first going home to slip into something more couture. Over the course of the three seasons Emily must have clocked up close to 150 different outfits,some of them drawing on fast-fashion chains such as Zara but many from high-end labels or runway designers;not a bad effort for someone on a junior marketing exec wage. The Instagram account@emilyinparisoutfits does a sterling job of tracking what they are and how much they cost. Whether you find Emily’s styletres amusant or simplyringarde (corny) no one could call it bland.