These portraits of women and homes show a side of France that visitors don't normally get to see. I deliberately sought out women from all over the country, reaching from Calais in the north to Provence in the south. Each girlfriend was chosen because she has a story to tell and a great lifestyle to portray. I picked friends of all ages, because it is through living our lives that our characters grow; some faces may have a few more lines, but that is only because they have smiled more. And with age comes a new self-confidence, a self-assuredness. From candlelit dinners with lobster and champagne, to a barbecue eaten beside a river, to picnics enjoyed on their property or on a mountainside, each girlfriend went out of her way to make us feel welcome. From the moment I started working on the book, I don't think a day passed when I didn't pronounce the word "privilege," for that, above all, is what making this book has truly been: the privilege of introducing you to my stylish French girlfriends. rlfriends.

rlfriends. rlfriends.