Ep 68 - Navigating “à la Mode” with Kasia Dietz

In French, à la mode has got nothing to do with ice cream. Rather, it refers to one of the pinnacles of art de vivre: fashion. Here to discuss how Paris became such a fashion capital – and what the cultural expectations of dressing are – is Kasia Dietz, travel journalist, bag designer, and fashion tour guide in Paris.

kasiadietz.com
kasiadietztours.com
https://www.instagram.com/kasiadietz/


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Credits
Host: Emily Monaco. @Emily_in_France; Website: http://www.tomatokumato.com and http://www.emilymmonaco.com
Producer: Jennifer Geraghty. @jennyphoria; Website: http://jennyphoria.com

Music Credits
Édith Piaf - La Vie en Rose (DeliFB Lofi Remix)
🎵 MSKD Sounds: https://www.instagram.com/mskd_sounds/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRql... https://soundcloud.com/mskd_sounds

🎵 DeliFB: https://www.youtube.com/c/DeliFB https://soundcloud.com/delifb https://www.instagram.com/cativo.kevin/ https://twitter.com/DeliciousFB

About Us
From one Emily in Paris to another... just speaking French isn't enough to understand the intricacies of the locals, but it's definitely a good place to start. Famously defended by armed "immortals" of the Académie Française (no, we're not making this up) the French language is filled with clues that show interested outsiders what, exactly, makes the French tick.

Each episode, listen in as Emily Monaco and an expert take a deep dive into a word that helps us gain a keener understanding of the French.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You are listening to Navigating the Frenchon Paris Underground Radio. For more great
content and a bonus episode of Navigatingthe French, please join us on Patreon.
Hello and welcome to Navigating the French, the podcast where each episode we
take a look at a French wordand try and see what it tells us

(00:21):
about French culture. I'm your host, Emily Monico. Today I'm joined by
Kasha Deets, a travel journalist andbag designer in the capital of fashion.
She's here to discuss a word thatmight make you think of ice cream,
but in reality is inextricably linked tothe French way of presenting oneself like a
work of art mud. So I'msuper excited to welcome you, Kasha to

(00:45):
the podcast. Can you tell ourlisteners a little bit about who you are
and what you do here in Paris? Yes. Hello, my name's Kashadets.
So I'm originally from New York andI've been in Paris fourteen years now,
which seems like it is flown byan interesting fourteen years, and I'm
really grateful to be here. Andwhen I first arrived, I couldn't find

(01:07):
work, so I launched a handbagbusiness. So I designed namesake handbags,
which is one of my great passionprojects is designing sort of wearable art,
so I've been doing that for along time and that led me to a
bag workshops, which are hand paintedbags where people can create their own bags.
And then I added fashion tours becauseI started blogging when I got here,

(01:32):
like many people who needed to sortof create a new presence in a
foreign land, and the blog gota lot of attention, and then I
started writing some guests posts for differentblogs and different media and websites, and
that led me really to fulfilling oneof my greatest dreams, which was to
be a travel writer travel and lifestyle. And this all connects back to the

(01:57):
fashion that I started initially when Iarrived to Paris, because I do write
a lot about fashion and you know, all connected to travel of course,
And when I started researching for someof these articles I was working on,
I got to meet designers and Idug a bit deeper into the French landscape

(02:19):
in terms of fashion and really foundsome talent out there and thought, okay,
I want to highlight this talent.I want people to discover them,
and of course in my writing theycan but then I'm like, I want
them to actually meet them, toactually see their work, to see what
they're creating, to be able tohave this unique experience in the fashion capital,
which is obviously you know a lotabout Paris Is fashion as we all

(02:45):
know, and it's much more thanyou know Chanel and Dre and sal Laurent's.
It's these small designers that are creatingreally bespoke pieces and they're they're made
in Paris like they're actually they're atTeliers Are. One of them is using
my itelier. In fact, that'show I met her. So I kept
seeing, you know, some ofher work leaving the itlier and thinking this

(03:07):
is amazing, like where is thisgoing or how can I find it?
And I have great stories about howI met all the designers, but I'll
save those for another day. ButI put this these tours together. Each
one is very custom and catered towardsthe clientele, but these these you know,
these designers can dress anyone basically,and the beauty is that you actually

(03:29):
meet the designer and going to havecustom pieces created. So it's really,
uh a unique experience that I thinkfits so well Paris because this is where
so much of fashion originated and whatwe consider now fashion is a lot of
it comes from Paris. It wasstarted here in France. Well, let's

(03:53):
dig right back into that, becauseI mean, we're going to talk a
little bit about those sort of linguisticterms down the line. But I think
pair is so synonymous with fashion.And I'm curious, you know, because
of your approach and because of howlong you've been here, but I know
you also travel quite a bit andyou have a very international lifestyle and international

(04:13):
sort of influences in your life.How do you think Parisian fashion stands out
as compared to other fashion capitals aroundthe world, like Rome or London or
Tokyo or you know, our hometownof New York. What makes Parisian fashion
so Parisian and so unique? Youknow, people look at Paris and they

(04:34):
think there's this way of being that'svery Parisian, the look, the style,
the French girl like, there's thisdefinite idea of how Parisian fashion is,
you know, how it looks andhow it's styled. And I think
we need to look at history reallyfor why this is so. The history

(04:59):
of French fashion is super interesting,and I think this is why on a
global scale, France is always admiredfor its fashion and the women are looked
up to for their sensibility in howthey put looks together and in how they
they appear to the world that theyalways seem put together, don't they So,

(05:21):
and each neighborhood is very indicative aswell of different looks, which I
like about Paris. But speaking tothe history of French fashion, so what's
super interesting is it's actually the Frenchwho were the first to make an industry
out of fashion. So it wasn'tjust you know, making dresses and having
ladies come to their attilier and gettingthem dressed, you know. They they

(05:46):
were actually since the seventeenth century,they were really creating what is known to
be fashion, Like they were styling, you know, women that would come
into these elegant spaces, and theywere creating the actual sketches, Like it's
in France that sketches were invented todesign clothing, Like they created what we

(06:10):
look at now as patterns, Iguess, the patterns you know, for
different clothing, Like all of thisreally started in France. So it's actually
Louis the fourteenth who we owe alot to the son king who brought the
luxury goods business to France. Basicallyhe was really he was interested in a
lot of beauty and he loved hiswigs as apparently he was evolving, so

(06:33):
he needed to do something to bringa sense of beauty to himself and overcompensate
for his lack of hair. Andof course the court followed suit. And
you know, we were also areresponsible here in France for creating the fashion
press in the sixteen seventies and differentfashion seasons, so like now you know,

(06:56):
now we have the winter fall springsor all of that. The changing
of styles is also something that startedhere in France. Also, what I
think is probably the most interesting,our department stores were really took off here
in Paris with the Beaumarche riv Ghuschwas the first one, which actually opened

(07:18):
in eighteen I think it was eighteenfifty two, So this is the first
departments or in the world. Soit's pretty impressive. Yeah, So if
you go there, there's so muchhistory and there's just it's fascinating. And
then of course Pontal and Gallery Lafayetare beautiful and those have their own unique
histories and you know, all ofthis really contributes to making Paris a fashion

(07:41):
capital, and in my opinion,the fashion capital, because if you look
at the quartiers of the old days, we have actually a British man,
funny enough, named Charles Frederick Wirth. He was the first one to be
considered a proper designer and not justa dressmaker. So he invented the fashion
show, the fashion label as astatus symbol, which obviously people come here

(08:05):
to go to Chanel and to goto Solaran and all the beautiful shops that
are at status symbols, and thisis where it all started. So we're
better to shop than in Paris withthe French labels, right, And so
there's just so much happened here.I mean, fashion houses were founded,
you know, women were liberated fromtheir corsets that were worn, and the

(08:28):
creativity really flourished in Paris, youknow. And then you have Coco Chanel
who really revolutionized the fashion world here, and you know Christian Dureve Saint Laurent,
like, we have so many reallyimpressive designers that originated in Paris and
even flocked to Paris who were notFrench. I mean you had designers like

(08:50):
car Lagerfeld for Chanelle. You know, the people were just so attracted to
Paris for its elegance and timelessness andyet its freedom of expression where you could
wear different accessories, you could reallyhighlight pieces and stand out by looking glamorous.
But yet you know, this ishowever people dressed every day. I

(09:11):
mean, this is not obviously howwe dress these days. But there was
definitely a sense of freedom and ofcourse and playfulness in the dress while keeping
it classy and not too revealing,which is something very important to note because
Parisians even now a dress code.I mean, there isn't really a dress

(09:33):
code, but they never show toomuch, which is what I love.
You know, like you'll never seea woman looking like you know, she's
just wearing like a bando. Imean, you'll see like some leg or
you'll see some cleavage. You know, they'll reveal a little bit, but
there's always something left to the imagination, you know. Or you'll have a
nice scarf and a heel with amini skirt, but you'll have a trench

(09:56):
covering that. So there's just alevel of class that I find you don't
see in I mean, you'll seeit in Rome and you'll see it in
Milan for sure, but it's justso indicative of French fashion. So I'm
super excited to delve more into thiswith you as well as we look at
sort of what past expectations and modernexpectations of Parisian women are like. And

(10:18):
I think this is a really goodtime for me to get a little bit
nerdy, because I started this podcastbecause I love language, and you know
what interested me and what we're talkingabout today is this idea of la mud,
which is the French word for fashion, and la mud is just a
translation of the way. So whenwe say like a la mud, we

(10:39):
mean in the way, and thenusually in France it be followed by du
so like when we have ada mudused in culinary use, for example,
you'd say like tripa muducon, whichis tripe in the way of come.
But when we just say la mud, it means fashion. And in the
French word fascion, which is asort of loose synonym of mud, is

(11:03):
what actually gave us the English translationfashion. But now we're seeing the word
fashion being borrowed back from English intoFrench and people saying things like auisitre fashion?
So I'm really curious from your perspectivebeing in this world. As a
jumping off point to talk a littlebit about sort of how contemporary French fashion

(11:26):
looks. What's your intuition of thedifference between when we say la mud in
French and fashion in English, andthen again when we say fashion in French,
what does that mean? Well,the French loved to pop in an
English word here and there, right, which is funny because they're like,
I do not speak English, butyou know they love their English words.

(11:48):
So definitely the words are interconnected.I mean, you know la mode and
fashion. I mean there's such acrossover. And you know, when you
think about what fashion really means,it's a mode of doing something. It's
a mode of a manner of doingsomething right. So it's the latest style

(12:11):
of behavior or of clothing or soit's they're really just so similar in many
ways and can be interchanged and thereyou know, they're a manner in a
form and a way of life.And it always comes back to fashion,
like the fashion of something. Youknow, it doesn't necessarily even have to
be clothing. It can be theway you fashion your room, or it

(12:35):
can be really interchanged and it's interestingthat it's true what you said, how
it was a French word brought intoEnglish and now returned to France. And
I think we see that a lot, actually, you know, so I'm
not so surprised that they use it. Yeah, do you see a lot.
But I always feel like when itgets borrowed back, it takes on
like a little extra meaning. Likethere's a reason why some French people will

(12:58):
say something is fashion instead of sayingit's adam ad like it means something slightly
different. It seems. Yeah,it's a bit of a stronger way of
like they're trying to say, likea this is like the creme de la
creme, like this is really thetop of fashion right now. You know
what they're saying is this is likecutting edge or this is like the coolest.

(13:22):
Yeah, And that I think kindof feeds back into what you were
saying about the timelessness of French fashionversus this like avant garde kind of more
out there fashion you might see inNew York or London. Like maybe and
I'm just throwing it out there becauseI'm anything but fashionable. I mean,
is there an argument do you thinkin favor of people saying something is fashion
when they think it's a little Angloinfluence and a little more out there and

(13:46):
a little more more like maximalist.I don't know that the French would like
to credit anyone else for fashion,to be honest, I think that uh
yeah, I mean they'll look atother brands of course, and you know,
like you have. I mean,it's crazy. I was recently at

(14:07):
Golden Goose, this sneaker luxury sneakershop that's Italian, and it's all the
rage everywhere in the world. Youknow, E've been in France and Paris
as well. It's like the peopleare going crazy for it. So of
course they have their brands, theirluxury brands or their independent brands. Hopefully
that I support that they can creditto fashion as well. But I think

(14:31):
the typical Parisian girl or the youknow, there's no real can we say
typical Parisian girl, but Parisian girlsthat we meet on the streets in Paris,
I think they will definitely credit fashionto what they consider French, you
know, like they're what they grewup to know is fashion, the icons
that they grew up you know,with Jane Burkin, with Vanessa Paradi,

(14:54):
they had. There's so many gorgeouslike Brigit, Bordo and Deneuve, like
these ladies who really really represent Parisianand French fashion. I think that's who
all little credit like fashion. Youknow, if you're enjoying this podcast,
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(15:16):
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(15:39):
a word from our sponsors, andnow back to Navigating the French. Well,
then let's get into that sort ofidea, because I think there's this
image we have of the Parisian andyou alluded a little bit to this idea
that la Parisian, as we discussedwith your friend and mine, Lindsay Termuda
on the podcast, La Parisien abit of a myth, but there is

(16:00):
some truth to it, and thereis a very Parisien look when we're talking
about Parisian fashion. So I waswondering, just off the top of your
head you mentioned one that might comeup again, but if you had to
pick three sort of staples that exemplifycontemporary Parisian fashion, what would they be?

(16:21):
So, as you can see oftenwalking around the streets, which is
the streets are themselves a fashion showfor anyone coming to Paris, and I
can definitely say more so than Emilyin Paris for example, as we all
know, enjoy the show to differentdegrees. I think it's totally harmless and
I'm not against it at all.I actually think it's fun. It's definitely

(16:44):
not indicative of French fashion or Parisianfashion. You know what she wears is
it pops? You know, it'snice, it pops, the colors pop.
It works for what it is,Sylvie her boss. If anyone see
the show, I think is myit's more representative of a Parisian woman in
the way she dresses and carries herself. So you know that being said,

(17:07):
the sort of staples which Emily probablydoes not have in her closets scarves for
sure, which have always been astable but I feel like now they're being
worn in different ways and playful ways. They're being wrapped around bags, around
cross body bags, They're used inthe hair, they're used to accent in

(17:30):
different ways. Really it's a lotof fun. You know. A scarf
is just so practical for many,many different things, and it adds a
little color, you know, likewhen I tend to wear my blacks and
my navy blues, and I likea little pop of color, so I'll
take a scarf, and I thinkthat's a very Parisian accent. And scarves
are something also that you pass downthrough generations, Like your grandmother will give

(17:51):
you a beautiful, aar mess scarfthat maybe her mother gave her, and
this is something that will stay inthe family and that you'll wear and you'll
think of this lovely woman in yourlife. And so, you know,
things like that, like a Chanelbag, for example. You see many
Parisian women with Chanel bags, andI think, hmm. And often they
were given to them, you know, through their family or passed down or

(18:15):
maybe they did splurge and buy one, okay, great, or buy a
vintage one, which I'm a bigadvocate for vintage as well. So you
see a lot of accessories like thatthat I feel like are really staples.
And back to the bags, likea crossbody, a really classic crossbody,
whether it's a Chanel or whether it'sCeline, or whether it's something that you

(18:36):
know, another brand. There's somany great French brands. You'll find a
woman wearing more basic clothing and maybea really gorgeous accessory to tie it ale
together with her white sneakers or withher ballerinas or with her you know,
whatever boots she has or whatever shoes. So you know, there's accent pieces.

(18:56):
And that's a very very very muchpart of the French formula, Parisian
formula, and I love that becauseas somebody who tries not to buy too
many things and really values what Ido have. And my motto on that
topic also is to collect versus justto consume, and I think that's a

(19:18):
very Parisian way of looking at fashion. Is during the sales, the soul
that we have twice a year herein France, women will buy a few
pieces to add to their wardrobe.So you keep collecting. It's not just
oh I need a new outfit,I need something to wear. I have
nothing to wear tonight. They mixand match, so you'll take something from
another season and where with something newthat you just got. And it's not

(19:41):
about trends necessarily, it's not trenddriven. It's more things that flatter you.
This is something that I really believepeople maybe don't understand so much about
about Parisian style is that it's notjust about what the latest look is.
It's about what looks good for youand adjusting yourself into you know, a

(20:03):
little bit of what's trendy. Ofcourse, you know, like the oversized
blazers. You know, Pija maChik was a look for a while,
wearing things that you could potentially wearto bed, but you're obviously going out,
you know. And a blazer isanother staple that I would say is
definitely a part of every Persian's wardrobe, including my own. I have a

(20:26):
few really strong blazers that I'll wearoften with many different things, and it's
just you know, having these basicsthat you could then wear with something you
bought, you know, some lessexpensive clothing or some more a piece that
maybe you'll tire of soon, andyou just have these these pieces that really

(20:47):
remain in your closet that you havecollected, because that's again, I can't
stress this enough that to me,fashion it's sort of like collecting art,
like you're collecting pieces. You know, you're collecting pieces that you're going to
want to wear for decades or hopefullythey'll last for that long. That's why
I'm all about the smaller designers,better made pieces. I no longer go

(21:10):
to any fast fashion shops. I'vegiven that up years ago, and I
really focus on local and good quality. Even when I travel, I'll search
out small designers and artisans and maybeI won't get to meet them, but
I'll look for what they're creating andtry to add that to my collection.
And it actually makes shopping a lotmore fun and it's easier because I'm not

(21:33):
distracted by all the trends that areluring people into the shops. Because who
wants to look like everyone else?Like that's also, you know, my
model, Like why would I wantto look like everyone? You know?
Like, we're all so different,and we all should celebrate our uniqueness and
our unique beauty and our unique figuresand our unique strengths in the way we

(21:56):
look. And I love what yousaid about fashion being art and also about
this idea that you know, inFrance, you're often going to see people
finding the piece that suits them.And I remember one of the first shopping
experiences I ever had in Paris,as I think I was sixteen or seventeen
years old, and I'm a millennial. I grew up in a very unfortunate

(22:17):
fashion time for pear shaped folks likemyself, where you know, there were
a lot of flounces and a lotof low rise jeans, and you know,
you're forcing yourself into these fashions thataren't doing you necessarily any favors.
And it's not because there's anything wrongwith you, it's just because it's not
the right clothing for you. AndI remember walking into a shop in Paris.
I don't even know if it stillexists, but it was called Le
Fierra Vagnie and it was all sortof very lacey, like crazy kind of

(22:41):
avant garde dresses, and I putsomething on and the woman looked at me
and she said, ah, no, madame, you don't have enough boob
for that. And I was like, oh, like, no one had
ever said anything like that to mebefore. But she wasn't criticizing my body.
She reached for the rack and shegot me a different, similar dress
with a different top, and shewould like, this one's for you.
And I never had that more.But it feels so Parisian to be that

(23:06):
blunt, but then also to putyou at ease with something that's going to
actually make you feel good. Yeah, and this is I think this is
what leads to confidence, you know, not just for Parisian or French women,
but for all women. I mean, we should feel good in what
we wear. And this is duringmy tours, I say, look,
we're not here to shop spend yourmoney. We want you to, you
know, to collect pieces that you'regonna love, that you're gonna you're going

(23:30):
to can't wait to wear, andthat feel good and you know, getting
dressed. Whether it's me that helpsthem or the designer which can look at
your figure right away and say oh, try this and they were like,
well I would never wear this,but after they put it on, they're
like, oh my gosh, Ifeel so good in this. So exactly
what you said, like, thisis what I think Parisian women. Uh,
this is a strength here because theydress to look and feel good,

(23:55):
you know, not just to looklike a magazine cover or whatever's cool that
month or that season. You know, like if low Rise just doesn't work
for you, don't wear them,Like who cares? If everyone's wearing them
and they're like the latest you know, craze on Instagram, Like who cares?
And I guess I never really subscribeto that. So for me,

(24:18):
it's easy to say. And somepeople need to be told what to wear.
So they you know, they goto these influencers and they order whatever
they're wearing, but it doesn't fityour figure. So step back and think,
Okay, what do I feel goodin? What do I feel good
in? What looks good on me? And what am I excited to wear?
Like you want to decorate your bodywith things that make you happy and

(24:40):
make you feel good. Yeah,So this is this is the whole point
of fashion to me, of course, and this does fortunately or unfortunately lead
us to a slightly darker side ofthe fashion sort of conversation in France right
now, which is that fashion,especially recently, although I'm sure this has
been true through history, has beenquite politicized in recent years in France and

(25:00):
specifically regarding sort of this desire,this value in France for laisite, which
is the separation of church and state, and this sort of overt secularism that
means that we don't wear and areprecluded from wearing outward sides of religion in
France. And so you've seen thingslike, you know, in can attack
on the burkini people wearing berkinis tothe beach, the disallowance of things like

(25:23):
head scarves or long skirts in publicschools or in government positions, and then
most recently this sort of conversation aroundthe abaya. So I was wondering,
you know, do you have anyinsight into how this policing of fashion and
basically what the significance of using fashionas this almost soapbox for an issue,

(25:45):
an underlying issue that's really about sortof religion and culture. I mean,
I think it's completely two different things, you know, the expression through fashion
and dressing because it's your religious rulesand you're abiding by a certain discretion that
is you know, connected to yourreligion. So they're completely different because you

(26:06):
could see someone like I've had clientsthat are men and who wear skirts and
they you know, buy like realskirts, you know, whether they're killed
style or other doesn't matter their skirtsand that's fine, and so that's an
expression. Now if you know,if they needed to be completely covered in
something like a skirt form because oftheir religion, you know, it's a

(26:30):
completely different thing. So it's areally it's a difficult topic to be honest
with you, because it's so controversialand you know, as you know,
we have the largest population Resims inFrance in Western Europe, so it's you
know, there's a lot of peoplewho are abiding by their religion addressing to

(26:52):
the code that is you know,given to them. That they don't have
a choice. It's not their expressionsthat they want to dress that way.
This is part of who they areand their affiliation. So I think,
you know, it's a really difficultI mean, I don't do I have

(27:17):
any insights. I mean I strugglewith asking myself the same questions that a
lot of us do, because Idon't think that they should I think they
should be free to express themselves indress according to what they feel comfortable in.
And is this pushing the limit interms of causing a lot of resentment

(27:41):
towards the Muslims and alienating them.I mean, there's so many issues that
can arise from the way people look. And this isn't just in dressing.
It's in so many other ways too. I mean, you could take this
to another level. You could takeit to people who just don't who stand
out among other people who were bornand look different, or who are obese,

(28:04):
or who are I ask myself thisa lot, and I don't know.
I don't really know what's gonna happenin France in the future as this
becomes more of a serious issue,because it is, I mean, the
Muslim population is growing, and theyshould be allowed to present themselves the way

(28:26):
they want to or the way they'retold to. You know. It's also
not their choice to be completely coveredup. It's a religious rule. If
you're enjoying this episode of Navigating theFrench, you may also be interested in
our sister podcast, Romancing in Paris, which delves into love, lust and

(28:47):
so much more in the City ofLight. Navigating the French will be right
back after a word from our sponsors, and now back to Navigating the French.
I think if we reel this backa little bit and we sort of
think, okay, we have culturalexpectations for fashion in some cases and sometimes
they're religious, and sometimes they arevalues driven, and sometimes they're just based

(29:11):
on norms. Do you get thesense that the same norms, for example,
that would govern I don't know,let's say Hillary Clinton being called out
for wearing pants suits all the time. Do you get the sense that the
French would have the same critical eyetowards the way that their people in power
would dress. Do you think thatthere's that desire? I mean, we're

(29:33):
sort of policing I put that inyou scare quotes the way and sometimes it
is actual policing, but policing theway that certain people dress, and potentially
doing this as a way to puta spotlight on certain religions, certain populations,
certain communities in France. But doyou think that on the flip side,
when it is not a question necessarilyof a religious or cultural value,

(29:56):
but when it's just a choice,do you get the sense that the French
public would pu what people wear.So let's say, like, you know,
could you imagine a front page articlecriticizing the way that s Royal or
Marian Lupin would have been dressed inthe same way as we had with Hillary
Clinton. If these ladies of powerwere drawing attention to themselves in a deliberate

(30:18):
way. I think that it couldmake headlines. I think they also have
a certain responsibility in the public eyeto look a certain way. So even
though I think, you know,Hillary Clinton, good for her. I
love the pants. I mean,I am a big pant wearer myself,
and I think it's super classy andlike, hello, you know, we've

(30:41):
had you know, history even dictatethe Christian dure and there's so many cool
Saint Laurent with his different looks thatwere presented to women and allowed them to
wear pants versus skirts. I lovethat. I mean, I think good
for them. When it comes toreligion, I think the biggest problem is
it's, you know, the waypeople need to dress in certain religions isolates

(31:03):
them because you see that this personis either a Muslim or some Hasidic Jews,
you see dressing a different way,so you know it really it separates
them. And this is a difficultybecause, as you know, religion and
politics not conversations that you want toever take lightly or just throw into a

(31:26):
dinner party. Necessarily, it's adifficult conversation to have. I think that,
especially these days, anything that outlinespeople's differences, especially in a religious
way, is dangerous or can bedangerous because there's just so much anger and

(31:49):
frustration and hatred and to see somebodythat you potentially could be against or you
could think, you know, whilethey were causing problems, or you know,
there's so many difficulties between religions thatwe won't even get into because it's
just a very sad conversation right nowthat you know, that's what it's about.

(32:14):
And it's sad because it's not aboutthe people themselves. It's about this
group that we are either fearful ofor we don't understand. It's really not.
It's about understanding and not accepting,and that's something I have a hard
time with. And coming from NewYork, where you know, any foreigners
are pretty much accepted and welcomed,I find that more difficult here in France.

(32:37):
You don't have that same you know, open invitation. I wish we
could find a way to sort ofcome to peace with our differences. And
you know, in life, tome, the more you the more you
travel, the more you experience,the more people you meet, the more
open minded you become. Absolutely well, thank you so much much for joining

(33:00):
me today. This has been illuminatingfor those listeners who want to get to
know you a little better, whowant to maybe check out some of your
bags, some of your fashion tours. Where can people find you? So
you can head over to Instagram ofcourse Kasha eats and I have a website
of the same name that I'm sharingboth my articles that I've written and my

(33:22):
bags, so I have all mybad collections with new bags coming soon by
the way, and I'm also formy tours. You can head to Kasha
Dat's tours for bag painting workshops andfashion tours and vintage tours and all that
fun stuff around fashion. Wonderful.Thank you so much. We'll put those
links in the show notes, soanybody who wants to learn more about Lamud

(33:45):
with you know, the reigning FrenchQueen of Lamud, can check out Kasha
on those websites. Thank you.This has been navigating the French. You
can find more from me Emily Monicaat Emily Underscore in Underscore France, on
Twitter and Instagram. This podcast isproduced by Paris Underground Radio. To listen

(34:06):
to other episodes of this podcast,or to discover more podcasts like it,
please visit Paris Underground Radio dot com. Thanks for listening and abientu. This
episode of Navigating the French was producedby Jennifer Garrity for Paris Underground Radio.
For more great content, join uson Patreon at Patreon dot com slash Paris Underground Radio