Netflix's Emily In Paris faced a lot of valid criticism for its depiction of Paris, the cringe and cliched portrayal or its lead, and its unrealistic script by Darren Star who was probably trying to make a Sex and the City for the Tik Tok generation but forgot that they can be quite merciless as viewers.
Nevertheless, there’s a lot to be said about Emily’s claims of being ‘basic’ because not only does she take pride in that but it also opens up a whole other avenue of discussion on what is really cliché and boring and what is not. But was Emily really basic? Or was she really a little alt and a trendsetter on her own right? Let’s explore.
Trendsetter: Didn’t Learn French Before Going To Paris
As agreeable as Emily tries to be at her new workplace, not learning Paris before going to France may have been a middle finger to her naysayers, especially because as fans have pointed out, she had plenty of time to prepare for the transition. Emily only starts learning French after reaching Paris because she found the snobbishness of the French speakers unbearable and she also wanted to understand what her colleagues were saying behind her back.
But as any basic research on the city may have suggested, the French look down upon ‘outsiders’ who don’t care enough to learn their native tongue before coming to Paris and Emily definitely knew that and simply shrugged it off like a boss.
Basic: Expected Paris To Change Her Life
Hollywood rom-coms have done a poor job of marketing Paris as the city where you can go to find love but a show made in 2020 for millennial audiences really needed to show the French capital in a more realistic light. Just like any other city, Paris has its share of flaws and problems and though it’s beautiful and has a stunning culture, it’s a major economic stronghold and not a place you go when you’re ready to get back into the dating circuit.
Emily has unrealistic expectations from Paris from Day 1, she keeps saying, ‘But this is Paris,’ but that doesn’t really mean anything to anyone because it’s real life and not Pinterest.
Trendsetter: Stuck To Her American Sense Of Styling
A lot of TV heroines have made the mistake of altering their entire wardrobe when they step into Paris because they feel the need to fit in and they expect Parisians to stroll down their train stations in high-powered couture. Like how SATC's Carrie Bradshaw started wearing really frumpy, tulle dresses for her entire Parisian stint, something she would never wear in New York.
But Emily does a great job of sticking to her personal sense of styling, which is sophisticated but rooted in American thought. She does adopt certain elements of Parisian fashion into her working closet but for the most part, the crop tops and the Gingham coat screams ‘I’m American.’
Basic: Relating To Serena van der Woodsen
This is perhaps the most cliched and basic thing Emily has admitted to, aside from comparing herself to Moulin Rogue’s Nicole Kidman just because she could see Eiffel Towel from her scrappy apartment. Every other American teen has wanted to be Gossip Girl’s Serena van der Woodsen at some point, and with good reason.
Serena was the ‘It’ girl with the best couture, a really dramatic life, and always got the hottest men. But buying a bag charm just because she loves Gossip Girl and wants to channel Serena in her twenties? It really disqualifies her from the trendsetter contest.
Trendsetter: Finding Novel Ways of Payback
The Parisian work culture is a tad different from the American one where you can just blast your colleague and send them an apologetic e-mail later and possibly blame it on a bad workday. Parisians usually come up with inventive, nuanced ways of expressing their anger and derision, but sometimes, of course, they are outright nasty.
Like when Luc drew a penis on Emily’s copy of an official document just because he was against the corporate rules her American company had made up. Emily bought a penis-shaped eclair to give to Luc just to make her point and that was the most, ‘I don’t care if you’re Parisian’ thing she’s ever done.
Basic: Uncomfortable With Any Kind Of Nudity
Europe is a lot breezier than American when it comes to public nudity, and this really should have been on her grossly over-researched notes. She’s shocked when she sees a middle-aged man lounging naked in his own pool - which really is something quite regular by Parisian standards.
But Emily also cringes at the commercial featuring a nude female model. Though the point she made about the commercial being sexist was a valid one, but for a marketing girl who had had to research European marketing and advertising techniques for a living, why is Emily so bothered with the idea of a naked woman in a French perfume commercial? Surely this should be a familiar concept to her.
Trendsetter: Gives American Ready-To-Wear Brands A Fighting Chance
Unlike Carrie Bradshaw, Emily does not do away with her ‘Made in America’ wardrobe once she steps into France. Her wardrobe mostly features young homegrown American RTW brands and cruise line-ups from New York-based new-age labels like the chic sheer overlay shirt by Alice + Olivia - a brand that was launched at Barney’s in the early 2000s.
Or the iconic Gingham suit by Florida-based designer Veronica Beard, or even the vegan leather skirt by New York native Ronny Kobo. Though her wardrobe featured a lot of classic Chanel pieces, opting for American designers' numbers for her Parisian working wardrobe is clearly a bold statement.
Basic: Thinking Customer Is Always Right
The audiences cringed unanimously when Emily brought the American consumerist entitlement to a quaint Parisian restaurant just because she was too basic to learn enough about French cookery. When she sent her meal back even after the waiter insisted that it’s cooked right, and said, “The customer is always right,” most Americans probably did hang their head in shame.
Not only is this a very ungrateful concept but also insensitive, especially because French chefs take a lot of pride in their art. Sending a meal back is not wrong but she could have asked to speak to the chef, instead of acting like a bratty American tourist.
Trendsetter: Pairing Chanel Leather Right
It takes a real fashion maven to style Chanel leather in the right way, especially because it’s not meant to be paired along with the goth or biker chic memo, but in a more discerning way. Emily chooses a brave green fall jacket from Chanel and styles it in a really discerning and feminine way with a printed dress and a Chanel scarf.
It’s also important to note that she chose to wear leather at an uppity art gallery, so it was really crucial that she glams it up properly without coming off as too desperate, and Emily’s look came across as rather cosmopolitan even though she stuck to her personal signature style.
Basic: The Berets
Wearing berets just because you’re in Paris is totally early nineties and though most of the noughties fashion trends are making a comeback, this one really needs to be shelved.
A lot of Parisians had taken to social media to point out that regular working people do not wear berets in Paris, because not only are they impractical but also they’re just a concept Hollywood associates with Europeanism because the concept was born in South of France. Emily's French colleagues noticeably never wear berets at work, so why doesn’t she take a hint?