James, who closely studied the fashion habits of French women while in Paris, discovered one secret: having clothes adjusted so they fit the wearer as perfectly as possible. "Take a look down any street in Paris and you'll almost certainly see a sign for a tailor," she wrote. "That's because it is routine to take new clothing to the tailor and have it fitted. I once had a French academic look at me as if I were out of my mind when I confessed to entering a tailor's shop only if a hem dragged behind me like a Renaissance cape."
