People used to say that Frenchwomen were more chic than their English counterparts. They had a sense of style, teamed colours more effectively and used perfume with confidence. Is this true?

Having travelled in France on and off for 50 years, I don't think the generalisation was ever true. Maybe La Parisienne was chic but not her country cousins. I've seen elderly widows dressed in black and country women standing chatting at their doors in flowery housecoats.

Now, I'm going people watching in Lot-et-Garonne, and I'll note what women are wearing. The first thing I notice is there aren't many people, male or female, who are grossly obese. Back at home in England, I see women with roll after roll of fat round their bodies. That worries me, especially when the women have little children with them. What, I ask myself, do they feed the kids? And are the mothers going to live to see the kids grow up?

As I go round the supermarket, I realise there are two factors that complicate the issue of dress: money and ethnic origin. As far as money is concerned, Lot-et-Garonne is a rural area and many people don't have much to spend on clothes. In previous ages, you could judge people's class by their clothes. However, class boundaries have moved and broken, and you can't tell much about occupation or wealth when many people wear jeans. Nevertheless, I think the clients of Auchan are less well-dressed that those of Le Clerc.

As for ethnic origin, there are communities here who are not French. The most obvious are the North Africans, called Maghrébins, who are mostly Moslems. The women wear long dresses or trousers and hijabs. The other group is British and they are harder to recognise until they speak. That man, for example, wearing a top with boldly coloured horizontal stripes and long shorts: is he English?

On my shopping trip to LeClerc, I notice some snappy dressers. A young woman teams tight black jeans with a black blouse with lacy sleeves. An older woman is flamboyant in a red trouser suit and blue blouse with white lacy collar. An elderly woman has a plum-coloured jacket and a floaty skirt of the same colour. Apart from a preference for trousers for everyday activities, one thing I notice is that several women wear scarves as ornament. For example, a middle-aged woman wears a black fleece with a grey snake-skin print scarf, black jeans and black boots. A young woman wears a big multi-colour scarf over a cream top and denim jeans.

I don't see anyone who is really scruffy. The nearest is a woman who wears an olive fleece, faded jeans and walking boots that look wet. Of course, I don't know her circumstances: she could be in the middle of a walking holiday. The other scruffy woman wears brown trousers that need pressing and a brown jersey that might have a few stains on it. That's me and I'm English but my excuse is I'm on holiday and don't have many clothes with me. That's the problem with generalisations- they tell you nothing about individuals.