Je ne sais quoi (and you don't either)

hi girls! we have quite a number of new faces here. I just want to say MERCI BEAUCOUP for the receptiveness and sensitivity to my last Substack, the serious police. I love each one of you&& am sending goodies and hugs your way this summer. thank you for being here.

I took French for ten years. Dix ans. Meaning I have spent a CONCERNING amount of time conjugating verbs and memorizing gendered articles so that I could one day tell you, with some ounce of authority, that je ne sais quoi translates to I don’t know what. Arguably the most sought over quality in culture. Fashion, design, and the internet’s general aesthetic vocabulary is (at its grammatical core) an admission of not knowing. A confident shrug. Am I allowed to say we’re completely missing the mark?