Late nineteenth-century Louisiana writers Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Grace King are traditionally associated with the local color and regionalist movements for their portrayal of New Orleans Creoles. They sought to capture the genuine essence of local life by representing what makes Louisiana unique. They accomplished this by infusing their writings with distinctive elements of the region and instilling a sense of French culture—or “Frenchness”—through the use of names, settings, and language. This article examines the techniques employed by Dunbar-Nelson and King in three short stories to evoke a sense of Frenchness, while also analyzing the purpose behind this portrayal—whether it serves as an exotic depiction of Louisiana designed to captivate outside readers or as an authentic representation of reality. The paper will also demonstrate how preconceptions about Frenchness enable authors to explore themes of female desire and pleasure—topics that would have been considered improper within the constraints of nineteenth-century societal norms and conventions.