The Birman is the cat for those who want a medium cat, a playful, but not wild, affectionate, but not tiring, self-assured, but not aggressive, and chatty, but not hysterical kitty. In short, the Birman is hard not to love, when you've first met one.
When it comes to appearance, the medium must give way to beauty. The Birman is medium large with short and powerful legs and Himalayan markings (ears, legs, tails and face in the same color). The body color must be in harmony with the mask color and evenly colored.
The head must be heart-shaped with a slightly concave nose, and the eyes must always be as blue as possible and almost round  to slightly oval. These deep blue eyes along with the dazzlingly white paws ("the socks") are probably the most characteristic features of the Birman.
The socks must be even, always white and on the back of the hind paws they must end in a pointed wedge.
The fur is semi-long and shorter on the body and in the face, but with a proper collar around the neck and a abundantly shaggy and feather-shaped tail. The undercoat is practically not-existing and thus the cat is not so demanding in fur care. Older cats may, however, begin developing an undercoat, and they will therefore need a little more brushing.

These pictures show socks and wedges of show quality