French Style!

[Party.in.Paris]

I remember this book the title was 'how french women don't get fat' or something like that, it had a international success, it was very popular.
They talked about it on french tv, and they interviewed a few americans and foreigners about their thoughts on french women. Their answers were so stereotypical it was funny. 'oh the french women are so classy, oh they have amazing bodies, your country have such an amazing culture that's why you don't get fat' and so on...

that's just an example.
But sometimes I read/hear incredible things about what people think of the french style and french women that it makes me wonder...

Why do people are obsessed about french style THAT much ?!
being french I should be proud, but since, to me, most of the things I read are more stereotypes and clichés... I can help but wondering why.

I think that the best ambassadors of french style are the french actresses. There is many young and talented french actresses with impeccable styles.
When people think about french style, they think about Audrey Tautou, Marion Cotillard, Clémence Poésy, and for the older actresses, Catherine Deneuve or Brigitte Bardot.
That might be one of the reason people are so obsessed.

A country like Italy, which is a fashion country with a beautiful culture, awesome designers, magical cities like Venice, Florence etc.. doesn't have many good ambassadors famous worldwide. I couldn't even name more than 3 young italian actresses.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it could be one of the reasons ?
I'd like to know why people love so much France, and French style

gasolinerainbow, when I talked about the european style. I meant that;

people usualy compare American and French outlook on fashion.
American style is more sophisticated and French style more effortless, and I thought that we could say that basicaly europeans (not only the french) were less sophisticated than americans. but after thinking it over, I agree about what you said

 

[Emilie]

Hello lovelies,
Has anyone heard of Les Petites? Their website has some cute pieces, very french, streetsyle.

www.lespetites.fr

 

[Les_Sucettes]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it could be one of the reasons ?
I'd like to know why people love so much France, and French style

gasolinerainbow, when I talked about the european style. I meant that;

people usualy compare American and French outlook on fashion.
American style is more sophisticated and French style more effortless, and I thought that we could say that basicaly europeans (not only the french) were less sophisticated than americans. but after thinking it over, I agree about what you said

You are totally right, and "french style" is indeed a total Continental European style, i understood perfectly what you meant.
This thread is nothing but stereotypes, and being born and having lived in several continental European countries, i can tell you that only when i got to England and started reading american sites, I've heard of this fascination with street french style. That idea, it's not part of the cultural stereotypes of continental europeans, as opposed to the sexiness of the Italians or the "coolness" of the english style. It's like the french style is the one everyone has.

 

[goldentouch]

Scanned by me, from glamour magazine.

Wow that's not true...Audrey Tautou smokes The clothes from lespetites.fr are very cute indeed!

 

[xing]

^^ Pardon me for dragging this up. Does that means that the "French" style isn't as obsessed over in Europe than the rest of the world because comparatively(to the English and Italians who have their own little niche), "French style" is ordinary, common even, in Europe?

 

[Clothes_Addict]

This is such a great thread!

The only thing I'd like to point out is that "French style" surely can mean numerous different looks? There's the high fashion women, i.e. the extremely polished, designer clad types who have meticulously organised wardrobes and plan their new pieces in advance, and then there's the more street-style French look, the women who prefer to look slightly bohemian and shop in charity shops, very rarely matching at all. And then I would assume there are many different styles in between.

I don't think "French Style" can be labeled or categorized as being one thing or another - it's how each French woman interprets her own style surely? And that's not so different to any other country.

 

[marya-a]

I dont think we can generalise but on the whole French women have always been known for having a chic and minimal approach to style, The Italians do glamour well while the British are known for their street style. Unfortunately we just sometimes have to stereotype

 

[Clothes_Addict]

British Vogue included their free catwalk report with the August issue, which had this feature in it - I thought it might appeal to anyone who hasn't seen it yet

Photo source: taken by me from Vogue August 2009 AW09 catwalk report

 

[Virginielle]

^Very cool. Happy Bastille Day, everyone.

 

[Underage]

I dont think we can generalise but on the whole French women have always been known for having a chic and minimal approach to style, The Italians do glamour well while the British are known for their street style. Unfortunately we just sometimes have to stereotype

Yeah, I'm guilty! I'm an American, so I don't know as much as the Europeans on here do about European style. All I know is the Europeans I know tend to be well-dressed, whether they're from Germany or Russia or Denmark or w/e.

 

[golightly89]

I love this thread I have just read it in it entirety and it has given me a lot of ideas and inspiration!

Just wondering whether somebody can help me - I am going to Paris this Christmas for the first time. I have recently purchased a pink coat very similar to this one from the Miss Dior Cherie campaign - same colour, fabric and length but with longer, cuffed sleeves and a different neckline. If I wore this in Paris would I be looked up and down and stick out as a tourist? I read in another thread that a "coloured" coat is an essential piece in a Frenchwoman's wardrobe - red was the example - but I don't know if that extends to fuschia
Please be honest as I want to look stylish, not garish! I have a classic black wool coat to take but it is not as pretty lol.
Thank you very much!

 

[Fleurnoir]

I love this thread I have just read it in it entirety and it has given me a lot of ideas and inspiration!

Just wondering whether somebody can help me - I am going to Paris this Christmas for the first time. I have recently purchased a pink coat very similar to this one from the Miss Dior Cherie campaign - same colour, fabric and length but with longer, cuffed sleeves and a different neckline. If I wore this in Paris would I be looked up and down and stick out as a tourist? I read in another thread that a "coloured" coat is an essential piece in a Frenchwoman's wardrobe - red was the example - but I don't know if that extends to fuschia
Please be honest as I want to look stylish, not garish! I have a classic black wool coat to take but it is not as pretty lol.
Thank you very much!

Personally I thing it'd be nice although I don't live in France and I'm not one who prefers bold and "playful" colours.It can really POP an outfit.

Now back on the topic of french style I usually associate it with this laidback,carefree feeling of being minimalistic and high fashion at the same time without looking like you've spent too much time thinking over it or having the too-perfect-plastic look.However at the same time you don't look like MK Olsen circa 2005 and the whole looking-like-a-hobo-thing.Also narrow stripes,berrets and scarves.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

Just wondering whether somebody can help me - I am going to Paris this Christmas for the first time. I have recently purchased a pink coat very similar to this one from the Miss Dior Cherie campaign - same colour, fabric and length but with longer, cuffed sleeves and a different neckline. If I wore this in Paris would I be looked up and down and stick out as a tourist? I read in another thread that a "coloured" coat is an essential piece in a Frenchwoman's wardrobe - red was the example - but I don't know if that extends to fuschia
Please be honest as I want to look stylish, not garish! I have a classic black wool coat to take but it is not as pretty lol.
Thank you very much!

Dress whatever you want, this idea of the french style is a myth.I wish someone would destroy all this stereotypes forever Unless you are going to the fashion week, people in Paris dress like everybody else in the world. You will find all types of people, all types of colours, horrible coats, nice coats, bright colours, dark colours. Do you have any idea how many "foreigners" live in Paris? I'm portuguese and portuguese, there is almost a million, I can't walk in Paris without bumping into my compatriots, and I can guarantee you, you will not find a high sense of fashion among them. And you would be hard pressed to point who is the true born parisian and the portuguese.
Like all latin speaking people, they are conservative and anything that goes out of the norm in terms of fashion is something for them that deserves to be stared at, not because they will see that person is a foreigner, but because for them it's simply weird, nothing to do with a high standard of style, but let's not exaggerate, fuschia is a perfectly "normal" colour.

 

[pucci_mama]

I was in Paris for two weeks, and I didn't see any bright colours... except on tourists.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

You have got to be kidding... Pucci.

 

[pucci_mama]

No, I have visited France with my family since I was a kid and bright colours in Paris really seem to be a big no, if we are talking about the Côte d'Azur now that is a completely different story.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

Pucci, I lived in Paris and I can guarantee you that you will find all sorts of colours. Just take a peak at any Parisian fashion blog or street style that is not fashion week and you will see people wearing all sorts of bright things. No one is denying that Paris is indeed a more conservative city if you compare it with London for example, but not bringing a jacket of a particular colour or having a special wardrobe because you are visiting Paris, to me is it's the oddest of things.

 

[sarahslug]

French style always makes me think of L'appartment and Monica Bellucci and Romane Bohringer running around in Mary-janes, tights and strappy floral dresses. Oh to have ample bosoms, slim waists and shapely thighs like some French women seem to have naturally. So unfair!

 

[serenade]

i've been in france since january and have observed that colours and bright prints are incredibly hard to find except in vintage stores or the cobbled alleys of toulouse.

eta; i'm an exchange student from australia, by the way. and i have heard off friends that i am pretty known in the college at the moment as the "australian girl with the quirky style", and have had students come up to me and ask if what i wear is considered "regular australian style" (not rudely though, but genuinely interested. it's fantastic being different from all the girls who seriously all look the same!). although, i am really prone to picking the strangest of pieces, even in oz... but i think that just makes me stick out even more, here!

 

[scara]

Mary-janes, tights and strappy floral dresses.

brilliant combination.
now all i need to do is find my nude mary-janes