French Style!

[beauxgoris]

For those that visit often or live in France how popular are Goyard bags? I like that they're more unknown in the USA and was thinking of purchasing one on my next visit - just wondering if you see them on actual French women?

 

[Overdrive]

Dress whatever you want, this idea of the french style is a myth.I wish someone would destroy all this stereotypes forever.

I disagree on this, I think it depends where you are in Paris, there are places with lots and lots of tourists but if you go to le marais for exemple you will see mostly stylish bobo parisians. Another exemple, if you go to saint germain des prés you will see a lot of little girls with their vuitton bags etc. Obviously if you go to les champs élysées or la tour eiffel you don't really have to bother about your style as 99% are tourists.

Of course you will see all kinds of people everywhere, but there are some places you've more chances to find some kind of people.

 

[Overdrive]

For those that visit often or live in France how popular are Goyard bags?

not very popular, I would even say barely unknown for people under 40...

 

[BerlinRocks]

I disagree on this, I think it depends where you are in Paris, there are places with lots and lots of tourists but if you go to le marais for exemple you will see mostly stylish bobo parisians. Another exemple, if you go to saint germain des prés you will see a lot of little girls with their vuitton bags etc. Obviously if you go to les champs élysées or la tour eiffel you don't really have to bother about your style as 99% are tourists.

Of course you will see all kinds of people everywhere, but there are some places you've more chances to find some kind of people.

that's true that Le Marais is empty of tourists ....

kidding, right ? ...

I don't live in Paris anymore but I've grown up in the 7th and in the suburb ...
The myth of parisian woman is not really dead on this side of Paris ... IMO !
Where the 'real' parisians live (lol) ...

the rest of Paris is full of hype-fashion-people (Le Marais etc.), full of tourists (Paris in general) and provincials of course (young french people coming to Paris to work ... they are sincerely the worst ! either too candid either too arrogant - because they think we parisians are cold and arrogant ! but this is how we are, we don't play it ! in our heart we are lovely if we like you !) ...

anyway ...
for 'mature' woman my advice is wear a pair of dark blue jeans, a pair of tods, a white shirt (two button opened), red lip stick, tiny diamonds earings, a bracelet and a slvr watch, a grey cardigan and a caramel suede jacket ...
that's how my aunt was dressed yesterday when she visited me ... and i thought she looked pretty casual chic ...

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!

If you want me to be honest, I would say "f*** them !" ...
You love this coat ? Then you'll look confident in it !
it's true black, grey, blue marine, and white are the official colours ...

but ... isn't this girl supposed to represent paris young ladies - according to Sofia Coppola ?

anyway people will stare at you no matter what !
people will say 'oh look how stupid she looks' even if the day after they are dressed like you !

i can't explain what french is ... but we are complicated !

not very popular, I would even say barely unknown for people under 40...

where i do live now ... i see them more and more ... especially in the young adults (20-30yrs old)
and in paris, too !

 

[BerlinRocks]

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.

A M E N !

 

[ElleLesley]

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.

I would hope not, I think if anything it's a certain stereotype anyone can toy around and as a cliche, the rich Parisian (born and raised) with her effortless effect of fashion while looking glamorous, not showy is something people can not necessarily relate to but feel good about, it's an comforting idea.

That said, I realize this doesn't stand true to its word from what I'm reading on this thread but it's a rather nice stereotype isn't it? A lot of girls and men, maybe even including myself, take that certain cliche and adapt it towards their own wardrobe; the chic, never over done allure, the Paris it-girl in one seance of the word. You would have to wounder where fashion would be now if it were never exposed as it is like today.

 

[Overdrive]

that's true that Le Marais is empty of tourists ....

kidding, right ? ...

I'm sorry I never said that you're changing my words, I said there are more stylish bobo-like people here. You can't say I'm wrong I know were I live. But I never said you will not see any tourists here either! Thanks god tourists are allowed!

And yes some places are more frequented by some types of people like in every city, and that's why Paris has so many aspects.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

I disagree on this, I think it depends where you are in Paris, there are places with lots and lots of tourists but if you go to le marais for exemple you will see mostly stylish bobo parisians. Another exemple, if you go to saint germain des prés you will see a lot of little girls with their vuitton bags etc. Obviously if you go to les champs élysées or la tour eiffel you don't really have to bother about your style as 99% are tourists.

Of course you will see all kinds of people everywhere, but there are some places you've more chances to find some kind of people.

Well I consider the Marais the tourist vortex, and yes I see a certain kind of poser in the Marais, the same as if you go to Shoreditch here in London you see a certain kind hipster that makes normal londoners vomit. I agree that everywhere you go in the world, depending how affluent the area is, the access to certain things, their old residents, has a particular vibe. But that does not mean everyone else is an outsider.
I've seen all types of people in Saint Germain, all types of french people, horribly dressed french people. It does not make them less part of the city or the area. They may not set the tone of certain areas but they are certainly part of it.

Does that mean that you need a particular wardrobe to fit a certain city, a huge city like Paris? That you will consider leaving your favourite coat at home because you actually believe people walk in Paris like they came from the set of Jules and Jim? That you can't wear colour? To me that's simply mad.

All of this just reminds me of the disappointment of some americans when they find out that Notting Hill, bears no resemblance to the movie, yes it's the "homeland" of the most outrageously posh people, posh shops, posh restaurants, but it also has a very colourful and Huge Jamaican community and no shortage of council estates.The Notting Hill carnaval is the biggest in the city. i still wonder how they managed to make a movie In London, and in In Notting hill particularly, where absolutely everyone was white. But that's stereotyping for you and in this case maybe racism.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I would hope not, I think if anything it's a certain stereotype anyone can toy around and as a cliche, the rich Parisian (born and raised) with her effortless effect of fashion while looking glamorous, not showy is something people can not necessarily relate to but feel good about, it's an comforting idea.

That said, I realize this doesn't stand true to its word from what I'm reading on this thread but it's a rather nice stereotype isn't it? A lot of girls and men, maybe even including myself, take that certain cliche and adapt it towards their own wardrobe; the chic, never over done allure, the Paris it-girl in one seance of the word. You would have to wounder where fashion would be now if it were never exposed as it is like today.

Fairy tales and myths are charming to be sure, but there's something to be said for reality

 

[Overdrive]

Well I consider the Marais the tourist vortex, and yes I see a certain kind of poser in the Marais, the same as if you go to Shoreditch here in London you see a certain kind hipster that makes normal londoners vomit. I agree that everywhere you go in the world, depending how affluent the area is, the access to certain things, their old residents, has a particular vibe. But that does not mean everyone else is an outsider.

I've seen all types of people in Saint Germain, all types of french people, horribly dressed french people. It does not make them less part of the city or the area. They may not set the tone of certain areas but they are certainly part of it.

Does that mean that you need a particular wardrobe to fit a certain city, a huge city like Paris? That you will consider leaving your favourite coat at home because you actually believe people walk in Paris like they came from the set of Jules and Jim? That you can't wear colour? To me that's simply mad.

My point exactly.

I said that of course there are all kind of people everywhere, it's obvious, I just said in some places you have more chances to see some kind of people. I know I'm repeating myself but It's probably because I don't have enough english vocabulary to express myself clearly. I never said there was no tourists in le marais, never ever, but as a matter of fact, people seem to be in a more bobo/stylish way of dressing. Just a fact. Not meaning you won't see sylish people everywhere else in Paris. Please stop all the stigma.

As for the coat, of course you should wear it if you like it !

 

[beauxgoris]

I think the myth of "french style" has to do more with the history of French haute couture and how 75 - years ago it was the French ahead of everyone. Because of this we (not in Paris) developed a regard for their fashion sense and it became second nature that "french women were stylish"... etc.

Now I think wonderful fashion can be found in many major world cities. I love the Sartorialists blog - some of my favorite people are from NYC or in Italy, not always in Paris. You can see the same cutting edge fashionable woman in New York and then see another version of her in Paris.

jmo

 

[fashionista-ta]

bump for merging

 

[gius]

i heard something from my instructor.. she said historically france was not up there in fashion and in cuisine, like it is known for nowadays. they didn't have anything, it was a poor country. it was later on during a period the russian royalty/high classes immigrated, to escape (the war i believe).. and they had brought with them their tailors, their chefs...

she said some more things but my memory's failing me

 

[golightly89]

Thank you for all your help!
Just to clarify, it's not that I would change my wardrobe for Paris, it's just that I am not away for long and I am only taking one coat so I wanted some help choosing which one. I will take the pink one and I will probably buy one in London too before I go to Paris. It is hard to find a proper warm coat here in Australia lol.
I love the idea of the stylish Parisienne but of course that is only a facet of Parisienne culture.

 

[tiffany]

i heard something from my instructor.. she said historically france was not up there in fashion and in cuisine, like it is known for nowadays. they didn't have anything, it was a poor country. it was later on during a period the russian royalty/high classes immigrated, to escape (the war i believe).. and they had brought with them their tailors, their chefs...

she said some more things but my memory's failing me

I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but I think there was barely a period in history following, say the French Renaissance and after that, when French fashions were not considered 'trend setting' by the rest of Europe. The 18th century Russian court of Catherine II, in terms of fashion, was heavily influenced by France - the "Empire line" dress style was heavily influential in Regency England (and throughout Europe), etc.

I'm not saying that the cultivation of the French image as the pinnacle of fashion was not a deliberate phenomenon, but I think it has quite a long history, certainly several centuries

 

[ATM1985]

^ If I remember correctly, it had to do with Louis XII...? (I could be wrong on which Louis), but I remember there was a deliberate movement in the royal court to make France known as "elegant" to the rest of Europe and a lot of emphasis was placed on elaborate clothing, food, and decorations. Everything hung together in an attempt to make France more elegant than Holland, I believe. If I'm remembering the country correctly, they were the fashion powerhouse before France began cultivating its reputation. But Tiffany is right, it's definitely a reputation that took quite some time to take hold.

I read a book on the whole subject of this from the library a while ago....Ok, with the help of Amazon, it's called The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour by Joan DeJean. And it was Louis XIV, which makes much more sense with his reputation for decadence than Louis XII.

 

[FashionST]

Wow. I read through all 54 pages; on my phone. I have to say, I have become quite in love with the French, their style and way of life; whether cliche or not, I find it inspiring and influencing. I have pages of notes and quotes I gave taken from reading this thread and many others. One day I hope to go to france and experience this all for myself. I've always been drawn to The cliche Parisian fashion, and I love learning more about it.

 

[Mignonne]

i love the style and the life in France very very much! Im a big Fan!

 

[ahomeforghosts]

I'm not trying to abide by step number 10, "Be rude as hell" from 10 Easy Steps to Parisian Chic when I say I hate number 9 which states that you should love skins. "Think mink, think fox!" That's unfortunate...

 

[Underage]

^ Agreed. That is unfortunate. Love animals, not their skin.