French Style!

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I do agree about what CielDeLit wrote on a previous page.

I used to live in Paris, now I am based in Edinburgh and when reading the British press always praising these oh so la la je ne sais qua French girls it still surprises me. Like they were not able to appreciate the style of their own women! :doh:

I went to Paris couple of weeks ago after a year break and I must say I was not overwhelmed by the style there - and one kind of expects the place to ooze with it! I was able to see maybe a single girl whose style I liked - in a day! When in London my eyes are on sticks most of the time.

I am not a teenager anymore so I am able to appreciate good quality of design, people who know how to filter trends so that they look good in their own clothes and in Paris everything was overpriced (for the quality of design - I am talking here about all these independent brands type Zadig, Sandro etc. which are all the rage in UK) while people were wearing boring styles, very conservative. Maybe I got used to the British freedom ( B) which sometimes can be a bit much too) but I definitely started to appreciate the style of people in the place where I live. Parisians were too conservative for me in their sartorial choices.

Sorry for such a long rant but I got for Christmas the Posy Simmond's Emma Bovery comic novel and there as well, the title character goes on a smimmilar rant about the French :lol:
 
I don't really understand 'french style.' Imo it's a myth, as when I was in Paris, the average French woman wasn't particularly well dressed. No more than any other woman in my own country for example.

but anyway, i thought i'd archive this article haha
smh.com.au
Drooling over the outlandish couture creations on the catwalk in Paris this week but don't possess the bank balance of a Jordanian princess? You can still inject some French flavour into your wardrobe, says Chantal Blanchet, the owner of Chantal B, a boutique devoted to bringing a touch of Paris to Paddington.

Inspired by Yves Saint Laurent, Coco Chanel, John Galliano and others, Blanchet pursued a fashion degree and worked for Nina Ricci and Andre Courreges in Paris before opening her Sydney store.

"Consider yourself a work of art. The secret to exuding the charm and confidence of the French women is attitude; the clothes are just there to help," she says.

Advertisement: Story continues below
To channel impossibly chic Parisian style icons du jour - think Vanessa Paradis, Audrey Tautou and Marion

Cotillard - commit these tips to memory.

1. Dress well every day and buy one or two key items of the best quality you can afford each season. Go for classics such as a tailored jacket, a Breton boat-neck navy-and-white striped T-shirt, a classic shift, shirt dress or linen trousers.

2. Mix affordable fashion trends with investment pieces - a casual T-shirt with a classic trench is effortlessly French.

3. Invest in a few signature pieces of jewellery, such as a string of pearls or earrings, an oversized bangle or a cuff, to give your outfit a French edge.

4. Buy quality shoes; French women never wear cheap shoes. Every French wardrobe requires classic ballet flats.

5. Wear a beautiful (silk) scarf all year to make like a Parisian. Or tie one on your handbag.

6. Adopt a sense of dress-ups. French women are not afraid to be daring with clashing colours, accessories and vintage pieces (a la Paradis).

7. Embrace your age: French women see growing older as a privilege that means you can dress as you like.

8. Wear beautiful, comfortable underwear, always. French, naturally.

9. Organise your wardrobe efficiently and take photographs of different outfits that can be mixed and matched.

10. Good grooming is essential. Style your hair (try a Tautou up-do), always wear lipstick and take Coco Chanel's lead and never leave the house without fragrance.
Click to expand...
 
I'm French and most of the points above are bollocks, so cliché. I can only talk about Paris and there's a bit of everything, quite a lot of well dressed people ( according to my taste, which is rather minimal and classic with a twist), not well-dressed people, but at least not a lot of tacky/vulgar ones. If there exists an archetype of french style it's mostly about not being too much, not too showy or flashy, nothing more.

But overall the idea of a french style, american style, italian style, etc... is such a generalization and a pigeonhole. Besides, in today's globalized world where we basically wear the same brands, go to the same websites, differences keep waning.
 
maybe all this craze about "french style" comes from french celebrities...
for example, catherine deneuve, ines de la fressange, romy schneider - they were always so elegant and chic.
and now, all these Vogue girls like Emmanuelle, Geraldine + Carine & Julia Roitfeld... we have also Audrey Tautou, Elisa Sednaoui, Marion Cotillard... and more, and more.

i've been to Paris so i agree with you guys that these girls aren't always that chic as we think, but we must remember that in Paris there are lot of tourists, too.

and these women that i mentioned are always effortless chic, have great classic, well-tailored clothes, minimal make up & hair emphasizing their natural beauty... so maybe this is the essence of "parisian chic" myth?
 
^I think so. I really, really love Clemence Poesy whom I think has such a chic, chic style but it's probably not as much French as she just always look effortlessly chic.
 
Inès de la Fressange, "the ultimate persofination of the french style", has just come out with a book about it: Parisian Chic, a guide to style...
 
^I read about it but the reviews put me off buying it.
 
advo said:
^I read about it but the reviews put me off buying it.
Click to expand...

Me too. I was excited about the Parisian Chic book, but it apparently contains general information about clothing and skin care and nothing specific about Ines' personal style.
 
CielDeLit said:
But overall the idea of a french style, american style, italian style, etc... is such a generalization and a pigeonhole. Besides, in today's globalized world where we basically wear the same brands, go to the same websites, differences keep waning.
Click to expand...

i mostly agree with this...
the differences have become more subtle perhaps because of this...
but...
i can still walk down the street in nyc and spot an italian tourist or a french one...
or someone from LA...

some differences definitely remain...
:P
 
JunyaSchick said:
Inès de la Fressange, "the ultimate persofination of the french style", has just come out with a book about it: Parisian Chic, a guide to style...
Click to expand...

It's not very good. There's very little on real style - most of it is a list of places to shop or eat in France. I was also unimpressed with some of the fashion "don't"s she listed. It was very light on substance and a rehash of the generic have a little black dress, a leather jacket, good jeans, etc. that we hear all the time. Very disappointing.
 
^Sure.

  • No pencil skirts with heels (wear ballet flats).
  • No pearl necklace with a simple shift dress (wear it with a "rock and roll" tshirt).
  • No chiffon print dresses with ballet flats (wear biker boots).
  • Don't wear navy blue and yellow together.
  • Don't wear earrings and a necklace at the same time, you can only have one.
  • Women over 40 should not wear fur.
  • No leggings.

I think all these things are debatable and really vary by person - no navy and yellow for anyone, ever? :huh:

Only 65 pages of the 235 page book actually covers fashion - the rest is just pages to eat, shop, visit, and stay. Had I known how little content was in it, I wouldn't have purchased it. Very disappointing.
 
^Some of those don't's are downright silly (esp. the one about not wearing navy blue with yellow).
Posted via Mobile Device
 
ATM1985 said:
^Sure.

  • No pencil skirts with heels (wear ballet flats).
  • No pearl necklace with a simple shift dress (wear it with a "rock and roll" tshirt).
  • No chiffon print dresses with ballet flats (wear biker boots).
  • Don't wear navy blue and yellow together.
  • Don't wear earrings and a necklace at the same time, you can only have one.
  • Women over 40 should not wear fur.
  • No leggings.
Click to expand...

No navy blue with yellow??? Hmmmm...... Okay, I won't buy it :P Can anyone tell me what is wrong with navy blue and yellow???
 
^ She says it will make you look too much like Ikea. I think that's rubbish.

Her do's are just as lackluster - she's got a fetish for white jeans. Her recommendations are the standards: good jeans, leather jacket, little black dress, a blazer, etc. It brings to mind Nina Garcia's books, but Garcia's are much more explanatory. There's very little text on the pages - there's a lot of doodles by Ines that I suppose are supposed to be "fun", and a lot of pictures, but the clothes are very plain. While they do capture some of the French street style I've seen, I think the Sartorialist is better at giving a general idea of Parisian street style.

I think she was going for a sense of easy, natural style, but the book was underwhelming.
 
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