How To: Dress Like the French

January 09, 2018

How To: Dress Like the French

How To:

Dress Like the French

My favourite fashion sense of all cultures is certainly the style of the French women. The typical French women is neither too feminine or too boyish with her street style, she’s always a perfect mix of both which transforms a beautifully simple look into a sheer brilliant and sophisticated outfit. What I love so much about the Parisian style is that minimalism is key to perfecting a look – in today’s day & age, so much in this world projects a plastic, over-saturated existence which emphasizes that natural beauty is something to stray away from. The French women naturally displays a confident, sexy and undeniably ‘true to herself’ type of demeanor.

I will start with some very basic first steps to achieving this look:

Wash your hair, spray it with some tousle spray and sleep with it wet so that it dries naturally overnight
Wear a primer mixed with a radiant highlighter liquid with a small amount of concealer to hide anything you are conscious about. Finish your makeup look with a red/pink/burgundy lipstick which naturally draws attention to your lips and I usually try to avoid overdoing the mascara – less is best!
Outfit: Some brown ballerina flats, high wasted denim jeans & a basic white button down T-shirt completes your look!
Since the outfit is fairly basic in this case, I would personally either add a designer handbag OR a bright neck tie to add that pop of complication which finalises your french look!

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Parisian Rules of Fashion

A few of my favourite Parisian rules in fashion make a lot of sense to me, however many girls in this day and age don’t follow these guidelines and end up looking like they’ve just strolled out of a sleazy gentlemen’s club - this is purely because they don’t carry themselves the way truly elegant women do – remember, just because you have everything to show off doesn’t mean you need to show it all at the one time. If you’re wearing short tailored shorts with high heels that show a sexy amount of leg, try to wear a high necked basic T-shirt with a cute blazer; this way you are not displaying legs and cleavage at the same time as this is too much and can often look fairly trashy…. 😊…. Some more of my favourite Parisian rules of fashion include the following:

Only wear heels that you can walk in
Everything is best worn 'casually thrown together' to create the illusion that you didn't even try to be as cool as you are coming across
Collect vintage pieces that you can add to an otherwise basic & boring outfit
Tailored items are perfection
If you are adding bright and bold accessories, keep your outfit simple!
Always be nonchalant

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Parisian Literature

Simplicity really is the key to mastering the beautiful style of the French. If you want to know more about the Parisian love of fashion as well as how to dress with more of a European class, I personally would recommend buying the following literature listed below. These books delve into the smaller details of a French women’s style as well as where to go in Paris, what to eat, Fashion labels & portray an overall 'how to' of French Chic.

How to be Parisian by Anne Berest