Love or hate Emily in Paris, it’s got us lusting after Parisian style in our decidedly un-Parisian lives.
It’s interesting seeing the contrast between Mindy and Emily to Camille and Sylvie. The former two characters are colourful and playful in their personal style, while in my opinion the latter two characters are the true fashion MVPs of this show. Why? It’s that quiet Parisian effortlessness that makes French Girl style so converted and emulated by fashion girls across the globe.
My favourite part of French Girl style is that its not a high maintenance stying choice. Its based on basics and minimalism, and lends itself well to the philosophy of building a timeless and hardworking wardrobe that we are obsessed with on this page.
So how do you inject some more je ne sais quoi into your everyday look? I have broken it down into five key principles
The Classics on Repeat
The French Girl style is all about the classic wardrobe items, but giving them a spin with interesting details.
Details such as an elevated button or interesting lapel are subtle ways to show your personal style without going too wide with your wardrobe. Every item is carefully considered and there is definitely a philosophy of quality over quantity.
Look for those quality classic pieces
Less is Always More
French girls never want to look like they are trying too hard, even if they did take as much time as anyone to get ready. Its all about a quiet glamour and effortless look that makes us try to emulate the french girl style time and time again.
Their makeup is pretty and natural with a focus on good skincare- no false lashes or heavy contouring. I have even noticed the presence of a push up bra is rare. Necklines are higher and more understated, and when there is more décolletage on show, it is often a look adopted by more smaller breasted women. It’s that departure from obvious beauty that makes this look so alluring.
On hair, I recently watched a Youtube tutorial with a french hair stylist and french blogger showing how to achieve french girl waves. In the video they laughed and said they call waves “English waves”, where in the rest of the world we call them “french waves”.
There is certainly a distinction though in my opinion. Across Australia, the US, the UK, I feel like waving your hair is akin to a Kate Middleton blow dry- its bouncy and big and full of movement. French waves are far more undone and as with their makeup, somehow look like they woke up with incredible hair and haven’t gone to great lengths of effort to achieve this look.
Finally we are all familiar with the famous quote from Gabrielle Chanel “Before leaving the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”, Chanel was obviously a French woman and had a thing or two to say about style.
I always interpret this quote to refer to accessories. French girls will often wear minimal or dainty accessories and occasionally a statement earring to set off their classic pared back outfit. Avoid the temptation to over accessorise when opting into this aesthetic.
High Heels
I always find it so interesting that high heels are considered such a “glamour item” (think Carrie Bradshaw fabulous), but it is not something that is common in the French Girl style. Simple white trainers or a chic flat are usually the shoes of choice for the french girl, or if a heel is added into the mix, it’s often a practical chunky block heel on a boot or an open toe shoe for evening. Again, its going back to that understated elegance.
In my research it has come up that this is mainly due to the uneven cobblestones in Paris. Opting for a beautiful stiletto and mistepping, will surely result in a broken ankle, and there is nothing chic about a medical moon boot.
Blazers for the Win
Blazers are a key item in any French Girl wardrobe for creating that effortless aesthetic. A good blazer can instantly elevate a simple jeans and a tee outfit to look more polished and intentional without looking like you have tried too hard.
To emulate this aesthetic, always opt for a more oversized style. Shorter blazers with highly tailored waists are beautiful but don’t lend themselves well to this look.
Instead look for slightly longer styles, ideally ones that cover your butt. Even if a blazer is oversized, as long as you make sure the shoulder seams align with your own shoulders, you will never look like you are drowning in fabric.
Black is obviously a wardrobe staple, but once you feel more confident with this wardrobe piece, consider some other colourways such as cream, khaki or a pinstripe to widen your options.
Elevating your Look is about Style not Brands
French girls are not flashy. You will rarely see logo emblazoned outfits which are typically seen as a status symbol in other countries. No obvious branding to be seen here- its considered gauche and does not lend itself to looking effortless.
Instead, the French Girl aesthetic centres more around a quiet luxury. Whether the piece is high end or high street, the quality is always there and the fit, impeccable.
To incorporate this into your own style (even at high street level) become obsessed with fabric and fit.
For fabric, look for fabrics which look high quality (even if they aren’t). You are looking about how that fabric drapes, whether the weight is substantial and how easily it crushes. One other key giveaway for a low quality fabric is shine. When a matte quality fabric has an inexplicable sheen- you know right there that its not the one.
Another tell tale sign of a low quality fabric is checking the seams on the outside of the garment. If the seams are pulling and puckering its a sign that the garment has not been well made and that the fabric probably isn’t the best quality either. Put the item down and back away immediately.
In terms of fit, the key places to check are shoulders, sleeve length, waist and hemline. Its always worth the relatively low investment to seek out a tailor to tweak your pieces to make them perfect for you. A good tailored fit gives the garment an elevated, bespoke look, and no one would guess it was actually from Zara.
So these are my style secrets to adopting French Girl style into your everyday look. I would love for you to let me know which points resonated with you the most, and which you are going to incorporate to change up your current personal style.
For more French Girl Style content, check out my post on the Five Piece French Girl Wardrobe, or for those who love a pretty pic, I have put together a mood board over on Pinterest
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