Oh la la! It’s FiFi’s guide to French style. #BastilleDay

In celebration of Bastille Day on 14th July; it’s FiFi’s annual shopping guide to French style.

Whether you’re in St Tropez, Sydney or the Paris end of Collins st we all need a little Parisienne style .
And if you can’t get to France this year you may as well look a little French!
So voila; All fabulous chic pieces that every French woman .

The shopping list:

Scroll down for more !

The Jeans  Straight. Or wide leg. High waist. In a lighter wash. Anything but skinny ! Have you noticed your wide leg jeans look almost …straight now ? Your eye gets used to it. A dark wash and flares (!) are chic: ( I bought these ages ago and still so right: They’re tight I got size 42) can be more sophisticated when you’re out for dinner. In the Marais. Or Melbourne.

The White Shirt: 
Go for drama. It might have pockets. Big cuffs. Big sleeves. ( I have this one and I love it) A looser cut is cool. Anything with a fashion edge. Anything but a tight white boring shirt. I’m going to sleep just thinking about it ! Wear with jeans. Wear with chinos. With leather pants. Under a trench. Under a black blazer with jeans. Like this.

The slouchy sweater It works with everything. It might navy or cream or stripe. Loves a trench. Duh. Loves jeans and chinos and adores leather pants. Go big or go home. It’s nonchalant. Effortless.( No need to iron; always looks good). Mais oui.

 The Chinos What’s to love? They’re not jeans.  Or boring black pants. But just as casual. Just as versatile. They will lighten up your wardrobe. Go for a slouchy leg. They should be in cotton. These are fabulous. And so are these (on sale even better!) Wear with heels or sneakers. With pearls and sneakers. With a white tee. With a sequin tee. So French.
I have 10 pairs of camel pants. Just sayin.

 The stripe top  So Francais. Mon dieu ! So classic. A stripe is a print without it being a frumpy floral. Or pesky. (Which you will never find in any French wardrobe ). Make sure your stripe Tee is updated so it’s loose. All those tight little stripe tees that show your muffin , sorry croissant situation? Au revoir. Go for a stripe sweater ( I have this)
And wear it like a scarf as an accessory around your shoulders. If that isn’t French I don’t know what is!

The peacoat  It’s not a blazer and it’s not a coat. It’s a peacoat. It could be navy or black. Always double breasted. Generally sits over the bum . But shorter like this one is fabulous. You wear it over a white tee with jeans. With a neat knit. With chinos. With a pencil skirt. Can be good for winter into spring.  J’adore !

The blazer: You want taupe. And navy, bien sur. Black is always chic but only really good with jeans. Slouchy of course ( Do I have to even mention slouchy now?!) Single breasted. Or double breasted. Just make it oversized. Good sharp shoulders give it the French je ne sais quoi. It needs to look effortless. ( which is why slouchy is so right)( it can’t look like it’s an office blazer ) It must look like you’ve just thrown it on. Insouciant !

The Trench: It should be long, long, long and slouchy.  Taupe or beige. Double breasted. Toss it over everything from a pretty blouse at night for dinner to a stripe tee and jeans in the day. I have this one but lots to choose this season from luxe to less. It’s French dressing 101. Zut Alors: you know that. I say it every week!

The shoes: It’s about keeping it on the low down. Au revoir to those high stilettos. Dated. They never work on cobblestones in the Marais anyway. Loafers are de rigeur (adore these two tone loafers) And take your pick of ballet flats. Round toe or pointy. (I have these square toe: so comfortable !). They are part of the French girl uniform,  mais oui! Love these classic slip on sneakers  (Perfect for st Tropez)). Drool over  Chanel black toe sling back heels. The only heels you need. They look best with jeans or leather. Something ironic to dress them down. Zeez ees tres Française non?

The handbag: You want either a small chic cross body and/or a major tote. Nothing in between. Best in taupe, beige, camel or tan. The neutral colours really joosh up all your black, white and denim. But there is bien sure nothing wrong with black. Chic dot com.

Accessories: Love Aviators in brown, they go back with all your neutrals and are nicer than black. Oh and every French girl has to have a straw basket ,  a chic belt ( I have this reversible one : adore it) and a fabulous Hermes cuff bien sur, lots on Vestiare.

Get shopping on the links below and have a bon week xx