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 Street 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 don’t you think ?
Voila : All fabulous tres chic pieces so you look a little nonchalant, liassez faire and élégante.
THE SHOPPING LIST:
The Jeans
Straight. Barrel or wide leg. Have you noticed your wide leg jeans look almost …straight now ? Your eye gets used to it. Denim jeans are pivotal to French style. Whatever style you choose denim jeans are pivotal to French style. A dark wash is chic: ( I bought these)( size 30) as they can be more sophisticated when you’re out for dinner. In the Marais. Or Melbourne. Love a straight leg like these ( I have them in size 29)( see below with white Tee). Such a a great cut thank you to JW Anderson at Uniqlo !
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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 ! Haha.
Wear with jeans. Wear with chinos. With leather pants. Under a trench. Under a black blazer with jeans. This is great. I like a collarless white shirt personally. Love this.
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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. Love Assembly label and this one at COS. Styling trick: wear two matching one as a scarf! My favorites are from the Frankie Shop on sale
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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. ( They say Barrel leg: I say cool) . And these are great too for a more narrow leg. And these for summer. 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. And they are ALL different !
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The stripe top :
So Francais. Mon dieu ! So classic. A stripe is a print without it being a frumpy floral. Or pesky print. (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 in winter. With chinos. This Tee is good, and love this. And these Tees at COS are always a great cut. Wear it like a scarf as an accessory around your shoulders. If that isn’t French I don’t know what is!
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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 . I am dreaming of this one. But this Zara one is fabulous. ( detachable fur scaf). Wear it over a knit or a white tee with jeans. With chinos. With a pencil skirt. Good for winter right into spring. J’adore ! Well, I have been writing about it for 12 years ! And just a few weeks ago : Plus ca change plus c’est la meme chose.
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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 ! This is great and love the cross over collar here. I bought it in the neutral: It’s so chic! And this brown one is great.
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The Trench: It should be long, long, long and slouchy. Though the just over the knee length ( car coat!) is coming back. I like it. You want taupe or beige. Double breasted or single. Toss it over everything from a pretty blouse at night for dinner to a stripe tee and jeans in the day. I but lots to choose this season. It’s French dressing 101. Zut Alors: you know that. I say it every week! Love this , want this… and this is great too on sale .
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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. And take your pick of ballet flats. Round toe or pointy. They are part of the French girl uniform, mais oui! 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.. 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, you can buy preowned at Farfetch.
Get shopping and have a weekend merveilleux ! X
