When it comes to fashion, the French do have a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’? Neither cooler than cool like the London fashionista set nor hip like the New York crowd, it can initially be fascinatingly difficult to pinpoint just how France has such force in the fashion world.
Upon arrival in France, I was baffled as to how the French had acquired such an illustrious reputation for style and dress sense. To the novice eye, the French sense of style can be interpreted as sombre or even presumed boring - but how wrong could I have been? Seven months into my Erasmus year in France, I’m finally able to pinpoint exactly and precisely how the French get it just so damn right.
The immortal words of Coco Chanel, “fashion fades, only style remains the same”, seem to be a life mantra for all French females. Certainly not of the whimsical nature to be sucked in by faddy trends, French women unquestionably and intrinsically know how to look good in a unique way that solely they can achieve. The healthy, relaxed lifestyle and laid-back attitude in France really sets the scene for a feel-good atmosphere.
Surrounded and immersed in the uniformed costume of smart leather boots, dark skin-tight trousers and a beautifully knitted jumper it is literally impossible to dismiss the typical French woman. If you’re surrounded by a hoard of classic and oh-so popular Longchamp bags to boots, you’re almost certainly in France. In other words, there’s not an Ugg boot in sight, no one dresses ‘off-duty’ in velvet tracksuits, hair is coiffed to the max; natural and glamorous without a hint of a hair straighter.
Paris, the fashion capital, really does come into a world of its own in the dress stakes. The romanticised images of the beautifully screened city in on-screen favourites such as Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada are really truly achingly accurate. As Carrie Bradshaw floated on cloud nine in her Louboutin skyscrapers, the city sparkled and glimmered with rays of fashion indulgence and hope. By night it nonchalantly declared itself a veritable smorgasbord of social opportunities for the fashion-conscious cast of the Patricia Field styled set in The Devil Wears Prada.
Traditional, classic, untouchable and dreamy; Parisians are as Paris does. Whether it’s a quirky flea market, a stroll up the Champs Elysées towards the Arc De Triophme or a dash around the Galleries Lafayette you’re after, Paris has it all for the en vogue shopaholic. But on a last note beware: the French don’t do ‘fast value disposable fashion’- you really do get what you pay for. In France, you’re born into style and you buy for a lifetime’s quality.
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