Tips please to help me look effortlessly chic French style...

[FanjolinaJolie]

I hope to create a capsule wardbode...

Other than navy and white striped Henley tops..

Scarf, yes or no. And what colour?? Large slouchy bag??

Any tips most gratefully appreciated.

Seriously I saw loads of overweight French woman, loads wearing bright prints...loads wear ill fitting cheap clothes - I'm convinced the whole French chic thing is a myth....

Exactly, Tallulah.

And why do French women fear being fat? Because French society is even more sexist than our own and women are judged even more harshly on their appearance.

Strike a blow for feminism. Be a total scruff.

Went to posh lunch last summer in S France and all the ladies wore beige or cream or off white, mainly skirts or dresses with one or two with a touch of navy. All had soft tans, all had swishy hair and not much jewelry, maybe one statement piece. I was wearing a bright blouse in a colour that suited me, cut off trousers and comfy sandals so looked a mess in comparison.

I agree with snowlie! in the expensive surburbs of any city the women are thin. Paris is no exception, but there's a bit of the emperor's clothing about French Women now.

thinness has a lot to do with social contagion. The higher the percentage of slim people in your own circle of acquaintance and in your own family is, the more likely you are to be slim yourself. It matters squat if 93% of the country has a bit of a tummy. If your own mother is still slim, if NONE Of your sisters are overweight, if NONE of your friends put on an ounce, and if your husband is as lean as a whippet then you are statistically more likely to be thin. Study done by MA university, not sure which.

So we do have more control over our weight than we think we do. All the time we hear that we're cave men moved in to the supermarket, defenceless against all those carbs. But clearly if we care enough we can find aduki beans and all bran.

I understand why people want to emulate Parisian chic however there is much to be said for our glorious British style and eccentricity. Much less sneery I think.

no vile white stuff shit

and dont be fat

Agree that essentially you are talking about Parisian style. Believe me, the women doing their weekly shop in the local Cora in Evian are generally far from chic.

I love the style you are looking for but for me I prefer Isabel Marant's take on style. She has made a pretty penny from paisley & block print confections, together with gorgeous coloured knits. She does work the classics into her collections but she has a more relaxed bohemian style.

Yes there's that whole left bank style thing going on. Marant and slouchy bags and more relaxed. You can do that too.

Simple, well made stuff and on trend accessories.

Although Isabel Marant craps on that theory since everything she sells is covered in frills and flounces and just ... frilly shit.

X post Marsha

Ha

you have to admit that marant is a genius, her designs are trendy but they dont expire ,a marant jacket from winter 2011 still looks like its this season must have,and it will still look good next year,detto bruno and zadig et voltaire they are the "new" classics,

She is a great designer. Very nice stuff.

I want to love her. I like the trainers. But when I look at the ensemble as a whole I just think 'people, the emporor is wearing a ra-ra skirt'.

msbouvier i bought the trainers and returned them last year,as dh said they resemble babies pre-walkers shoes! and i think im over them now,
but its the look that she created that i like,its very "her" as apposed to some designers who have direction at all,

sorry that was no direction at all.

I think Ash owe an awful lot to her...

Go to Limoge or the Charente - they cannot dress for toffee. I have never been so disappointed in my entire life. Shit henna hair, house coat and a fag seem to be the order of the day.

the truth will never be known msbouvier! ,also i noticed that most french women who emulate the marant look,are after her jenny and dicker boots and the animal print heels,hardly the trainers,

Not too much of anything,thin and smoking

I agree that Paris (and Cote d'Azur) are v. stylish but where I went this summer (rural, west) was shocking! Lots of polyester, loud prints, too-tight clothes, badly dyed hair and lots of tattoos. The Brits in Boden etc looked nicer.

I think that what we think of as classic French style isn't actually what a lot of French women are wearing. When I go to France I rarely buy shoes or clothes because they look so French in a way that would be totally ridiculous here. Think lots of shiny fabrics, weird shoes with turned up toes and asymmetric hems. The French (in my experience) are obsesssed with asymmetric hems.

Much better to do a nod to French style with Breton tops and slim chinos etc.

But yes, a well worn long scarf will help and a very good leather handbag, preferably in grain leather in some not too shocking colour. I have hundreds of tan handbags, because you can't seem to go wrong with tan.

They also like cobweb knots. Big horrible cobweb cardigans

I'm hearing the cobweb cardies and asymmetrical hems and it sounds like Melbourne.

DD said loads of her teachers dress like this and look like extras from Lord of the Rings.

:o

I watched 'Now you See me' last night, the French actress in that was very French chic I think, loved her bootcut trouser suit.

Also see Julie Delpy in 'Before Sunset'

And www.thesartorialist.com