I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.

[TossDaily]

So there.

EVERYBODY looked fantastic. EVERYBODY. DP and I just sat open-mouthed in fascination. Whatever their age, they looked amazing.

So I'm sitting here on a diet, wearing an Isabel Marant jumper and frantically googling 'How to turn French.'

As far as I can tell, the rules are:

1. Be thin, despite the fact you are walking down the street at 11am gnawing a cheese and ham baguette the length of your forearm.

1. Have your hair the colour and texture of natural hair.

1. Have the most amazing skin, despite the fact you have a permanent Gauloise on the go.

1. Never get pissed and lairy, despite the fact you are having a glass of red wine with your lunch and it's Tuesday.

1. Wear shoes you can walk in.

1. Have an amazing coat.

1. Know how to tie a scarf so it looks like you have slung it on and it's just choosing to snuggle up to you because you are SO FRICKING GORGEOUS.

1. Have a pharmacy on every corner that is just an Aladdin's Cave of miraculous skincare delights for less than a tenner each.

Anyone else have any tips? Joking aside, I loved the style - the shops, ohmigod the shops! It was like I'd walked into my internet shopping history.

I could actually walk around in my biker jacket without feeling like a twat.

I want to be French. Aidez-moi.

You've created an amazing resource here botemp. Thank you. I'm not getting much further than the scarf atm. I wish they did the Tuva in a true red or navy.

Awesome stuff botemp

botemp thank you so much for these great insights. You are as great on style as you are on skincare!

Ah love this thread! Just reading it is making me up my game and try to be more poised!

I'm coming a bit late to the thread but I wanted to add what I've noticed about the style from living in Europe.

• Shoes - I had a French boyfriend who said you could always spot when someone was British because no matter how well dressed they were their shoes were scruffy and let them down.

(But is that because we like to look relaxed and not try-to-hard?) But I have to say I wince when I go into London and see all the 20-something office workers in cheap nasty and broken shoes.

The admittedly older French women I know seem to value themselves and their feet so much more in smart, comfortable, flat & expensive shoes

• taking care of clothes- my French friends have never worn an obvious branded label, or even tried to follow fashion. But the overwhelming feeling I get when I'm with them is that they really seem to care for their clothes- and value them so much more. I can't imagine them crammed higgelty piggelty into a wardrobe, and just yanking something out.

And the food thing sounds just right- salad instead of a meal- black coffee- and that's about it!

I still cannot get over a girl I saw walking down place de vendome one day looking so classy. White culottes, fit her perfectly and hitting the leg in the right place, with a long embroidered tunic and chanel flats. It was so flowy and effortless. She was just so chic. For extreme people watching i highly recommend that area, EVERYONE looks amazing.

Also for other blogs I highly recommend Adenorah and on Instagram, Jeanne Damas.

There's an ad on for something or other at the moment with Martin Freeman and a woman watching It's A Wonderful Life and her make-up is lovely. I've dug out my Maybelline Fatal Red lipstick after seeing that!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.vogue.com/article/french-girl-beauty-secrets-hair-makeup-artist-violette/amp
There is a section in this article about statement red lipstick

Thanks only I've discovered I have something in common with French women from that article

A French woman is like a wild horse—she is very rebellious, and she’d rather kill herself than go to the gym!

This is interesting because so many clothes that botemp is describing would be damned as "frumpy" or "mumsy" on S&B. Not by me - I dream of elasticated waists and love a tunic!

I forgot to mention Mango Violeta have an online outlet, things get heavily discounted there, especially further down the season.

I would agree with shoes, Clark's are a brand pretty much exclusively worn by a much older clientele in most of Europe. I know to stay away from an S&B thread on shoes as a result. On S&B alone I may also come out believing that British women suffer disproportionately from foot ailments. I've often wondered if it ties in with the following, posture. Parisian women have really great posture, I'm sure it's beaten into them in childhood or similar and I know many do have genetic spinal issues growing up which gets corrected with braces as a matter of course. Like a dermatologist, a chiropractor is a familiar health practitioner to most French families. Pilates and yoga are very popular classes too. And no, they don't go to gyms all that much but they definitely exercise, when I was there this summer you couldn't help but encounter yet another bootcamp class wherever there was a patch of green. Running and cycling are equally popular. But ask them and they'll play it down and don't really consider it exercise, a hobby at best. Exercise is what Les Americans do in those things called gyms. Meanwhile it's not uncommon for them to be walking hours on end. They definitely get exercise in, just not in the extreme.

Not, a lot of those pieces could potentially end up as frumpy or mumsy. It should be said that those stretchy summer pieces and tunics are things they wear on holiday, but won't be seen wearing in Paris. Their summer holidays season is quite long, Paris shuts down completely the entirety of August. So often a case of fine on the Cote D'Azur. Same way that wearing a Breton whilst on a weekend away in Brittany is almost expected, it's not so much a Parisian staple as people think.

Another thing is that those type of pieces need good fit, to me getting things altered is something I've always done, a practice instilled by my mother and grandmother. There is such a difference in wearing a pair of easy summer trousers that finish just by the ankle at its most flattering place (exactly where will be different to everyone) rather than being a bit too long and bagging up over your shoes. It also re-evaluates how much you're willing to pay for something. Unless you're doing alterations yourself, you're adding extra cost on the RRP. So it makes less sense to me to buy a pair of €30 trousers which I then have to add an additional €10 to for alterations, those type of pants are rarely worth 40 in total, so it feels a false economy.

I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of the new garde of French style mavens like Jeanne Damas (though I do quite like the Rouje brand she created). They seem to primarily appeal to the non-French's idea of the French girl and parade a whole host of brands who want to be attached to that. It doesn't feel like an authentic personal style to me as a result and they run the risk of turning into a parody of themselves. Americans especially seem to fetishise the Frenchness of it all into something unrecognisable, Glossier in particular is a repeat offender on this. Sorry on phone, so linking will be challenging but this article on how the French girl myth is exploited is quite an interesting read on it:

www.racked.com/platform/amp/2017/7/5/15880176/how-to-french-girl-style-beauty

AuntyElla, Weekday is part of the H&M group and they share a lot of products accordingly, especially things like jewelry and accessories. Have many a time found Cos jewelry at Weekday in different seasons and vice versa. So whilst I haven't seen them in the flesh yet, & Other Stories have an oversized wool scarf in 16 colours including a bright red and navy. The navy is not a solid colour though, it has a subtle mix of two yarns. H&M do seem to have a solid navy wool scarf in their premium section online that looks more solid in colour. All of them 100% wool so I think it's a safe bet that these are all coming from the same manufacturer. I'd link but regional settings and a phone make for a shitty combination.

Thank you all so much (esp Botemp) for a gripping read this morning.

After avidly reading a 'how to look groomed' type of thread on here abut 18 months ago, I had a brutal wardrobe clear out and what a difference it made; many points already mentioned here but basically:

-better a wash of very natural pink/clear varnish than chipped dark/bright on nails.
-No obvious brands/labels.
-iron your clothes! This makes massive difference.
-go for fewer/better quality (I still struggle with understanding which fabric/fibre combinations will hang/wear/wash well)
-simple colour pallete (for me it was navy, grey, a sort of faded khaki and blush pink).
-get rid of faded/ bobbled/stained/stretched things, those that were a poor fit.
-stop following fashion -a very subtle nod at most.
-very subtle jewellery. Less is more.
-Better spend extra few minutes working in decent moisturisers etc in morn than slap on layers of make up.
-footwear was real leather/suede and simple pointed flats etc.
-trousers nearly always look better at 7/8 length unless high waisted flares (in perhaps denim or grey tweed).
After doing this, I had so many compliments (you look stylish/chic/French)! I was so pleased and my wardrobe, while consideraby smaller, was much more inviting-everything matched and worked well.

But, 18 months on, this is what I also found:

• if not careful, this 'classic' look can be quite aging.

-though it's great to have a wardrobe that feels like a 'collection' (rather than loads of random bits that don't go), it's also nice to have a couple of bits that you just love but don't necessarily fit this type of look (for me I like a baseball style long sleeved tee with jeans for casual). -Though it appears 'simple', it requires a fair bit of thought to keep it chic rather than dull. -vintage/ second hand is great (and often cheaper) to explore. -thick natural (tiny bit of grooming) brows.

I've really enjoyed this thread.
Not sure whether this is connected to French fashion as such, but can anybody offer any advice on what to wear to over up the area of bare let that you get when you wear cigarette/7-8/ culotte style trousers.,
Do French women wear these? Can't imagine they would be donning a pair of pop socks.
Bo temps . Over to you!

I saw une Parisienne in glittery socks.

Or those little invisible socklet things and bare ankles.

I prefer the bare leg look but also wear fishnets with mine, fishnet socks or just black opaque socks.

You're right - the notions of "treating oneself" and "letting your hair down" simply do not exist.
The role of women is to intrigue and be mysterious!! Not to crack jokes and swear like a sailor/drink like a fish.
When I go back to the UK, it seems to me that everyone is yelling, and drinking prosecco all the time. But I bloody love it.

This. I am part Frog, but my X chromosomes must be English because I find the self-control required for French womanliness exhausting. The social pressure is intense and women can never relax, especially in mixed company - god forbid that you might eat too much or make a joke and reveal yourself as trop mec (too laddish). And it's more than your life's worth to go to the corner shop at 7 am without full make up - one of your neighbours would call the authorities.

I might not personally go to Tesco's or the school gate in my pyjamas, but I'd still rather live in a country where people do even if they are judged harshly on MN than one where women can never let their hair down.

It's fun being chic for a day or a week. It's bloody exhausting if it's a daily requirement.

Wow Selma and others, this thread is enlightening! I never knew that about French women.

I think there may be a Paris/rest of France distinction needing to be made here.

I'm in the south. None of my friends wear makeup on a daily basis, and they are all perfectly happy to enjoy several glasses of wine, eat good food, get a bit pissed, relax and let their hair down in mixed company.

And the number of people at the school gate in pyjamas is incredible. While they may be judged (possibly by me amongst others), they are certainly not unable to carry on wandering the town in pyjamas, slippers, or nighties with a fleece on top.

Place marking sans honte...

Fontaine, I've definitely seen pop socks (and the highly visible sock in general) on professional women where I assumed a more conservative work environment would frown upon any hint of bare skin. Also seen the 'fantasie' variation with lace patterns, herringbone, polka dots, and very fine fishnets. The herringbone in particular can be quite chic looking with brogues or similar and the polka dots (black on black) can be quite fun looking. Controversially I don't think they're hell incarnate provided they're of a decent quality, not rolling down or slobbering its way there, are not super shiny, and paired with an elegant pair of shoes that are well polished. They can actually work quite well with velvet or patent leather shoes and especially on flats that would otherwise expose a lot of skin but sock and shoe do need to work together and some shoes just don't work well with them. I've seen the fashionista interpretation that end at the ankle worn in pumps too, ehm, interesting is what I would call it. Then there's the variation to colour and glitter. But it's not really a representative look, rather a passing whimsy. Droopy socks in loafers and All Stars is also one I've seen a lot, just gathered a bit at the top, not quite leg warmer but somehow reminiscent. More casual student style and usually an interesting choice of sock. I do suspect that latter one is also a point of showing off how thin limbs are, very few can wear that without it weighing down their silhouette disproportionately. Also seen a lot of the slouchy sock in ankle boots, but think that styling has reached far beyond France over the years.

I'm on the shorter side and look terrible in most cropped styles but an Audrey Hepburn (I'm so in French mode I wrote Audrey Tatou at first

There's an article in only's Vogue link that says Paris is to get sparkling water in some of the fountains, ooh la la

@botemp don't stay away from shoe threads, I think we definitely need your expertise in that area too!

I'm a fan of heels but as the years rack up and my opportunities to sport my numerous pairs of high heels diminish , and my need to walk more (Parisienne lifestyle attempt?) means I'm heading towards the land of flats.

Bought a lovely pair of brogue styled flats from &Other Stories earlier in the year, but aside from those I feel my choices of good flat footwear is limited to Vans, Converse and DMs... not always the most stylish Parisienne choices I fear . I liked botemp's Mango white trainers suggestions though, keep 'em coming!

I love heels and have high arches so often find them comfier than flats, so much so that I put invisible heels in most flats. Ballerinas in some form have been in my wardrobe since I was a child though, I think it was last year that I dusted off an old pair of velvet pointed toe ones that I'd actually bought in Paris in the sale from Prada, they were an absolute bargain under 100 euros at the time. Ballerinas also seem to be a consistent staple in the French wardrobe. I have a favourite brand that I used to buy again and again, Soir de Lune, that were so comfy, had a strong nose that never showed your toes through, gorgeous leather but I can no longer find them except occasionally on eBay but the sizing is difficult. I can't remember if you need to size up a full size or a size and a half anymore, so probably not the best rec for on here.

Parisians wear a lot of flats though, don't mind making that the next topic of discussion. The reason I mostly ignore the shoe threads on here is because they either fall into the very difficult feet category or special occasions type. The budgets are also odd, I don't really see the point of paying a lot for special occasion shoes you'll wear a handful of times and paying very little for your daily shoes and replacing them often. It's such a false economy, you're better off just having one or a few pairs of pumps that can be used in a variety of occasions and can go casually under some slim fit jeans that wear well. I love the ones from Yvonne Kone (whose Danish and based in Copenhagen), they're usually in suede, but a really nice suede which makes them less formal in a casual outfit and more special in a more festive/special occasion setting. She's also brought them out in flats now but I haven't tried or seen them in RL yet so don't know how versatile they'd be as an everyday flat. They're also not the cheapest, so something to bear in mind as IME flats wear through the quickest of all shoes (well pumps probably technically but they usually don't get work that much). Uterque (part of the Zara group, COS level of pricing) has a lot of fun shoes every season at not extreme prices. Massimo Dutti also is great for shoes. There's a pair of fab burgundy velvet trainers with a slightly pointed toe to make them just that bit different in the mid season sale. Not sure of still available online but saw them in shop quite recently.

This thread is hilarious and Botemp your contributions have been brilliant.

I think it's only fair to mention the real reasons that Parisians (and Romans, Milanese etc) are so well-dressed: rent control. It's nothing to swan about in Max Mara coats and APC jeans when the rent on your apartment was fixed at £400 thirty-odd years ago.

Significantly more disposable income, shorter commutes into work, shorter working hours and more predictable weather means you have a lot more time as well as money to devote to looking good.