Why would you even WANT to copy the Parisienne look?

[GoldfishParade]

Just think it's interesting when you see threads but also newspaper articles etc about the "French" look and specifically the Parisian look - a kind of understated elegant style, I get it.

But honestly, having lived in France for a decade now (in six cities in different regions) I really think this is a bit of a misplaced myth, in the same way that in France in some crowds there can be a bit of glamourising around "le gentleman so British". Sure, when you're in london you may very occasionally see some really dapper looking men wearing those big beige overcoats (what are they called by the way? The big flappy things they wear over suits? Like a kind of trench coat?).

But by and large whenever I go back to the UK I genuinely find British women dress better, with more snap, in outfits that have more interest. What I've learnt from my time here is that the whole understated elegance thing doesnt necessarily stem from wanting to look effortless, it's actually about not wanting to stand out from the crowd. I remember a friend asking me if I thought her shoes were too "m'as tu vu" (flashy). They just weren't black. In fact you barely ever see coats here that arent black, grey, or beige. Teenagers basically look no different from their parents. Fashion doesnt really happen at all. I think in the 10 years I've been here nothing has really changed, its still jeans, delicate trainers, a Longchamp handbag and a trench, just like Mum. Maybe the jeans got slightly wider lately; that's all.

It always seems to me theres some fabulous styled women in the UK, "even" outside London. I see "even" because outside of Paris, in the French "provinces" thing start to go downhill quite rapidly IMO.

So why does the French thing continue to inspire? I honestly think in the UK you are freer to experiment, you have more choice, and people by and large look pretty rocking. Maybe the trend for heavy makeup could be toned down a bit, also the fillers trend (from what I'm reading) in the UK is a bit shocking.

I love that show too!

@IfNotNow12

I crave casual but well cut clothes in natural fabrics, and I think that's all people mean when they talk about French, or Italian, style

Sorry I don’t know who made the initial comment - I’m surprised by that statement to be honest. I can think of a number of retailers ranging from Jigsaw through to Jaeger, Hobbs, Toast, HWL, Plumo depending on the “vibe” that you’re after.

It was me that said that, but most of those retailers don't do it for me. I went into Jigsaw the other day, and it was all flowery dresses or " work" clothes, so quite smart and often quite boring to me. Toast is just so unflattering on me. I don't particularly want to look like an Amish toddler..I really have no need for office clothes, I guess I want comfort but a bit more lux in terms of fabric, and good shapes. Cos is ok sometimes, but not many natural fabrics. I like simple and plain but with some style, not over embellished or frumpy.
I don't know HWL or Plumo, will check those out.

Cos purposely use recycled polyester and even linen, in more and more of their garments. The natural fabric way is not necessarily the best way.

Things have probably moved on a lot, as I still have this thread open from before I went for my (New York?) power-nap , but this talk of slug eyebrows and orange tan is surely more code for class rather than national style?

@IfNotNow12

@CatherineMaitland

Re well cut & affordable I feel like it’s an area Marks & Spencer should be dominating but they just keep going horribly wrong for some reason ( too trend led? )- the quality seems to be going south too. I personally wear Arket, Cos & Kin ( John Lewis) and at the cheaper end of the market Monki but I’m plus size so I don’t have access to every brand. The higher end items I have I bought second hand typically - my Surrey town has charity shops that have produced classics like a Daks navy blazer, Jaeger dresses, Cashmere (from the men’s section )etc rather than trendy names . I have bought a lot from eBay although I’m gambling with sizes a little. I want to try Community Clothing because it’s manufactured in the north of England which is worth supporting.

What are French supermarket clothes like these days? I remember being quite impressed with Monoprix.

I also like French shows for having incredibly stylish not young actresses

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu

Springs to mind. In CMA but also Emily in Paris. Terrible show but she looks great.

"its usual in a british family to have curry, mexican; thai, on a weekly basis cooked at home"

Is it?

" think I once recall her sniffing the underarm of a t shirt, one morning, to check it was not too smelly to wear. Ugh."

That's a good thing to do. You shouldn't wash things that don't need it, not just for environmental reasons, but also because it will damage the clothes.
Maitre Karlsson would look good in a sack, I think.

I lived in Paris in my youth and was definitely influenced by the style. That said, I think I was already drawn to navy/grey/black/white and simple cuts. I don't like to stand out. I think I look reasonably elegant though!

I do admire people with more flair and who are good with colour - but it's not me.

Personally I found the men and women in the affluent parts of Barcelona extremely stylish.

Central Paris = affluent
Manhattan = affluent
Central London = affluent

People in those areas tend to be slimmer too.

Is it?

It's common enough among the food tv types- the ones all the cookery books for Christmas are aimed at.

@Floisme

I agree dreaming - I think London style was a lot more interesting when it was cheaper to live there. Same goes for New York and probably most major cities. Internet shopping and Instagram have also led to greater uniformity I think. So is there anywhere exciting left? Anywhere??

A bit left field but last time I was in Ljubljana I thought the women looked pretty cool.

I stayed with Italian friends last year. "Mamma" (70 this year) wore shorts and flip flops the whole time until we went out for dinner and she was wearing sheer chiffon palazzo pants and the most gorgeous heels. She just oozed style and was firmly in the "bella figura" camp.

Thank you - I won't lie, I had to google that!

[quote GoldfishParade]@grassisjeweled
They are massively snobby about British food here but objectively I honestly find the level of cooking in the UK is higher: NOT at "posh" restaurants, I have had some of the best meals of my life in Paris including an incredible carbonnade that inspired me to try for months until I could come close to recreating it at home.

But among the people - I think of course there is the frozen fish fingers and pot noodle crew in the UK, but they have their equivalents in the "pâtes au beurre" and frozen crêpes crew here. When it comes to foodies though I think you get better everyday people cooks in the UK and theres definitely a much broader familiarity with "foreign" ingredients.

Your average bog standard brit will be familiar with indian, thai, chinese, mexican and those are just the "basic" world foods before you even move onto Korean etc. I havent noticed the same at all among the french lower middle classes. They eat French, end of, maybe chinese if they're feeling adventurous. I was even quite shocked to see many look down on Italian cuisine as being #basicbitch. Weirdly though, I've noticed a real French fetish for Japanese food and stuff. In the UK sushi and Japanese things like the art of folding etc is just another culture to tap into, but here there's like this real adulation which is interesting.

Where I think they get it right in france is investing money in their skincare and haircare (again generalising). I have a few friends who arent very well off but they still do buy la roche posay for example. Which is hardly break the bank but it's not cheap either.[/quote]
So true. At its best, French food is unbelievably good - beautiful ingredients, cooked simply but with just the right amout of herbs/seasoning, to bring out the flavours. I still dream about a lamb steak I had in Lyon in about 1997!

But you can also eat some really terrible food in France. I'd much rather eat in a typical British pub than the French equivalent. In France you will get a greasy omelette, or revoltingly oily salad, sprinkled with duck gizzards, or something equally unappealing. And the service will give you indigestion too - pre-Covid we went out as a family and were speaking English. To punish us for cluttering up his restaurant with our foreignness, the waiter pretended not to understand anything we said to him in French - including my uncle who was born and bred in Grenoble

I stayed with Italian friends last year. "Mamma" (70 this year) wore shorts and flip flops the whole time until we went out for dinner and she was wearing sheer chiffon palazzo pants and the most gorgeous heels. She just oozed style and was firmly in the "bella figura" camp

We have an Italian friend who is late 70s, short and - tbh - dumpy, yet she always looks amazing. I can't quite put my finger on how she does it, but I'm very jealous.

@Gwenhwyfar

" think I once recall her sniffing the underarm of a t shirt, one morning, to check it was not too smelly to wear. Ugh."

That's a good thing to do. You shouldn't wash things that don't need it, not just for environmental reasons, but also because it will damage the clothes.
Maitre Karlsson would look good in a sack, I think.

I think it’s unhygienic not to wear a fresh one every day. Laure’s jeans also look as if they could walk around on their own and her hair is greasy. Pretty unpalatable on all counts.

@Floisme
Monoprix is great, agreed!

@BitOfFun

Things have probably moved on a lot, as I still have this thread open from before I went for my (New York?) power-nap , but this talk of slug eyebrows and orange tan is surely more code for class rather than national style?

I agree. It’s lazy stereotyping.

@Gwenhwyfar

"its usual in a british family to have curry, mexican; thai, on a weekly basis cooked at home"

Is it?

We’re not strictly a British household in that I’m Danish, but yes, that is how we eat. We do like a lot of variety and take our inspiration from many different cuisines. We’ve had Korean stew this week, and will have at least one Indian meal this week and possibly one with a Middle Eastern influence as well.

I totally agree, goldfish.

I too live in a Francophone environment and they really do see British food as the worst of the lot. But they are so unadventurous in their tastes! FIL rarely cooks anything other than casserole, pâte and jambon à l'érable!

British puddings absolutely knock the stuffing out of any French gâteau!

"We’re not strictly a British household in that I’m Danish, but yes, that is how we eat. We do like a lot of variety and take our inspiration from many different cuisines. We’ve had Korean stew this week, and will have at least one Indian meal this week and possibly one with a Middle Eastern influence as well."

Yes, but is it usual was my question. Does the average person do this? Curry, yes, but Mexican? It's only very recently arrived in restaurants in the UK.

Disagree a bit about the food, sorry!

Yes Brits are more diverse in their cuisine, definitely, and of course you can get a lot of terrible food in France.

But I think for your average person living in France, the quality of food is better overall, they are better at seasonal and local, they have much more variety in things like cheese and meat, honey and jam and mustard, etc. There are bakeries and butchers and fishmongers everywhere.

It's sort of like with the fashion -- the repertoire is more narrow but it's done extremely well.

" I'd much rather eat in a typical British pub than the French equivalent."

Really? Have you been to the Weatherspoons or the carveries?

"or revoltingly oily salad, sprinkled with duck gizzards, or something equally unappealing"

At least you won't get a salad with no vinaigrette at all because you're expected to add salad cream.

"And the service will give you indigestion too"

Agree with that.

"this talk of slug eyebrows and orange tan is surely more code for class rather than national style?"

Not really. I haven't seen them of people of any class where I'm living now.
Some class-based ways of dressing are the same in different European countries (Alice bands on posh women for example) but not slug eyebrows and fake tan.

I'm sorry to tell you all that no one cares what others wear or eat or do, they are too busy looking at themselves. LOL.

"no one cares what others wear "

Except the people on Style and Beauty of course!