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Original poster

Do you dress French?

49 replies

Champooforyou · 24/03/2023 09:25

I'm desperately trying to find my way again after years of pregnancy and young children. Youngest is 3 so I've no excuse not to put myself straight now!

My wardrobe is a mega mix of everything, I'm aiming to get a capsule thing going on.

I'm naturally drawn to breton tops, slim trousers, blazers etc, so I'm thinking to "go french". Trouble is I'm a freezer so need layers. Does anyone else loosely follow a French sort of look, what are your essentials? How do you keep warm 🤔?

OP posts:
LoraPiano · 25/03/2023 10:15

I am half French and grew up in Paris, and TBH I feel the breton look is more of a parody (together with red lips, a beret and a baguette under your arm). I kind of get what you mean by the French look, and I think it has the following elements

  1. you have to be petite or at least slim. Unfortunately fat shaming is alive and ticking there, and French people prefer to be thin rather than healthy so on average women slimmer than the UK.
  2. Conservative style with few colors and almost no patterns. It's mostly block colors, black, navy, cream, white, and maybe some colourful accessories and scarves etc. You don't see people in exercise clothes or leggings. This is more in cities though.
  3. the look you see in rich parts of Paris are worn by rich women who have spent a lot of money on basic items with good quality.

All in all I am not sure why this look is so desirable (I find British fashion much more expressive), but is totally achievable.

LoraPiano · 25/03/2023 10:17

ALso I have seen the thread on French look on MN, and doubt there are many Frenchwomen on that thread! You can do better by following French instagrammers or street style accounts (e.g. parisiansinparis or frenchgirldaily).

MadeInChorley · 25/03/2023 15:26

If you buy French high street clothes, then you buy French style IMO. These brands are available in the UK on the (London at least) high street and on line.

zaidig & voltaire
comptoir de cottonier
agnes b
petit bateau (for plain absolute basics)

And the clothes are designed for mainly slim, petit and small busted women.

Gufo · 25/03/2023 15:48

I'd love to buy all my clothes in Sezane if that counts! I tried to dress "French style" but wasn't sure what counted apart from breton, slim jeans and blazer so it felt quite restrictive. I also used to live in France and don't think I ever saw anyone in a breton apart from my older male neighbour.

JaneJeffer · 25/03/2023 15:56

Messy hair, maybe?
Très bien

Floisme · 25/03/2023 16:24

Anyone is welcome to join the Parisienne thread but I must warn you it hasn't really been about French dressing for a long time - it just retained that name to make it easy to find.

Floisme · 25/03/2023 16:33

But do drop in op - you'll be made very welcome and yup, most of us aren't even French Wink

JaneJeffer · 25/03/2023 16:36

I love watching street style videos on YouTube and London beats Paris hands down.

Pigtailsandall · 25/03/2023 22:16

I also like the "French" style, because I think it's quite a minimalist look which I'm drawn towards. I'm not a huge fan of bretons but I do like stripes. I always associate boatnecks with a French style but I might be totally wrong!

My twist/take on french style is to invest on good quality basics, but buy less.

Hongkongsuey · 26/03/2023 07:49

I used to live in France and never saw Bretons-I always associate them with Boden or Joules.

WhereAreWeNow · 26/03/2023 08:03

I love French style and, like you @Champooforyou , I'm always freezing. To be honest, I don't wear Breton tops or blazers and I don't think I've ever seen a woman in a Breton top in France!
I think it's just about a simple and feminine style.

Lydiahateswashing · 26/03/2023 08:23

I have never worn a beret, if that’s what you’re asking.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 26/03/2023 08:31

LoraPiano · 25/03/2023 10:15

I am half French and grew up in Paris, and TBH I feel the breton look is more of a parody (together with red lips, a beret and a baguette under your arm). I kind of get what you mean by the French look, and I think it has the following elements

  1. you have to be petite or at least slim. Unfortunately fat shaming is alive and ticking there, and French people prefer to be thin rather than healthy so on average women slimmer than the UK.
  2. Conservative style with few colors and almost no patterns. It's mostly block colors, black, navy, cream, white, and maybe some colourful accessories and scarves etc. You don't see people in exercise clothes or leggings. This is more in cities though.
  3. the look you see in rich parts of Paris are worn by rich women who have spent a lot of money on basic items with good quality.

All in all I am not sure why this look is so desirable (I find British fashion much more expressive), but is totally achievable.

Totally agree. Most of the stuff on French style on MN is totally cringe. The French police what women wear constantly, so lots of women end up sticking to a boring uniform, so as not to stand out.

The body shaming in France is at epic levels. Any one of you who is over a UK size 12 (max) would be sneered at in France, especially Paris, by the sort of women you're trying to emulate. Celebrate the freedom that you have in the UK, instead of trying to emulate a system that shits on women.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 26/03/2023 08:58

From what I've seen on the telly recently, it's an all-black outfit accessorised with a crash helmet, ski goggles, face mask and some fireworks to throw at the Gendarmes.

WhereAreWeNow · 26/03/2023 11:09

🤣 @TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

StarlightLady · 26/03/2023 11:46

As a former resident of Paris, anyone who has travelled on the Metro Line 5 will appreciate that you do not have to make a lot of effort to French dress.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 26/03/2023 11:57

StarlightLady · 26/03/2023 11:46

As a former resident of Paris, anyone who has travelled on the Metro Line 5 will appreciate that you do not have to make a lot of effort to French dress.

Or a farmers' market on a wet Wednesday. Remind me again how French women never wear sports kit outside the gym...

Do you dress French?
Mistymoonsinastarrysky · 26/03/2023 12:13

@MadeInChorley if French=thin and small bust what look should I aim for if I am size 16/18 and big boobed?!

SlicerAndEcho · 26/03/2023 12:19

I live and work in France and buy my clothes in the UK. I used to wear a lot of Hell Bunny, but I stopped for the last year or two and my French colleagues have started to complain that I now dress boringly like them… they want my unicorn dress back 😂 Several of them have commented that they envy the range of possibilities in UK clothing. We’re not in Paris though.

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 26/03/2023 18:42

God no! When I was a teenager my DM wanted me to dress French so it was lots of navy and black long sleeved tops and trousers (I wore sort of cotton leggings with I think subtle metal buttons on part of the hem length (leggings hadn’t been invented then) and striped Breton tops and bardot neck tops and Capri pants. I also had a black French schoolgirl dress which I wore with a white polo neck underneath. And then when I was 18 and had a job I got some pink and turquoise jackets, skirts etc from
Caroll, a French brand which you could buy in department shops in England.

Now my look is far more eclectic and a close friend is from Calais and dresses very well in London where she lives. When a French friend of hers complimented me it was because I’d teamed a gold sparkly belt with something gold on a top I wore. But when they go out eg to festivals they dress almost the same as English women. One friend of mine who’s French thinks before she wears eg a gold sequin sleeveless top out. Well fitting lingerie is important, and my friend often wore hold up tights for one boyfriend.

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 26/03/2023 18:43

I would beg to differ re French style outside Paris… vast differences in clothes, body shapes etc there!

DorritLittle · 26/03/2023 22:32

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 26/03/2023 08:31

Totally agree. Most of the stuff on French style on MN is totally cringe. The French police what women wear constantly, so lots of women end up sticking to a boring uniform, so as not to stand out.

The body shaming in France is at epic levels. Any one of you who is over a UK size 12 (max) would be sneered at in France, especially Paris, by the sort of women you're trying to emulate. Celebrate the freedom that you have in the UK, instead of trying to emulate a system that shits on women.

Show quote history

French men were another reason to try and blend in when I lived there (in a large city).

Compash · 26/03/2024 09:53

Mistymoonsinastarrysky · 26/03/2023 12:13

@MadeInChorley if French=thin and small bust what look should I aim for if I am size 16/18 and big boobed?!

I, too, wish to know this (size 14, meno wobbliness and FF bust)!

I lived in France for a while when I was younger but it was a little ski town and just looked like everyone had manifested a branch of Mountain Warehouse...

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