french-style

Accessories are potent. They have the power to take what is otherwise a pretty standard outfit and make it more exciting and unique to you. I find accessories particularly handy in summer, for instance, when a basket bag is all I need to make my fail-safe jeans-and-white-T-shirt outfit combination feel more seasonally appropriate. On the subject of basket bags, I also like mine because it makes me feel like a French girl when I carry one. And anyone who reads my features will tell you that’s precisely the aesthetic I want to emulate.  There are many clichés surrounding French style—too many to get into here—but one thing we can all agree on is that our Gallic friends know how to put an outfit together. Whether they prefer wardrobe classics or bold statement pieces, the way t...

I’ve dedicated a decade of my life to writing about French style, but one subject I’ve admittedly overlooked is swimwear. For me, swimwear has never held much allure—I put this down to living in Britain, where many of us only require swimwear whenever we take a trip abroad. The fact is I would always rather spend my money on dresses and bags and sandals over a new swimsuit or bikini I’d only wear for one 14-day streak each year. However, after not being on holiday or in an exotic climate in over three years, for once, I’m excited to begin assembling my beachwear wardrobe for this summer. This brings me back to the focus of this feature: What do French women wear to the beach? You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating shou...

Aïda Sané, the creator of @basicstouch, is a French girl we routinely turn to for sartorial guidance. She’s perfectly mastered that je ne sais quoi with inspiring ensembles that are equal parts effortless and chic. And while she certainly wears some investment pieces, she often completes her looks with more affordable finds as well. We thought we’d get further insight into some of the specific items she’s gravitating toward that are affordable but look quite expensive. “Even though investing in statement pieces is a good idea, it’s always nice to have alternatives—and you don’t need to break the bank to look chic and expensive,” she said. Without further ado, keep scrolling to check out the trends Sané recommends for an expensiv...

I hate to brag, but this millennial writer is going (somewhat) viral on TikTok. Recently, I attended the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2023 show and posted this TikTok showing what the editor of American Vogue versus those of Vogue France wore to the show. No, it wasn’t meant to pit the women against each other—I was truly curious whether the glam or casual vibe resonated more with my followers. While Anna Wintour wore a full-length sequin gown, the French editors wore slouchy trousers, loose-fitting button-down shirts, and flat strappy sandals. Both Emmanuelle Alt (former Vogue France editor in chief) and Georgia Bedel (current stylist at the magazine) were on the exact same page with their coordinating looks. That TikTok garnered 1.7 million views, 228,000 likes, an...

As a confessed Francophile, I’m always looking for new ways to bestow my own looks with some Gallic charm. On the cusp of spring, I was particularly interested in finding out which spring shoes French girls are most likely to wear. It’s a tricky time to make footwear decisions—one minute it’s raining, and the next it’s glorious blue skies, so I’m always looking for inspiration and guidance when selecting shoes between seasons. In the name of research, I scrolled through dozens of profiles belonging to fashionable French influencers, and after looking at the imagery I amassed during this deep dive, I realised that eight specific shoe styles kept cropping up, some of which I expected, but others? Total curveballs. With everything from classic flats to their...

Among the classics—berets, trench coats and ballet flats, lie the subtleties of French dressing that bring the Je nais se quois, so to speak. Ankle skimming jeans, pointelle vests and slingback flats are among some of the modest heroes that make up the foundations. Although French style lends itself to monochromatic dressing, a French woman’s wardrobe is incomplete without an injection of colour. Whether that’s accents on a floral slip dress, a rouge-lip or parakeet toned dress, like the ones shown below. Wrap dresses, short sleeve blouses, cropped knits and embroidered stitching, are among designs you may probably associate with French girl chic. When it comes to accessories, the same aesthetic applies— bags are small, but statement. French women aren’t opposed to embossed monikers, or mo...

Upon looking at these snaps, I saw a pattern begin to emerge. I realised that almost all of the French women I follow own the same core capsule wardrobe of fashion essentials. Of course, I am all too aware that this uniform may not apply to everyone in a country, but the women I’m particularly interested in all subscribe to a look I love. “French women invest in timeless pieces over trends,” confirms Marissa Cox, a friend of Who What Wear who now resides in Paris. “Wearability is integral to a French woman’s closet, as she doesn’t tend to overdress. She looks for pieces that can be dressed up or down.” So which French fashion essentials do the country’s best dressers rely upon to ensure they look chic at all times? I decided to do the ho...

As a confessed Francophile, I’m always looking for new ways to bestow my own looks with some Gallic charm. On the cusp of spring, I was particularly interested in finding out which spring shoes French girls are most likely to wear. It’s a tricky time to make footwear decisions—one minute it’s raining, the next it’s glorious blue skies, so I’m always looking for inspiration and guidance when selecting shoes between seasons. In the name of research, I scrolled through dozens of profiles belonging to fashionable French influencers and, after looking at the imagery I amassed during this deep dive, I realised that eight specific shoe styles kept cropping up, some of which I expected, but others? Total curveballs. With everything from classic flats to their go-...

There’s two thing we can be sure of for spring: 1) micro mini skirts are 100% back thanks to that Miu Miu iteration seen absolutely everywhere, and 2) French women are here to save anyone who doesn’t want to try out the trend with their spring capsule. Perfectly formed of basics that are anything but boring, we can always rely on these effortlessly cool fashion people to guide us all when it comes to items that will stand the test of time. Sure, trends are fun to try out, but there’s no harm in sticking to what you know and wearing them on repeat.  We’re talking the trench coat your wardrobe shouldn’t be without, the oversized blazer (hello, The Frankie Shop), and the more recent waistcoat addition you can style a million ways. Then there’s not forgetting the Breton. This ti...

When you follow a lot of French fashion girls on Instagram, not only do you get excellent outfit ideas, but you also get the added bonus of having beautiful Paris scenery in your feed. How can you beat that? Many of us haven’t been out of the country in two years—myself included—so travel wanderlust seems to be at an all-time high. But even if a one-way ticket to CDG isn’t in the cards, you can certainly still dress the part. I did some internet sleuthing to see what your favourite French influencers have been wearing in the few weeks since the calendar flipped to 2022. The result? A lot of chic outfits, naturally. Scroll down to see the best new outfits from Paris and shop each trend.  You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Onlin...

Pre-Instagram, we might’ve had to rely on fashion week for our street style roundups, but when it comes to experiencing global style in 2022, we’re spoilt for choice. Not only does social media allow us to see outfits of people on every continent at a click of a button, but it also gives us a chance to reassess the sartorial tropes that have developed around certain countries. One of the most well-worn fashion stereotypes has to be that of the French girl. This classic french fashion type is characterised by expensive basics, Breton tops, silk shirts and tasteful yet subdued occasion wear—all of which are embodied by the likes of Carine Roitfeld and Emanuelle Alt. While there are many who still love the traditional, pared-back aesthetic, Instagram proves that it is no longer re...

Continuing my eternal quest to dress more French-like, I’ve set my sights—as I know many of you have, too—on spring. Although we have a few weeks of winter still to get through, spring is very much on my mind right now as plans start to seep into my calendar and the promise of brighter, longer and warmer days begins to come into view. This year, I want to make sure I’m prepared for the seasonal switch, and naturally, I’ve turned my attention to ascertaining which pieces form a French girl’s spring capsule wardrobe. For this, I’ve taken a close look at the sartorial habits of some of my favourite French women, deep-diving into their respective feeds to see what they wear when spring rolls around, and it didn’t take long for some patterns to emerge. Now, I’m confident tha...