It is universally accepted that French women in general are achingly chic, but they don’t spend a lot of money to achieve that look.
(Although if you read The Essence of Style — How the French invented High Fashion and Fine Food, you’d come to different conclusions about how often hairstyles and fashion changed in the past and how many husbands went into debt for their wives’ shopping habits)
Seriously, how can someone achieve looking chic without spending $$$ on designer duds? Or updating every season?
Here’s how they do it:
- They don’t follow trends that don’t fit — Skinny jeans make you look less than skinny? They’ll pass on that, s’il vous plaît.
- They don’t spend $$ on anything that isn’t going to be classic — Harem pants are cute for one season, but they’ll pass if they’re on a budget and wait for something like a chic sweater to come into vogue
- They save their money & spend it sparingly — If they’ll wear a certain coat for years and years to come, they’ll shell out good money for that one item and milk cost-per-use out of it
- They don’t accept cheap substitutes — Sure, H&M is fun for trends, but if they’re looking for a nice leather bag, they won’t buy 10 fake leather ones before they realize it doesn’t fill the void of what they really wanted
- They don’t save their Sunday best — If they have a lovely silk shirt, they’re up for wearing it any day of the week, not just for special occasions
- They know what their style is — It’s usually pretty modern, but they know what makes their style their style
- They invests in the basic luxuries of their style — They may not spend $25 on a cheap bag, but they’ll spend it on the perfect red lipstick that they’ll wear day in and day out
Luckily, I follow most of the rules above (I am still caught in the trap of buying more than I should and more than my wardrobe needs), and I’ve noticed these changes:
- I spend less money — Mais oui! I spend less money because I am buying less
- …but not significantly less — Need I remind you that I shelled out $1900 for a wool coat from Burberry that I have actually slept in?? I was willing to pay that price because it’s a quality piece I know I will wear constantly, love wearing and it is not another cheap wool substitute (I had 3 of those before I realized that $100 will not give me that silky soft feeling I crave)
- I have a more organized wardrobe — I know how many tops and pants I have, and so on because I catalogue everything in my wardrobe now!
- I know where the gaps are for my shopping list — I am starting to see where I missed certain key pieces, like skinny jeans to tuck into boots, when I was fooling myself that I could do that with bootcut jeans wrapped tightly around my legs and held in place with socks
- I have less to agonize over — Less stuff = less choices = less headaches, although I don’t have anything like my ideal and BASIC minimalist wardrobe of 30 pieces, in fact I have more like 100 pieces…
- I have what fits and looks good on me — As an inverted triangle, I stay away from halter-anything & I try to get more voluminous items for my bottom half
- I have streamlined down to my style essentials — I am realizing that I don’t really enjoy fussy clothing, and I have a few fussy pieces with ruffles and bows, but not many, because it is just isn’t me
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
Buy nice or buy twice. My motto is to spend the $$ to get the items I will use a lot – I want a nice purse and the per-use cost goes down dramatically if I carry it every day for three years – and go cheaper on the trendy, one-season items.
Of course, by “spend the $$,” I mean, “Find it on eBay for a price I am willing to pay.” Nothing wrong with a used, high-quality item.
I think a set of established shopping and fashion “rules” is in opposition to the parisian aesthetic and esprit. It is also very difficult to establish what is an eternal classic. Things that may seem to be fashionably and chronologically universal can fall out of value. Also, I recently lived as a Parisian university student and there is no shortage of fast fashion and cheap bag purchases among French women and girls. I would claim this as an truth, because it is merely what I personally observed and you can’t claim to understand and whole socio-cultural groups relationship to consumerism from one personal observation. Finally, I also have a buberry coat ( a trench in my case). I bought it because I like the cut, quality, experience and historical cache of the house. I totally believe that I could have found a coat of equal quality for a lower price point, but I wanted said coat and had the disposable income. Price is perhaps an indication, but not assurance of quality.
Totally adopted this a couple of years back. Not only do you save money and look better while doing it, but you feel better about yourself, more confident, and you actually wear all those gorgeous things in your closet.
No, socks don’t work as a place holder. You do need skinny jeans to attain a certain look.
I loved the rules of French women. I want to live by them! But boy is it hard for me. Because I love the experience of shopping. And I think I also get gridy because I want not just one blouse but two. And a skirt to go with it!
When I was in France I saw tons of women rocking
harem pants. I rarely see women here wear
them here. They have H&M’s and lots
of other fast fashion stores. The clothes are the same, but French women just
have flare. It’s in the air. You have to live there to absorb it. You can’t learn French style from a book. Unfortunately I wasn’t there long enough to
become infected.
Somewhere between 2K and 100 dollars you can
find a good quality stylish coat that will last.And you don’t need to spend 1900 on a designer coat to get
quality. So just admit that you bought something you wanted and be done with it.
especially since seh is moving to Texas! I did not use a coat once this winter!
*she*
Harem pants can’t look good on anyone! 😛
Bootcut wrapped tightly and held in place with socks. Now why didn’t I ever think of that!
I LOVE this post. It makes so much sense to shop this way! Thanks for outlining it so well!
Not buying cheap substitutes is key! Granted, I still shop frugally- my budget doesn’t give me a choice. But if I’m looking for a staple, I’ll look for a high-quality item in a reasonable price range, or wait for it to go on sale so I can afford it. This as opposed to buying a cheap version that’s kinda like it but falls apart in 3 months.
I’m also a thrift store maniac. To me, it’s more worth it to buy something older but high-quality at a thrift store and have a tailor update/adapt it than to shell out money at a mainstream store, where clothes are often low-quality. Actually, tailoring is another point I’d add to your list. Almost every chic woman I know has a good tailor and knows when it’s worth it to adapt something so it fits just right on her.
I’m trying reaaaaaally hard this year to avoid the “but it was on sale!” trap. Remembering to shop like a Parisienne is a good way to do that – they would never buy something just because it’s 75% off!
Love this! When I was in Paris a couple years ago, I was in awe of Parisiennes’ effortless chic. I loved shopping at some of the boutiques there.
Once I got into my 30s, I suddenly fell in love with dresses. I’ve really been trying to invest in classic, beautiful, professional dresses for work. (Think Kate Middleton’s look, if not that price point!)
Not accepting cheap substitutes is so key! I need to remember – even in a general sense – that investing in one good piece of clothing is so much better than buy 3-4 cheap shirts that won’t last the year (AHEM Forever21).