Ask The Kit is the real-talk advice column you never knew you needed. Every week, writer Leanne Delap answers your pressing beauty and style questions. How can I find good plus-size options? How can I get shiny hair? How do I define my personal style? Send your Qs to ask@thekit.ca

I’ve been reading about ‘French girl’ style for years, but I’m not sure what it really means. Does it change with fashion, or does it stay the same? Like everyone, I watched Emily in Paris, and I’m as confused by the secret French style codes as she seems to be. Can you break it down a bit, please?”—Yearning for Paris

Ah, yes, the ultimate fashion cliché, and the ultimate fashion goal. French woman style endures, because we all secretly want to be effortlessly chic. Period. That said, it is indeed a moving target: French woman style is constantly evolving, the subtle updates transmitted by untranslatable semaphore among Parisian women on the street. But fear not, we can glean plenty by employing the radar skills of experienced street-style voyeurs.

You mention the pop-cultural phenomenon that is Netflix’s Emily in Paris, where brash American Emily, played by British actor Lily Collins, is a fashion explosion of Day-Glo colour, wacky print mash-ups and exuberant accessories, a sore thumb in a sea of Parisian women who wear tasteful, restrained fashions in insouciant layers. French women seem to possess a proprietary outfit formula that leaves us all feeling like awkward, Emily-esque outsiders. After all, they’ve been intimidating us since long before the dawn of couture. Why do you think we still venerate British expat Jane Birkin, the original French dressing code-cracker?

When we talk about French style, we are actually talking about street style. So to help you add a few new Francophile items to your wardrobe, Yearning, I tapped my favourite Canadian street-style photographer. Stylist, artist and jewelry designer Roslyn Griffith Hall also captured the best looks off the runway on the streets of Paris over many fashion weeks under the nom de plume Rue de Roz. She currently is working as a costume buyer for the Netflix series Sex/Life. “Fashion is important to the French,” she says. “They take it very seriously. You will never see Parisian women on the street wearing sweats. Dressing up is a ritual and there is power in that.” Gravitas.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have fun. “Playful has a whole different meaning for the French,” says Griffith Hall. “Their wardrobes are made up of very good pieces that they wear over and over and find new ways of mixing together. Classic pieces that last: a good overcoat or peacoat, a good trench coat, a great blazer.” French women, she says, wear labels, but they do so thoughtfully, sustainably. “There is so much less throw-away fashion going on.”

Then, she says, they layer on a shirt or top with an interesting sleeve, or a special detail like an oversized collar, or a new shoe to create a new look. “That is what I call play. Emotive dressing, where you can express your mood through fashion, how you are feeling that day.”

Many French women are feeling very ’90s these days, as seen in the addictive, anonymous street-style account @parisienesinparis, a good source French style inspo. “It’s ’90s retro through a French lens,” says Griffith Hall. What does that translate to, in terms of building a shopping list if you want to get into that groove? “Silk slip dresses and bias-cut skirts, like we saw on Kate Moss in the ’90s,” says Griffith Hall. “Maybe with a chunky, short cardigan or an oversized blazer, and an ankle boot.”

Playing with proportions is another key element of French woman styling, she says. “We are seeing that playing with proportions at Viktor & Rolf, Balenciaga, Martin Margiela,” says Griffith Hall. But you can update your look without spending on big-ticket items, by adding a big overcoat or “by going to your favourite vintage store or Cos or Zara and adding your own shoulder pads to a too-big blazer to get that silhouette.” Most importantly, things should never be tight or clingy, she says. “Sexy looks more like a short skirt under a big jacket; that is quite French.”

Denim is an eternal style fixture in the city of eternal style. “We are seeing those long cords and bell-bottoms coming back,” says Griffith Hall. But a plain jean, she says, with no bells and whistles or rips, something like an old-school Levis 501, is still the best bet to get you that French woman look.

We really should think more about how men typically shop to understand the French woman, she says. “A guy will add maybe a couple of things a season. It isn’t about reinventing the wheel with all new stuff every year.” Griffith Hall says French women—and stylish women everywhere—add menswear items to their wardrobe to get that classic vibe. “I love a Brooks Brothers button-down shirt. Menswear, the quality of the way things are made. That is sexy. Don’t wear them too tight; you want to have a little play across the back, in the sleeves, so you can move.”

As to footwear, Griffith Hall points out that even in France, most women are on the move, and high heels don’t work for the all-day metro and taxi hustle. “I love the open-toed mule for a night out,” she says. “Or an ankle boot, or even a combat boot.” Choose “not a high heel, not a low heel, one with enough lift that you can wear all day without ‘Oh my God, my feet are killing me.’”

As for beauty, the basic elements of the French look—messy bedhead hair and bangs and red lipstick—look more natural with sleek, classic accessories. Griffith Hall reminds us of what Coco Chanel decreed as key to keeping your look chic: “Go back after you are dressed and take one thing off.” The hardest thing to replicate? What Griffith Hall calls “that I don’t care what you think” kind of individual spin on styling that defines French women and any truly fashionable person.

 

Shop the Advice

Here are some simple things to add (or pull out of the back of your closet) to get an updated take on the French woman style. Right now, you want your look to hint at the ’90s, but in a subtle and classic way

 

aritziaAritzia dress,$148, aritzia.com
Shop Now

The ultimate little going out dress: ’90s throwback with satin and ruching. Make it modern—and French—by pairing with an oversized coat or blazer. Sexy is found by mixing proportions.

 

Aritzia Babaton skirt, $98, aritzia.com
Shop Now

Another ’90s reference, the slip skirt—can be cut on the bias for extra retro points, or slit, or a bright colour cut to midi length. Pair with a chunky cardigan or an oversized topper.

 

CosstoresCos coat, $368, cosstores.com 
Shop Now

Invest in a great coat. This unusual—but classic and subtle—colour would fit right in on a Paris cobblestone street.

 

 

Zara Zara cardigan, $60, zara.com
Shop Now

A quick way to get the insouciant French take on the ’90s: Throw one of these over the above satin skirt or slip dress.

 

Saint Laurent Saint Laurent shoes, $995, holtrenfrew.com 
Shop Now

The ultimate going out for dinner splurge. Mules, an eternal French favourite, are going to be huge this year. These are the fantasy shoes we would put in our closet if we could. Timeless, classic, always just right, and very, very French woman.

 

 

This article contains affiliate links, which means The Kit may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by advertising. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information

 

    More Ask The Kit