The French Woman Mentality : Wardrobe Segment

The French Woman Mentality : Wardrobe Segment

The French woman. I want to be like her too.

 

We idolize her. Her undone hair, her seemingly no makeup look, all with a ridiculously perfect completion.  She wears perfectly fitting jeans topped off with her leather jacket that she has worn since college and her favorite ankle boots.  She putts little effort into her appearance, but she looks killer!

I have read "How to be Parisian Wherever You Are" several times and follow a slew of French women on Instagram for inspiration. Some of my favorite women that I follow are: one of the authors of the above book Caroline De Maigret, model and French fashion icon Jeanne Damas and Morgane Sezalory , creator of French brand Sézane.

Here's what I have taken away from my research and how you can come a little closer to being French no matter where you are.

1) Less is definitely more.. 

I feel that we have adapted a more is better mentality. Less is more has become foreign to us. It's a concept that we don’t feel is attainable. How could it be possible to live with a 20 piece wardrobe? Just a few handbags and shoes? How could our makeup bags consist only of tinted moisturizer, blush, mascara and lip stain? 

As much as I try to live a minimal lifestyle, I fail miserably in the handbag and shoe category. I find myself stashing shoe boxes under my kid’s beds because I can’t possibly part with my red-soled platforms, even knowing that I might never wear them again.

So how do we accomplish this simpler way of dressing? My thought is this: don’t try as hard.  

We scramble to put together the perfect outfit as each occasion arises. Carefully thinking over each detail from the right shoes to every accessory.  

We to let go a little. So what if you wore that dress last month to a friend’s cocktail party? Throw a leather jacket over it and wear a different pair of earrings. You will be the only one that knows. Promise. 

2) Only keep what you love

Now it’s elimination time! I suggest removing EVERYTHING from your closet when doing this. Your edit will start to make sense when you put back what works for you, and you are less likely to keep things that you don't need.

When going through your closet, ask yourself these questions about each item: Does it fit well? Do I love it? Can I put together multiple looks with it? Is it still in good shape?

Throw out anything that doesn’t fit the bill. If you are like me and can’t bear to part with your designer shoe collection from 2007, find a place other than your closet to have a small archive of sentimental pieces.

If you decide that you need reinforcement/emotional support during this process, call someone who will tell you the truth. And if you don’t have an honest opinion, just give us a call and we will send over a team member to whip your closet into shape! 

3) Make a plan

Make a wardrobe plan. Spend time thinking about what you need to complete outfits, so when you are presented with an opportunity to go out and show off, you aren’t franticly scrambling around to find something to wear. That’s when you are most likely to make bad purchases.

Invest in mileage pieces, items that will give you multiple looks. For example, a leather jacket, a well fitting pair of jeans, a LBD, classic pumps, ankle boots, a button down shirt and an expensive tee.. yes, I said it. You can not recreate the look and feel of a nice 100% cotton tee. It will look better as you break it in and will end up being the item that you wear the most.

Give this a try and next time we will cover how to minimalize your surroundings!

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