Certainly Paris fashion
week beats the bejesus out of everyone else (New York, too furry;
London, too silly; Milan, too Footballers’ Wives), but what of the
French themselves?
From staying slender despite a
diet of red wine and baguettes to having perfectly-behaved children, the
fascination with French women and their seemingly idyllic lives shows
no sign of abating. More than staying slim, however, it’s their chic
sense of style and elegant insouciance that has the rest of the world
gnashing its teeth in envy.
Parisian chic is elegant and effortless, and much classier than the
standard American getup of Uggs and a North Face. It’s easy to pull off
if you know what you are doing. With a few key pieces and the right
attitude, you’ll look you walked right off the Champs-Élysées!
The bag.
It’s not an accessory, it’s your home. It’s an indispensable shambles
where you’re just as likely to find a shrivelled up four-leaf clover as
an old electricity bill. If it’s beautiful on the outside, that’s just
to keep up appearances. And so that no one ever wonders what’s inside.
The little black blazer. It smartens up a scruffy pair of jeans
(the ones you wear all the time) and you wear it on days when you don’t
want to make it look too obvious that you don’t feel like making an
effort.
Ballet flats. Your equivalent of slippers. You don’t choose
between comfort and elegance; for you, it’s all or nothing. Nobody ever
saw Audrey Hepburn wearing carpet slippers.
A small silk scarf. It has more than one function. First, it adds a touch of colour to a dark outfit without running the risk of a fashion
faux pas. Then, when it rains, you wear it over your head like Romy
Schneider. And, on occasion, you can even use it to wipe your child’s
nose when you’ve run out of tissues.
Basic oversized sunglasses. Every day, even when it’s raining,
because you always have a reason to wear them: too bright out, a
hangover, tears running down your face, a desire to be mysterious…
Keep styling
Angelika
(credit: Mag)
