Parisian Women

Since moving to Europe, I have had the opportunity to visit France several times. As you know, I absolutely adore the way French women dress, particularly Parisian women. I have been studying with great intensity how they take something ordinary and make it chic and I think I figured out one of their secrets. I think…

As we were walking around Paris for our 2 year anniversary in the height of Summer tourism, the local women were blatantly obvious from the tourists. My suspicion was confirmed over and over when inevitably they would begin to speak in their beautiful language. So what did I see?

They love contrast. If they are dressed up they add a casual item.. If they are dressed down, they add a dressy item. For example:

A simple denim shirt, jeans and heels. Ordinary right? But add the cape and voila! It takes on a whole different feel.  For some reason I imagine that this lovely full length cape came straight out of her grandmother’s closet.

I saw so many examples of style like this. Women in shorts and a plain v-neck t-shirt with a sequined scarf or sequined jacket thrown over their shoulders, women in simple cotton sundresses with a low heeled sandal or court, women in a t-shirt and jeans with a fancy bridal type hairdo and lovely red lips. Always that clash of casual and dressy. I saw one girl who could have been the poster child for what we Americans think of as Parisian; a lovely waif of a girl riding her bike in a simple sundress with a pixie cut and bright red lips leaving her University classes.

Another thing I noticed (much to my chagrin) is that they all wore heels. Everywhere. All the time. I’m not sure how they do it as so many of the sidewalks and streets are uneven and/or cobblestone but they do it. I will say that most of the time the heels were 3″ inches and under. There was the occasional girl who had on LA heels (5″ and up) but for the most part, they were reasonable height and all of the women I saw looked comfortable and walked with confidence.

Thank you Parisian women for inspiring me to add some sparkle and shine to my own wardrobe as most of my items are simple and plain! I’ve since added the following to my own wardrobe:

I’ve already worn the pearls with a navy/aqua/purple/white mix flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. The gold heels I originally purchased for a wedding, but I have lots of ideas for them. 🙂

What fun contrasting item can you add to your next outfit?

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