Paris Fashion!

Well, we made it HOME. It was the longest flight EVER and as I type this, my eyelids are very heavy. *yawn* I just finished talking to my Mother and Sister, giving them the wrap up of the trip and I got lots of questions about what the French people were like, so I thought I'd write about that a little bit.

I spent a lot of time people watching in various neighborhoods and I made mental notes about all the French people I saw. I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked, but in the intimate cafes and sidewalk tables, it just seemed a bit rude to start snapping away. Most of the observations will be clear later when I upload more photos from the trip. One question that people have been asking me a lot is; What are the French people wearing? The answer is...the opposite of all the American tourists. :)

The French women are incredibly stylish and beautiful, generally. The older women are natural and fresh faced. There is nothing "made-up" about them. I saw very little unnatural hair color. Most of the women had these sleek little haircuts and I saw very little that would indicate use of hair product.

Most of the older women had shoulder length hair, or the quintessential French bob. Most of the younger women had longer hair and most of them wore it in an easy wavy style or piled on top of their heads in casual messy buns...and the low side ponytail was all over as well.

They were wearing a little makeup (and always had perfume on...) and definitely not wearing heavy eyeliner or lipstick. I think they probably do their eyebrows, and a little powder and mascara and that's it.

The French women really stand out from their foreign counterparts. They all have a simple and fantastic style that really comes from the accessories. They always seemed to have a great pair of earrings, a simple bracelet or an interesting ring. Their jackets were AWESOME. It seemed like every French woman I saw had a cute jacket of some sort...(the only trench coats I saw were on American women) I saw lots of swing coats with kicky little buttons, a few bomber type jackets, and lots of suit style jackets made with distressed leather, twill, cotton, and even brocade.

French women seemed to be wearing a LOT of dresses and skirts (it could be the balmy Spring weather) and their legs were mostly in great shape. French women have no reservations about showing a little leg. I rarely saw decolletage though.

I really didn't see any prints...maybe on a skirt or two, but generally it seemed like the women were wearing solid colors in the neutral family. I noticed WAY more brown than black. All the clothing had interesting details...creative pockets, buckles and buttons. Oh, and leggings were everywhere! Usually black, but more like tights and they hit about 3 inches above the ankle, not mid calf.

The French do denim, but they do it with so much style! No light colored denim was anywhere except on tourists. The French women wear dark denim, in various faded washes in a skinny fit or straight leg fit. NEVER cropped at the ankle and typically more hip hugger style than high waisted. Jeans wrinkle a bit around the ankle or are tucked into a wicked pair of calf boots (flats - I didn't see any heeled boots).

I saw a lot of older women wearing the super pointy toe stilettos, but many of the younger women were wearing stylish leather sandals, calf or ankle boots, ballet flats, or sleek sneakers in dark metallic colors like bronze and pewter. The shoes really impressed me in Paris. It seemed like every French woman I saw had this great pair of leather shoes that looked slightly worn and comfortable, but also really delicate and sleek. I didn't see ANY French woman in anything clunky or chunky. The shoes, the jewelry, everything is elegant, simple, and unique.

Scarves! They were everywhere! The older women had colorful shawls or delicate neck scarves and the young women had Pashmina scarves and checkered cotton neck scarves...Lots of stylish sunglasses and bags, but the bags are fairly small. You rarely saw any French woman hauling around giant purses. I did see them with little rolling grocery baskets, usually about the size of a carry-on.

The last thing that really impressed me about French women, was the way they walked. They don't swing their arms as much as Americans do...They are always looking up and out and they DO NOT walk around talking on cellphones. They don't look down, but they don't look you in the face...There are many other beautiful things to see in Paris I guess!

That is my style wrap-up for today...I'll write about French Men (& Boys) tomorrow!