All of my Parisian Style & Wardrobe Posts can be found here.
So we’ve gone over how to get into a French-style mindset in Part One, and I’ve shown some sample outfits in Part Two of how some women dressed.. so I thought for Part Three, I’d give a really fast Parisian Wardrobe Essentials List based on the outfits I saw, and just what I thought would work well.
These items work for all four seasons, or the ENTIRE year. This is not just for one season, but basically for life (in my eyes)!
NOTE: If you live in Canada, or somewhere equally cold, you might need to add a goose down jacket and some winter boots to this along with appropriate winter accessories.
Otherwise, this covers most basic winters that aren’t freezing cold. Or if you live somewhere rainy you’d want to add a raincoat or a trench coat and rainboots to this mix. Or somewhere hot, you’d remove the winter coats and sweaters.
WHOA, WHY ISN’T IT ALL BLACK OR GREY?
Okay before we go on, you will notice that I didn’t make the entire wardrobe black, grey or navy blue.
This is just because.. I can’t do it.
I can’t make a list of Wardrobe Essentials and make it totally 100% BLACK.
It just isn’t in me.
However if you want to go REALLY Parisian, make everything on the list above in black or grey and you’ll be fine.
This wardrobe is as neutral as you’ll get from me. I’m itching to add colour but I’m also trying to stay true to what a real Parisian wardrobe would look like.
LIST OF EVERYTHING IN MY IDEAL PARISIAN, MINIMALIST WARDROBE
You can also cut out some duplicates like not having two white shirts, or two chain necklaces, but I like the idea of variety.
Starting with the clothing and ending with accessories, going from left to right, top to bottom:
BLAZERS / JACKETS / TOPPERS
- White blazer — A tuxedo or dinner-style jacket
- Black blazer — Because you can’t just have ONE blazer that isn’t black, now can you?
- Black leather jacket — If you only have one leather jacket, make it black or brown
- Mixed tweed/leather jacket — This is both casual but also dressy
SWEATERS
- Navy sweater — A staple
- Camel sweater — Another staple in an acceptably neutral colour.
- Black turtleneck — Thick neck, cowled, or in a thin knit, it’s a staple as well
SHIRTS / TOPS
- Fitted black t-shirt — Naturally!
- Fitted white t-shirt — Ditto.
- White drapey t-shirt — A loose t-shirt in any neutral colour works (grey, black, navy, etc)
- Navy patterned tank top
- Graphic grey tank top — To keep things fun and casual
- Plain grey tank top
- Striped Navy blue long-sleeved shirt
- White long-sleeved shirt
PANTS
- Black skinny jeans
- Dark denim jeans — you can also make these skinny, bootcut, or straight-legged)
- Black trousers — a classy trouser
SKIRTS
- Black pencil skirt
- Flared black skirt — To add another layer of texture and dimension
DRESSES
- Casual grey summer dress in a pinstripe
- Black sheath dress
COAT
- Autumn or Winter wool coat in a neutral colour (camel is what I chose, but black works)
SHOES / HEELS / BOOTS
- Leather sandals
- Ballet flats
- Black pumps — no platforms, and in a chic, classy, manageable height
- Tall leather boots
- Short biker boots
PURSES
- Black clutch
- Casual satchel bag
- Structured bag
ACCESSORIES
- Simple minimalist watch
- Sunglasses
- Gloves
- Circle scarf
- A fun patterned scarf
- A bright scarf
- Pearl studs
- Dangly earrings
- Delicate necklace with a small pendant
- Layered chain necklaces (in gold and silver)
Et voilà!
You can make a ton of outfits out of this for the entire year, from Spring to Winter.
You just need to mix, match, layer, and keep it simple.
All of my Parisian Style & Wardrobe Posts can be found here.
