Personal Finance Blog
  •  About
  •  Best Posts
  •  Products
  •  Budget
  •  Invest
  •  Books
  •  Minimalism
  •  Help
  •  Contact
Home › Minimalism › Discussions › Minimalist French Woman’s Wardrobe (As it is in my Imagination / Observation)
Minimalism, Style

Minimalist French Woman’s Wardrobe (As it is in my Imagination / Observation)

Based on my experience from visiting Paris and observing lovely, chic French women, this is what I imagine would be their minimalist wardrobe:

Minimalist-French-Wardrobe-Women

 

BASIC LAYERING TOPS

Worn underneath things like button-up white shirts, sweaters, blazers or jackets, basic layering tops tend to be in black, white, khaki green, or grey. Simple, not too tight, and slightly loose for that casual look.

SIMPLE BLAZERS

I saw them layering with these black or white blazers over those tops but also over striped shirts and white button-up shirts. It looked so effortless and easy. Each blazer I noted was very classic, or had a slight twist to it — a leather detail, a stripe, nothing too frou-frou.

CLASSIC JACKETS

Winter is not that cold in France so they don’t have goose down jackets. They have trench coats that they can layer sweaters underneath topped with scarves, and every cool French girl had a nice leather jacket in black, dark grey or brown.

STYLISH TOPS

Striped Breton tops are still chic and will always be chic in my opinion. I also saw quite a few white button-up tops, like ones from Equipment (which I adore, except now since 2009 they are made in China).

Simple, elegant.

SWEATERS

They double as Autumn jackets and underneath jackets for Winter layering. Simple colours, cashmere, simple knits.

DRESSES

One casual summer dress (you can always dress it up with jewellery), and one formal little black dress (a la Coco Chanel).


CLASSIC BOTTOMS

Jeans. Skinny, bootcut, flared… in a dark rinse. Also, their skirts tend NOT to be tight and short, they are flared and A-Line, all the better to bicycle with.

SHOES FOR EVERY OCCASION

Heels (black to match the black dress but also everything else), ballet flats (standard), sandals for summer and knee-high boots.

LEATHER BAG

One stylish, no-name, logo-free bag. Usually leather. They don’t like to show off in their handbag and hardware. No glitz or “glamour”.

GLOVES

For when it gets nippy!

SCARVES

This is where they let themselves add a bit of colour and texture, if that! I saw lovely scarves on French women even during summer.

SIMPLE ACCESSORIES

Another area they let themselves add a little personality to a neutral outfit. Bold rings, bold necklaces, all kept very simple and not overdone. A simple analog watch, a pair of sunglasses on top of their head, and they are ready to go.

Love this? Please help me share it!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Disclosure: Save. Spend. Splurge. uses affiliate links from Shopstyle and Amazon. If you click on a link, I could get a small commission, typically a few cents. Thank you for your kind support!
Classic Clothing Dressing France Minimalism Minimalist French Woman's Wardrobe Neutral Simple Things

Post navigation

  • ← Smart Glass: A glass that goes from clear to opaque with a flip of a switch
  • The Investing Series: Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) Canada →

Related posts

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEy6aATvTE6/

How many clothes is too many in a wardrobe or closet?

Style at Work: Politics, Fashion and The Rest of Us

Why and how we don’t celebrate any holiday with gifts or go all out for Christmas with Little Bun

12 thoughts on “Minimalist French Woman’s Wardrobe (As it is in my Imagination / Observation)”

  1. Pingback: How to Create Your Own Minimalist Closet — The Elegant Pen
  2. Michelle says:
    January 16, 2015 at 5:01 AM

    I think you’re spot on. I lived in Paris for 6 months and what you describe is very much what I observed. Also, Tania is completely right that American women are WAY too done up in terms of makeup. Less is more.

    Reply
    • save. spend. splurge. says:
      January 17, 2015 at 6:46 AM

      DEFINITELY.

      Reply
  3. Tania says:
    January 14, 2015 at 2:03 PM

    I’ve been definitely moving this way. Lots of soft Ts in grey, black or white. A few fitted black dresses and blazers. A few black wedges (but slim cut not clunky), booties and ballet flats. Definitely easier to get dressed this way. I also like that French women aren’t too “done”. Simple hair and very little make-up. Many American women wear way too much make-up. I just touch up here and there to define my brows and make my skin look a little better but a very natural look. If you have a flattering black dress on, great shoes, clean hair and a bare face (with a little red lipstick), it looks quite beautiful.

    Reply
    • save. spend. splurge. says:
      January 17, 2015 at 6:47 AM

      Me too. I’m starting to tone down the colours in my wardrobe. Interestingly enough, I grouped all my clothes together the other day and realized I mostly wear:

      Ivory/White
      Cobalt Blue
      Fuchsia
      Grey
      Navy Blue
      Black

      That’s it. That’s my entire colour palette!

      Reply
    • save. spend. splurge. says:
      January 17, 2015 at 6:48 AM

      Oh and as for the makeup piece — I agree. But bare faces, you need to have perfect skin, which I do not.. yet.

      Reply
  4. Kathy says:
    January 14, 2015 at 12:32 PM

    Since I retired I have much less need for a lot of clothes so almost all of mine trend to the casual side of the scale. I do have the obligatory dress and suit in my closet for wedding and funerals but most things would be considered casual to business casual. Nevertheless, I love clothes and have been following a couple of fashion blogs which have given me some great ideas for creating nice outfits. I have several pairs of pants that I pair with a variety of sweaters and blouses for a myriad of looks. I do have several coats that work really well with those outfits and have found a very simple addition of colored leather gloves that match either the coat or part of the outfit underneath creates a really chic look for not a lot of money. These gloves get switched around just like other pieces of the outfit. My biggest problem is shoes because I have a problem with my foot that eliminates stilettos, and my foot size is wide which eliminates a lot of designers and too often relegates me to “old lady shoes”. Le sigh.

    Reply
    • save. spend. splurge. says:
      January 17, 2015 at 6:48 AM

      Hmm. Maybe there’s a market for wider width heels. Even the higher end brands like Stuart Weitzman aren’t in your arena?

      Reply
  5. Jennifer Roberts says:
    January 14, 2015 at 9:57 AM

    I’ve been working on a wardrobe like this for the past several months. I’m going more minimalist with my wardrobe due to both lack of closet space and lack of budget. Fortunately I’ve got many of these items already. This is a great synopsis for novices like me. I tend to overthink most things, including style.

    Reply
    • save. spend. splurge. says:
      January 17, 2015 at 6:49 AM

      Ditto. I’d recommend this book to you too:

      Reply
  6. Taylor Lee says:
    January 14, 2015 at 8:36 AM

    Your imaginary French woman is very stylish! I’ve been thinking of mixing up my own wardrobe lately. A lot of clothes fit me too ill to give off that effortless chic (super petite, athletic figure), but the garments themselves are too cheap to warrant a tailoring. Not really looking to buy a whole new capsule, but definitely time to start upgrading a couple pieces, methinks.

    Reply
    • save. spend. splurge. says:
      January 17, 2015 at 6:49 AM

      I need to start paring back the items that are no longer “me”

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Stay in Touch!

Products by Sherry

Ebates.ca

In a nutshell…

Save. Spend. Splurge.
[ wealth. style. minimalism. ]
WHO: sherry at savespendsplurge.com
MOST DEBT: cleared $60K in 18 months
FAVOURITE DAY: payday
HATES: being late & lazy people
EATS: pho, fried chicken, sashimi
DRINKS: homemade matcha lattes
SLEEPS: on a 100% authentic cotton Japanese futon
SHOPS: Style & closet for sale here
WRITES: Author of Books on Amazon.
BEAUTY: raves about Paula's Choice
WEBHOSTS WITH: BlueHost
...but you can read more about me here, read my best posts here, or get in touch with me here, and of course, Ask me anything here

Disclosure

Save. Spend. Splurge. uses affiliate links from Shopstyle and Amazon. If you click on a link, I could get a small commission, typically a few cents. Thank you for your kind support!

Keep up to date with me!

Reading Matter

Money
Style
Minimalism
Career
Life
Travel


SUBSCRIBE

Be the first one to find out when we have new content posted!

Stay in Touch

Site: Privacy Policy

The Budgeting Tool

About Me

I am a wealth-obsessed, style-focused, minimalist.

I got out of $60,000 of debt in 18 months with The Budgeting Tool which I now sell online and donate its net proceeds to charity, along with The Investing Tool.

I've also authored two books: Start a Blog Like a Boss - Making $1000 USD a month & Invest your Money Like a Boss - In 4 Hours a Year.

I earn like a princess when I work but am trying hard to live like a duchess instead by not spending all of it.

The rest of the time I relax and enjoy the time off by traveling, although traveling has been on hold lately with the arrival of Little Bun, my rambunctious, ever-hungry little boy.

Welcome.

©2019 Save. Spend. Splurge.. All rights reserved.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.