Obviously French and American fashion trends are incredibly different just like any two countries really. But, I noticed it especially because when I moved all of my clothes were very California surfer style which were strange over there. Also everything I had was way too cold for the weather there. It sucked because I brought the majority of my closet expecting to dress how I did back home but then not using like half…
Like many girls in LA, I loved wearing crop tops. A crop top with some ripped mom jeans and Vans was my go-to outfit. In France, crop tops are TRASHY. Okay I know, I know the mom’s and dad’s reading this are probably thinking, “crop tops are trashy!” But for my generation, crop tops are totally in and not specifically thought of as trashy. Of course, it depends on how cropped the crop top but generally you can wear one and still look classy. Another thing is leggings! Leggings are pretty unacceptable unless you’re wearing them while you work out in France. So two of the things I relied the most on to easily pick an outfit were now inappropriate to go out in…
After the first month of living there though it started getting colder and it was getting more difficult to differentiate the outfits I wore with the clothes I had and could actually wear. So I decided it was time to go shopping. I bought a big scarf, a big turtle neck sweater and some tights. If those things don’t already just make you think, French outfit then you’ve probably never been to France. From that point on I put tights on whenever I wore any dress or skirt. I wore my scarf literally everywhere. And that sweater has gotten an incredible amount of use already. Girls, if you’re ever wondering how to make your outfits a little French-er, just buy those three things and add them to your outfit and you’re set. Another thing you can throw on is a beret of course. I was surprised that I actually saw people wearing berets… I mean I knew that it was a French stereotype to wear berets but I didn’t think it was actually true.
I had a hard time putting outfits together though. Sometimes before going out I would spend like an hour trying stuff on. Luckily, I thought of the idea of making a photo album with a bunch of outfits that I wore and worked out. I took pictures and kept them in an album on my phone so that I could just look through what to wear instead of trying everything in my closet on for an hour. Here are some of the ones I came up with…
Another couple of things I started wearing were turtle necks and heals as you can tell. Everyone wears both of those things. Turtle necks are super convenient because it gets really cold and they keep you nice and warm along with make you look a lot classier. And for the heals, everyone wears them. Personally I love wearing heals but I always felt like I was “trying too hard” wearing them back home so I didn’t wear them. But when I realized it was more of a norm in France, you better believe I took advantage of it.
Lastly, anything tight is popular. The tighter the better (besides leggings unfortunately). Skinny jeans are the big thing (even on guys!). Tight t-shirts, tight leather skirts, tight dresses and tights are all very popular at the moment.