#it's so hard to find men's shoes that are cute and also vaguely affordable

[beaft]

i want to believe you are correct, but there's a whole bunch of websites and stores that don't even carry shoes in a women's size 9. buying men's shoes is less of a problem, but sometimes you just want to wear a funky colourful shoe with a little heel, you know?

I hate my stupid giant feet why is it so hard to find nice shoes that fit

[petite-madame]

Can you tell me about french fashion? I see a lot of articles about "how to dress like a french? parisian chic etc etc..." How do you dress dear little lady!

Hi anon

Can you tell me about french fashion? I see a lot of articles about “how to dress like a french? parisian chic etc etc…" 

Good question!

Ok, it’s abit hard to define what is “French fashion” or even “French chic” but I’m goingto try. However, I’m gonna stick to Paris not because I think that Paris is thecenter of the world but because it’s my town and I prefer sticking to what Iknow.

First, whenyou think about “French chic” you certainly think about something like this:

Do somewomen dress like this? Yes of course, tons, particularly in their 20′s-30′s, but not all of us do and this look hasbecome a caricature of the “Parisian chic look” over the years. For me, it’sthe stereotype of the Elle Magazine look and of actress Lou Doillon: nude makeup to make people believe you are “naturally beautiful and fresh”, “saut du lit”(out of bed) hair (= I spent two hours at the hair dresser to make my hair lookjust a bit messy but not too much + subtle caramel highlights here and there), slimjeans and designer bag (vintage is a plus). It was very “bobo” (bourgeois bohème) when it started but now that you can find this look easily in shops like H&M, Zara or even Forever 21 it has become a kind of a “default look” for women who want to be “casual chic” and trendy. 

So, somewomen dress like this in Paris, true. But do you know how the vast majority of us dress?Casual. Very casual. Jeans, black parka, convenient shoes to walk (becauseParisians apparently walk 6 km a day on average according to a recent study). Not a lot of bright colors (exceptfor the people who shop at Desigual. Spanish teachers mainly…xD). If you want tosee how we dress, go to Google and look for pics of people in the means of transportation (train, bus, etc…) or in the street. For instance, here’s a photo of students during a demonstration:

Your average Parisians…

If you want me to be more precise, THE fashion item of the past 1-2 years, is the Canada Gooseparka (well, the knock-offs mainly because the original is very expensive).Always very popular, Converse shoes, Stan Smiths sneakers, and little black boots (always a classic)

I findParis fashion pretty bland lately. Everybody is dressed the same, not a lot ofcolors. Not a lot of visible make-up (except for some girls who are into the “Instagramlook”, you know, big eyebrows and contouring…but it’s SO two years ago…xD). Doyou know what is also a factor for this “bland look”? It’s sad to admit it but it’sstreet harassment. A lot of women don’t want to be annoyed so they tend tothink twice when they wear short skirts or bright items. Does it mean that ALL women thinkabout this when they dress? Of course no, thank god, but it plays a part particularly for women who live in some precise areas. And even for some men too, who want to avoid attracting attention for fear of being mugged. 

What is a bit sad about “French fashion” these days is that you have a standardization: people shop at Zara, H&M, Primark, etc…and then, you have in Paris people dressed like people in Amsterdam or Madrid. Same brands, same clothes, same people. 

Does it mean that the “French chic” is dead or non-existent? No, but you have to know where to find it. You still have eccentric or very elegant people with Chanel and Vuitton bags but you don’t see them in the street or in the means of transportation. You meat them at parties, vernissages, trendy coffee shops (Le Coste for instance) or in expensive shops like Vuitton, but not the Vuitton shop at the Champs-Elysées (it’s for tourists), much more the Avenue Montaigne or Saint-Germain des Prés shops. A little world just a few of us have access to (not me). Really, we don’t live on the same planet.

All this leads me to a question: who the hell wears all the fancy and eccentric stuff I see in shops and that are always sold out? You should see Zara’s Winter collection this year: a thing of beauty. Velvet dresses with embroideries, coats that look like the ones of Poiret, jackets with golden button, etc…All these items were sold out in a couple of weeks but when I walk down the street I NEVER see them on people. Do people wear them at parties? Am I hanging out at the wrong places? WHO WEARS THESE CLOTHES? How the hell this silver trousers I saw on a mannequin once at H&M and that I wanted to try on just for fun was already sold out?!

Anyway,even if it’s difficult for me to tell you how we dress, I can tell you how weDON’T dress. We don’t dress like non-French Instagram influencers who think that Frenchpeople dress like in a 1960’s Nouvelle Vague movie. We don’t wear berets orrarely. We don’t care about Jeanne Seberg in Breathless (A bout de souffle) andwhen you see girls like the ones below, they are tourists. They want to dresslike this during their vacation? They think it’s cute? Awesome. It’s actuallyvery cute but…hmmm…no, you can tell in one second that they are not from Paris (or that they are French influencers doing pics for their insta page and surfing on the cliches to appeal to an international audience)

And don’tget me started on Chinese tourists who dress like in the 1950’s and takepictures with flowers in their hand, usually at the terrace of a café. I mean,it makes great photos but it’s not representative of French fashion at all. But you know, tourists…Whatever makes you happy folks! 

There are also some fashion trends that you see on tourists and you know immediately that they are not French: very fancy coats with sneakers (OH MY GOD, why?), Birkenstock shoes with socks, ENORMOUS parkas with a belt, hand bags with big rhinestones…

How do you dress dear little lady!

I’m goingto disappoint you, I’m not very original either. A pair of jeans, a blue parka.It’s my uniform somehow. However I wear a lot of make-up, far more than the average person and my make up is often a too fancy for what I do. We tend to prefernude and minimalist look here for women over 30 but I’m into a Dita Von Teese kindof look even when I go to the supermarket. I never go out without red lipstick. I even have a golden custom case with my initials on it, to put in my bag.

Anyway, my fashion item of the moment is not very “burlesque” it’s thesesneakers, a collaboration between the brands Salomon and Avnier. They look like skeletons, I love them.

If I could afford them, I would buy these Gucci shoes because I love them so much ♥

Voilà, I hope I answered your (difficult) question. Thanks a lot anon ^^