Less Really Is More

The French approach to beauty is simple, wear makeup in moderation and enhance your natural look without overdoing it. This means taking pride in your skincare routine to ensure you are working with a clean and fresh base that will give you a healthy glow to begin with. French girls often sneer at foundation, applying just a touch of concealer where necessary, for example under the eyes or to cover a blemish. After that, all you really need is a dusting of natural blush for that sun kissed look, a sweep of bronzer to warm up the outskirts of the face, lip balm and your good to go! That really is all you need to master the Parisian perfect ‘au naturel’ makeup look and the result is looking like you just woke up like that!

£ 36

CHANTECAILLE Radiance Gel Bronzer, 20ml

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£ 12

LE LABO Lip Balm

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£ 44

WESTMAN ATELIER Baby Cheeks Blush Stick

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Messy and Undone

Their secret to perfectly imperfect tousled hair is again, unspurisingly, ‘au naturel’. Choosing to embrace the messy and undone look means that little to no work goes into creating the effortless masterpiece that is their hair. Spritzing a salt spray and leaving natural curls to come through or using a styling tool to tease waves through your tresses are just some of the ways you can achieve this look, but a tip to note is that French girls often go to sleep with their hair wet, waking up to foolproof messy waves.

When it comes to haircuts, some Parisian favourites include the classic bob, long layered bangs and the flawless fringe.

£ 10

OUAI Wave Spray

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£ 69.99

Beauty Works Waver

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£ 22

OUAI Leave In Conditoner

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Effortlessly Chic

Simplicity is key when it comes to Parisian dressing and their love of a wardrobe staple knows no bounds. Their pure sense of style is down to the pairing of just a few key items that work together to create the ultimate cool girl vibes. A Parisian lady isn’t Parisian if she doesn’t have a pair of straight leg blue jeans (preferably some Levi’s 501s) hanging around in her closet. These casual bottoms, paired with a white shirt of choice, some feminine ballet pumps, and a trench if the weather calls for it, exude the ultra Parisian everyday style.

£ 100

501 Levi’s Original Jeans

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£ 500

MAISON MARGIELA Tabi Leather Pumps

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Night time dressing isn’t much different either and the laidback look has proved popular, century after century. A Parisian’s love for good tailoring is ever more apparent as a stylish suit set is often worn for an evening in the French capital. Being the city of love as it is, Parisian dressing often calls for a bit of romance and that is where the silk slip dress comes in. It’s soft to the touch fabric, subtle spaghetti strap, and floating hemline make it the transcendent romantic gesture for when the sun goes down.

£ 385

THEORY Satin Midi Slip Dress

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Words By Ella Citron-Thompkins

_{Photo Credit: Gerasim Kutsarov}

The post Voir’s Guide To Giving Your Style A Parisian Twist appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Hedi Slimane’s AW19 runway at Celine unveiled a collection that transcended the lines between the controversial ‘new Celine’ signalled by Phoebe Philo’s successor, and ‘old Celine’, embodied by an archetypal French bourgeois dressing.

There is only one thing I seem to want to buy this season. The pieces I’m drawn to in shops, the pieces that stand out to me in magazines, the pieces I’m inclined to compliment at the office, all seem to have one thing in common: checks.

My current eye for checked attire undoubtedly traces back to earlier this year, to March 1st to be precise, when Hedi Slimane’s AW19 runway at Celine unveiled a collection that transcended the lines between the controversial ‘new Celine’ signalled by Phoebe Philo’s successor, and ‘old Celine’, embodied by an archetypal French bourgeois dressing.

An overwhelming feeling of ‘too much fashion’ swept the recent SS20 runways in New York London, Paris and Milan, the pressing issue of sustainability and the questions arising linked to fashion’s detrimental ecological impact giving rise to a wave of streamlined collections of non-trends and versatile wardrobe staples. Slimane’s return to Celine’s non-fashion origins back in spring seemed to be in some ways a reflection of this same message, at once an homage to the quintessential French bourgeois woman’s wardrobe and an appreciation of timeless staple pieces embedded with a glamorous yet wonderfully wearable allure. And no less than 18 of the looks that graced the runway featured some form of tweed or check-patterned clothing, the majority of them essentially a slightly differentiated take on a singular uniform built upon a foundation of a country-check pleated midi skirt, accessorised with printed silk foulards, glossy knee-high boots and horse-bit belts.

The beauty of trends and prints from previous decades making a comeback is that you don’t need to buy or consume anything new to wear them. You’ll find a plethora of checked blazers and skirts in charity shops and vintage stores

The seventies Parisian bourgeois-meets-British countryside aesthetic renaissance headed by Celine also swept the AW19 catwalks at Tory Burch, Chloé and Max Mara. Its ubiquity on the runways and consequent pervasion into high street stores arguably makes checked clothing a trend, but its pulling power lies in its nostalgic history – an ode to a time before trends became the swift one-in, one-out cycle that they are today, – as a timeless classic that works season after season. It slides perfectly into the broader 70s revival alongside conventional country-inspired accessories among the likes of equestrian-style boots and belts, vintage-luxe-inspired gold chain jewellery and classic tailoring.

The beauty of trends and prints from previous decades making a comeback is that you don’t need to buy or consume anything new to wear them. You’ll find a plethora of checked blazers and skirts in charity shops and vintage stores – my work colleague found a £6 vintage St Michael’s (Marks and Spencer’s old clothing brand) tweed blazer that I’m insanely jealous of in a charity shop, while I invested in a second-hand Miu Miu checked A-line skirt in a resale store in Paris.

Some of the trends we see on the runways can seem too unwearable, too niche or too out of reach for the everyday, but checks are an ode to the quotidien, the perfect source of office-dressing inspiration. A checked overcoat or blazer with gold toggle hardware is the perfect subtle yet trendy addition to a monochrome office ensemble, paired with polished pearls and loafers that look as if they’ve been plucked from a Parisian boutique. A tweed skirt with an over-the-knee hemline works wonders with a satin blouse, silk scarf and a pair of mid-heels. Warm and neutral colour palettes, dominated by brown and beige hues, mean they fit effortlessly into winter- and workwear-wardrobes that, even if they seem to be having a particular moment right now, never tire year after year.

Words by Ruby McAuliffe

Graphics by Katie Janes

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The post Check Mate: Celine, Countryside Tweed And The 70s Bourgeois French Girl appeared first on Voir Fashion.