When asked what French Dressing is about, I could find many many blogs, magazines, books, even videos etc... answering this question relatively accurate. So, here is another one among those many... I think that being French and if I ask my friends in France to help me collect info about the way we dress, it actually is quite challenging to take a look at ourselves and simply deliver you "the secret ingredients" to dressing the way we do. So, why not let the foreigners, who are very intrigued and have investigated themselves, offer a better answer to this question...The excerpt is from the book Bonjour, Happiness! by Jamie Cat Callan on French Dressing, in which I can sort of see 90% of myself through these paragraphs :)
Before she even adds the quirky finds she might discover at a vide-grenier, the Frenchwoman will start with a basic palette of neutrals, either black or navy or beige or camel, and then she add splashes of color with scarves and jewelry, shoes or boots or gloves. She might wear all black, but add a hot pink cardigan as a form of color blocking. Still, she practices the concept of less is more and because she chooses her basics carefully they last a long time and it seems as if she owns more clothes than she really does.
As for an American woman, this system of dressing can actually be easily replicated. First, choose your classic looks carefully and invest in quality fabrics and design. And since these well-made basics are generally not inexpensive, don't spend the money on any of these classic wardrobe components until you find the one that fits you perfectly. You want them to last for a long time. Here's what you'll need:
The classic white shirt (at least one)
The pencil skirt (black, navy, camel, white)
The perfect-fitting jeans
Several T-shirts or tank tops in black, navy, and white
The classic little black dress
A jacket in your favorite neutral shade
Great-fitting trousers in quality material
A cashmere sweater (in your favorite neutral shade)
A cardigan (in your favorite neutral shade or a complimentary shade)
To this, you can add some fun accessories that show your personality, a little quirkiness, and your imagination. Perhaps your unique accessory is a colorful silk scarf your grand-mother gave you or a fun necklace you found at Target. Perhaps it's a pair of hot pink textured leggings you bought in Paris last year. It could be something you bought directly from a artist at a crafts fair. Perhaps it's a pair of killer heels or a pocketbook you found in a consignment shop. The point is, this accessory is something that infuses your own personality into the very basic and minimal classic wardrobe. It's also where you can afford to indulge in a passing fad or this season's hottest look. If you don't spend much on it, it doesn't matter whether it'll look silly twelve months from now.
Next, choose your signature secondary color. Find something that looks particularly great with your coloring. It's helpful to go with a friend and try on scarves. Put them under your chin and decide which colors really bring out your eyes, your hair, and which colors make your complexion glow. Next, think secondary patterns. I personally love the red plaid found in Royal Stewart tartan. I have a little skirt I bought in Los Angeles in 1993 and still wear it. I consider it my lucky skirt because I met my husband while wearing it! Currently, I am working on bringing leopard print into my wardrobe, but since I'm trying to avoid looking like a "cougar", I've limited my obsession with cat power to a pair of leopard heels and a leopard pocketbook. Okay, that's not completely true. I confess I just purchased a Dana Buchman leopard print coat. It's very light and so sexy and well, I couldn't resist. I actually bought it in a local consignment shop for a song.
So, this is what I mean-you don' have to go to France to get the French look. The secret to the French look is simply about paring quality basics with unusual finds. Vide-greniers, flea markets, and consignment shops are part of the secret. So, how do you cultivate the "eye" for discovering the treasure from the trash when it comes to secondhand shops?" [To be continued]
I think this should help a few of you who'd like to start wardrobe editing using the French Dressing perspective. If you like to read more of these pointers, leave me comments/let me know so I can incorporate/share more of these little secrets... Thank you! ;)
