I have to admit, I was slightly thrown aback when I started on the first page of 'How to be Parisian'. I wasn't exactly thrown back till the fact that I stood dumbfounded with my mouth widely hung for like a good whole minute, but I wasn't anticipating it. It was after all, Parisian; something you would associate with poise, class and presence. You'll know a Parisienne once she enters a room, her presence spreads throughout the walls and permeates the entire compartment. She carries that effortless class and wears that signature scent that when you smell it from a distance, you'll instantly know that the Parisienne is arriving. Despite that stereotypical portrayal we'd always project on Parisienne/Parisians, that aphorism in the book was lurking with a subtle hint, yet conspicuous, of naughtiness.
"Always be fuckable: when standing in line at the bakery on a Sunday morning, buying champagne in the middle of the night or even picking the kids up from school. You never know."
Do you get what I mean by an unexpected surmise?
With that stated, in order to fully achieve that Parisian look and mainly character, I continued scouring through the book. "There has got to be some sort of clue that would lead you to looking like a fuckable Parisienne."
"Virtues of a Signature item" was bolded across page twenty-eight.
Even when it mentioned a singular noun 'item', I look at it as a whole; an entire outfit (singular too, do not that no 's' is present) that justifies and distinguishes a Parisienne from the rest. And this is what I concluded: a basic black blazer, a used and abused white t-shirt and a pair of good, straight cut cigarette jeans.
This H&M Black wool double breasted blazer is something which I coincidentally possess and am currently donned in it, and if you guys missed the Studio '14 collection, perhaps this BLK DNM double breasted tuxedo blazer or this Alice + Olivia long tuxedo blazer could be your basic black blazer.
Everyone needs a white t-shirt. It's like primer to a foundation, truffle oil to truffle fries. It's a necessity. If you're rich, you can try out this T by Alexander Wang classic pocket slub t-shirt. But if you're not that affluent, this Topshop viscose t-shirt is a good substitute. If you're feeling a little too hot in a sweltering and humid climate that is similar to the one I am in, this BLK DNM muscle tank is the best option if you really want your hell hole - also known as armpits - to achieve maximum air ventilation.
Basically if you're on a tight budget and you really want the perfect cigarette jeans, Zara does it the best. I swear, almost all of my jeans (like really almost all) are from Zara. Basically, the jeans are aforementioned from Zara. The first cigarette jeans is not exactly pre-folded up, but you can do that wide fold which I believe is rather fashionable now. The second is a cigarette dark denim jeans that nicely graze at the ankles, which is also the same for the black denim cigarette jeans at the absolute right.
I don't think it's quite challenging to achieve that 'French chic' look, despite the fact that I was facing some difficulties that thereafter led me to take advantage of slogan t-shirts and now contradict to what I once said. But is it possible for everyone to emulate the same amount of effortlessness like the French masters?
H&M Studio blazer, COS white t-shirt, Zara cigarette jeans, Proenza Schouler clutch
Image credits Imran, collage images from all over the web