French Class

I wrote this piece for Nerve Magazine while I was Fashion Editor there during my second year of university. It was inspired by the observations and experiences of my friends and I during a trip to Paris this Summer.

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Paris: the fashion capital of the world. I do confess I was planning outfits months before departing for the stylish city with my group of friends in July this summer. But can you blame me when it’s this fashion forward city that founded Haute Culture? The dream was to blend in and become a temporary Parisian, just for a few days. But alas, this was never to be.

After arriving on the Sunday evening we marched down to the Metro. This was the first time we were spotted. My friend had a peep of midriff on show, between jeans and a purple and black striped cropped t-shirt. She was approached by a small elderly woman as we grasped on to the handrail who poked my friend in the stomach before claiming she was "showing too much - French men like the belly too much!" I had bought my friend the top for her birthday with the view of her wearing it on our trip, but failed to realise it would hinder our camouflage.

The next evening, after a day of exploring the capital in a July heat that required us to wear very little, we arrived at our accommodation when a young French man called out to us: "welcome to my country, I am a nice boy." We had been spotted again - four very BRITISH girls. It was these two incidents plus a number of other looks and stares during the day that made us realise we needed and wanted to change our ideas about how to dress in this city

The trouble is we Brit girls dress for the weather. As soon as the sun comes out so do our pale pins, hoping to turn them a little bit golden. We wouldn’t think twice about strutting our bare legs in the streets of London or adorning a cropped number on a night out. It’s hard to believe that just over the Channel, clothing ideologies are so different that we felt this out of place. Some may see this way of thinking as backwards, but to be honest I found it refreshing.

Instead the French let the clothes do the flirting for them in feminine longer dresses or tight denims mixed with sharp tailoring – topped off with loose locks and the manner of understated sexy. Fashion is no longer a one-dimensional thing. With so many eclectic styles over the world it's hard to believe that the sight of women in shorts was so rare. But after revealing everything possible near to being naked, perhaps it’s time we thought about covering up.

On our Paris trip we decided to respect and adapt, folding our skimpy shorts back into suitcases and bringing out other more demure options. We roasted in jeans and trousers for the rest of the trip. To a British eye, we looked ridiculously overdressed for the temperature, but we felt at ease. More to the point, we blended in. I was thrilled when I was asked to reach for something on a high shelf while shopping. I had been mistaken for a Parisian. Although, I exposed my identity when I gabbled an apology in English.

This idea fits well with the demure feel of the current fashion state. We have been lusting after longer hemlines for the past few seasons: the maxi, the midi and for the moment it is all about the feminine forties from which the pencil skirt is the pinnacle, (see Miu Miu, Jonathan Saunders and Marni) The silhouette sculpts alluring feminine curves, but hemlines lie conservatively on the knee. I know I am looking at trends intended for the Winter, but equally those pretty tea dresses by Marni would have been perfect for what eventually became my demure summer in Paris.

Au Revoir!