Parisian Fashion

While studying abroad I've been lucky enough to travel to other countries outside the UK and one of them happened to be the fashion capital of the world: Paris, France. Because of this I feel inclined to write a post on the differences between Parisian and English fashion, and their differences with the US.

Even though it was cold in Paris this didn't deter any of the locals from looking like they just stepped off a runway. You'll see no parkas or sweatshirts here, except from the tourists. If there was one overarching style choice of Paris it would be that everyone wears black! Or at the very least, mostly neutral tones. This is a significant change from England as most of the people, especially the younger crowd, favor bright colors and bold statements such as purple pants with a yellow top.

How the locals chose to dress for the weather was split among the population, specifically the women. Many women wore very nice trench coats or even fur to keep warm. Other women chose a look which is popular in England as well which is shorts with stockings underneath. The stockings were often black-sheer with some sort of design. I've included examples below. While it may not have kept them warm, I did fall in love with this look as it dressed up the shorts and made it look very chic. However, even with my New England blood, I don't think I could have pulled it off in those temperatures.

The Parisian men, on the other hand, dressed very nicely, but also, more similar to the U.S. than English men. In England, the men, like the women, chose very individual and loud clothing. In Paris they were much more reserved and conservative. The dress was often nice cut jeans or dress pants and a sweater or button-down shirt. Most younger guys in the U.S. don't necessarily dress like this every day but they do dress more conservative and the majority don't prefer to make loud statements with their style choices.

Another thing that was clear in Paris was that you could easily tell the difference between the tourists and the locals. While we tried to blend in as best as we could there was a general chic-ness to the clothing the Parisians wore compared to the tourists. In general, I found that each Parisian was able to express their own style in an understated way while also following a set of unspoken rules for dress which allowed them all to look collectively fashionable. Overall, I was very happy to see that I had not been misled and Paris is definitely a, if not the, fashion capital of the world.