Since it suddenly became all rainy and grey outside, and since summer seems like really far away right now, I noticed that I’m starting falling back in my winter routine, where I clearly show that making me move even one step away from my wonderful heating and my warming tea mug is the most evil act you can do. So as soon as fall is setting in, I start protecting myself from the universe by wearing shapeless pullovers and hoodies. Besides the fact that I suddenly look much more dangerous and that people give me anxious looks, I also notice that my taste in fashion is changing. Or actually, it decreases to non-existent. And when I was thinking about how terrifying I look during autumn and winter, I started wondering how other girls manage it to look just perfect in big and shapeless pullovers and trousers that are full of holes while I just look as if I spent my nights standing by a bin fire. And I came to the conclusion that it’s the French touch and this funny nonchalance which has the mighty power to make French girls look good even in the simplest clothes, at least, this explanation works with the cliché. At first, this phenomenon came to my attention during my time at university. There was this girl who went to the same classes, and who was always wearing outfits that looked somehow neglected but still charming. If I had to find a famous person to who this girl could have been compared, I would say Kate Moss when she was with Pete Doherty. Boots and skinny jeans, a loose t-shirt, out-of bed hair and this fascinating allure. Funnily, this girl wasn’t even aware of having a very characteristic style and when I complimented her on her outfit, she just frowned, laughed and then said “Oh what, this? This is my sleep-t-shirt”. And what’s even funnier is that she would just put that same allure to any other outfit, and in this case, that is something very charming. Because even when she dressed up for a night out, there was still this hint of indifference which made her outfits look chic but casual and cool. She is half French, by the way. And when I came to Paris, I found out very quickly that this kind of chic negligence Is a real thing here, even though I haven’t met any girl who embodied it as perfectly as my former fellow student did.
In order to make you believe that all I just said is true at that the kind of style I just described really exists, I would like to share a photo which I took not too long ago. I really have to apologize for its bad quality, I took it in an H&M store and I think that any girl, who has ever tried some trousers on there, knows how terrible the classical H&M lights are. And what’s not very flattering for your body can’t have a much better effect on a photo. Anyway, I hope that you will still be able to see why I absolutely had to take the picture. But just to stress it: I love how easy this outfit looks, but still, it’s far from neglect. I also like the Pikachu print and the black boots which make the outfit interesting.
Category Archives: Fashion
streetlooks – la première
After a few attempts where I didn’t dare to ask people whether they would mind if took a photo of them for my blog, I finally succeeded in overcoming my shyness and took my first pictures. What you see are two different interpretations of a creative and interesting summer look. I really like the combination high-waist skirt, loose top, and hat. It has something very charming and unconventional, it’s feminine and cool.
What I like a lot about the first look is its understatement. I love that there are only a few details, as the accessories, the print on the skirt, the black nail polish and the red lipstick which give this look an interesting twist.
The second look is fascinating for me because it’s such a great mixture of colours and prints. Of course, the main colour here is grey, but the shoes are kind of flashy, which gives a great contrast. I also like the accessories in gold a lot, and of course, the different prints.
And here are the two inspiring and fresh looks, which I find more than worthy to be shared.
The overall
Today I would like to share my thoughts about one of the most striking garments ever: the overall. This article of clothing which became the identification mark of the working class by the end of the 19th century, made its way to the runway and has been reinvented and converted to a voluminous, fluttering…thing…which is supposed to make you feel very feminine and classy, and yet casual. And after becoming some kind of it-piece, the overall also somehow invaded my neigbourhood during the last summer.
Just to be precise, I’m not talking about tight jeans overalls, here, as I consider them as suits of armour which have the same characteristics as corsets, namely being too tight and stopping you from breathing. But on the contrary to the corset, a tight jeans overall just doesn’t make you look any better. This article is about light summertime overalls, which are supposed to give a nice suggestion of your silhouette and which are made out of silky, almost floating material.
Unfortunately, the kind of overall I just described is the one you can see on the runway shows, where only the most precious clothes and outfits are presented to an exclusive crowd. Of course, grand designers only chose the best materials for their collections and so it’s not astonishing that the outfits you see on the catwalk cannot be compared to what you see in reality, as is the case with the overall.
And so I started wondering, what is it that makes this peculiar piece of cloth so popular?
First of all, I think it makes the girl who wears it feel comfortable. Since it’s wide and bulky, it’s the perfect outfit for a picnic or a BBQ – no bad feeling after having eaten half of the buffet; the overall hides everything under its tent-like largeness. It even protects you from embarrassing too much when you get excessively drunk, since nobody will ever see your underpants even if you ignore your posture and spread your legs sitting in the grass, trying to reach out for the last drop of Champaign in the almost empty bottle on the other end of the picnic blanket. It seems as if the overall is your best friend in all situations. It helps to hide the weak points of your silhouette (sure, because it just hides everything) and it tries its hardest to make you look ladylike, but also casual and uncomplicated. The overall has not been created for unapproachable divas; its history prevents it from ever getting the same status as an elegant dress. It seems more suitable for girly teenage girls who still need to find their style. But still, what kind of statement do you make wearing an overall? The only possible things that I can imagine are “I was too lazy to get dressed”, or “I don’t care”, or “I hate my body” or “My friends forced me to come to this stupid picnic, I actually wanted to spend my Sunday afternoon watching TV and eating tons of chocolate, but now I’m here, and I declare my full disrespect for this event through my choice of dressing”. Well, honestly, nothing of that seems very ladylike or sociable. And that is exactly the reason why I don’t get girls who wear overalls (and who complain that they couldn’t get into that highly fashionable club although they’re always so fashionably dressed).
By the way, there is a funny movie scene which just came to my mind. In the movie, there is pretty Renée Zellweger who wants to seduce some guy and it goes rather well. They’re somewhere where there’s a lot of wood and so he invites her hunting. The only small problem is that Renée Zellweger’s character is from Miami and so she doesn’t have anything to wear to go hunting and so the guy, gentleman as he is, helps her out and gives her that wonderfully terrible overall. Everything is perfect. But, as they arrive in the woods, she needs to pee – which becomes a huge problem, since the overall is zipped on her buttocks and of course the zipper is stuck. It’s weird, I know. Anyway, since she isn’t able to open to this damn thing, she needs to call her gentleman knight who finally cuts her out of the overall. Long story short, she needed help to be able to pee just because of an overall – I think that clearly sums up everything I have to say about overalls. And I’m thinking how great it would be to see more dresses again. Summer dresses, comfortable dresses, in fact, overall addicts wouldn’t even notice the difference, they just need to keep their legs close together. But wouldn’t it be much nicer not to be compared to a clown, anymore, but to have the elegance of Grace Kelly or even a Greek goddess?
jlouisewinter 
