{"id":4502,"date":"2022-01-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/?p=4502"},"modified":"2025-01-19T19:09:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T00:09:10","slug":"fashion-cliches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/","title":{"rendered":"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many critics pointed out that the hit Netflix TV series Emily in Paris<\/em> was riddled with French culture clich\u00e9s, and the one thing everyone loved to hate the most was the fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From red berets to Eiffel tower shirts, Emily Cooper seemed to adore breaking all the sacred Parisian fashion rules and preferred to walk around like an American-in-Paris<\/a> clich\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, the Wall Street Journal<\/em> declared that the perfect Parisian woman clich\u00e9 is over<\/a>, yet it chose a photo of French model In\u00e8s de la Fressange wearing a striped blue shirt as the featured image for their story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But are all these French fashion clich\u00e9s really just fake tropes from decades past? Is there any truth to them, even today? Do real Parisian women actually<\/em> wear these fashion clich\u00e9s? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I live in Paris and today I\u2019m going to share whether each major French fashion stereotype is real or not!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

French Fashion Clich\u00e9s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are the biggest French fashion clich\u00e9s and whether they are actually worn by French women or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"french
Saint James<\/a> striped shirt, Lescarf<\/a> scarf, Laulh\u00e8re beret, Etsy market basket, Chanel 2.55 bag, Repetto<\/a> flats, APC<\/a> trench coat, Chanel<\/a> lipstick, Saint Laurent<\/a> dress, Etsy Birkin wicker basket bag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beret<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Clich\u00e9<\/strong>. The biggest French clich\u00e9 of all, the beret<\/a>, is just that \u2013 a stereotype with no real basis in reality. The rare berets I see on the streets of Paris are worn by much older couples, not young French women! So if French octogenarian style is your thing, then, by all means, wear the beret! Otherwise, this is one fashion trend that can rest firmly in the pass\u00e9<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Striped Shirts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real<\/strong>. The most quintessential French top is the La Marini\u00e8re shirt<\/a>, also known as the Breton top, with its many blue and white horizontal stripes. This is one fashion clich\u00e9 that lives on in France. You can see striped shirts and even sweaters everywhere in France, including Paris. The style has been adapted and reinterpreted by dozens of fashion designers over the years, but the classic Saint James shirt still remains ever popular! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silk Scarf<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real<\/strong>. French women really do wear beautiful silk scarves<\/a>, even if they aren’t all by Herm\u00e8s<\/em>. I see colorful silk scarves on the streets of Paris very often. While French women don\u2019t wear them every<\/em> day, this is one trend that I don\u2019t see going away any time soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polka Dots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Clich\u00e9<\/strong>. A black and white polka dot dress is the French fashion clich\u00e9 I remember the most from decades past. While some designers still use polka-dotted fabrics for their clothing, polka-dotted dresses aren\u2019t everywhere<\/em> on the streets of Paris the way one might imagine them to be. So while there\u2019s nothing wrong with polka dots, they aren\u2019t as ubiquitous as a real fashion trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trench Coat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real<\/strong>. Trench coats<\/a> are very much an essential part of the French wardrobe and they can be seen on women across France. These waterproof beige coats are practical for rainy Parisian days and go very well with most outfits. This is one outerwear clich\u00e9 that’s real!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chanel Bag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Clich\u00e9<\/strong>. Not every<\/em> French woman owns a Chanel bag, or any other French designer bag<\/a> for that matter! Luxury bags are still too expensive for most people, so the French prefer to buy a quality leather bag from a contemporary handbag designer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ballet Flats<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real<\/strong>. Ballet flats are an everyday shoe that you can spot on the sidewalks of Paris or at a local caf\u00e9 terrasse<\/em>. They might not be as high-end as Repetto ones, but this French girl shoe<\/a> design is definitely still going strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red Lips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real<\/strong>. Red is the color of choice for French girls in Paris. The bright red lip<\/a> is a Parisian makeup trend that has stood the test of time in France for sure! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birkin Basket Bag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Clich\u00e9<\/strong>. Honestly, I adore<\/em> the Birkin wicker basket bag<\/a> and I get compliments every time I wear one. But the truth is that most French girls do not own one unless they\u2019re posing for Instagram! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Straw Market Bag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Real<\/strong>. French straw market tote bags<\/a> are not a clich\u00e9 in France at all. You can spot these large woven basket bags with brown leather straps at just about any French farmer\u2019s market in the country! They\u2019re a practical way to carry around your purchases and are beloved by the French! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There you have it \u2013 my take on the French fashion clich\u00e9s the world associates with France. In total, it looks like only 4 are in fact clich\u00e9s and 6 are actually real fashion trends worn by the French! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your thoughts on these French style clich\u00e9s?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[184],"tags":[175,107],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"French fashion clich\u00e9s","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!","yoast_head":"\n10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The French\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/frenchgirldaily\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-18T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-20T00:09:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/french-fashion-cliches.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Victoria Petersen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@frenchgirldaily\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@frenchgirldaily\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Victoria Petersen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Victoria Petersen\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c9fe3ec9c6447786f612994d099be88e\"},\"headline\":\"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-18T14:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-20T00:09:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/\"},\"wordCount\":808,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"clich\u00e9s\",\"fashion\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Fashion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/\",\"name\":\"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-18T14:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-20T00:09:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Culture\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/culture\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fashion\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/culture\/fashion\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/\",\"name\":\"The French\",\"description\":\"an American in Paris\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"The French\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The French\",\"alternateName\":\"The French\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/theFrench-Logo@2x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/theFrench-Logo@2x.png\",\"width\":691,\"height\":316,\"caption\":\"The French\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/frenchgirldaily\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/frenchgirldaily\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/frenchgirldaily\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c9fe3ec9c6447786f612994d099be88e\",\"name\":\"Victoria Petersen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65f1e7b62bf82d993eac201bca11d8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65f1e7b62bf82d993eac201bca11d8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Victoria Petersen\"},\"description\":\"I am an American girl from Connecticut living between Paris and Miami Beach. TheFrench.com is a place for women who love French culture and style. I hope this site inspires you to adopt a modern 'French' lifestyle and build a casual chic wardrobe that takes you through all of life\u2019s moments. If you like what you read, please consider subscribing to my weekly newsletter! Bisous...\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/victoriaptrsn\/\",\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/victoria_ptrsn\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/author\/victoria\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?","description":"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?","og_description":"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!","og_url":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/","og_site_name":"The French","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/frenchgirldaily","article_published_time":"2022-01-18T14:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-20T00:09:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1600,"url":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/french-fashion-cliches.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Victoria Petersen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@frenchgirldaily","twitter_site":"@frenchgirldaily","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Victoria Petersen","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/"},"author":{"name":"Victoria Petersen","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c9fe3ec9c6447786f612994d099be88e"},"headline":"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?","datePublished":"2022-01-18T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-20T00:09:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/"},"wordCount":808,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["clich\u00e9s","fashion"],"articleSection":["Fashion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/","url":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/","name":"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-01-18T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-20T00:09:10+00:00","description":"Do French people actually wear the big French fashion clich\u00e9s? The answer may surprise you!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/fashion-cliches\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Culture","item":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/culture\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fashion","item":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/culture\/fashion\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"10 French Fashion Clich\u00e9s: Do Parisians Actually Wear Them?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/","name":"The French","description":"an American in Paris","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#organization"},"alternateName":"The French","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#organization","name":"The French","alternateName":"The French","url":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/theFrench-Logo@2x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/theFrench-Logo@2x.png","width":691,"height":316,"caption":"The French"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/frenchgirldaily","https:\/\/twitter.com\/frenchgirldaily","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/frenchgirldaily\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c9fe3ec9c6447786f612994d099be88e","name":"Victoria Petersen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65f1e7b62bf82d993eac201bca11d8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65f1e7b62bf82d993eac201bca11d8f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Victoria Petersen"},"description":"I am an American girl from Connecticut living between Paris and Miami Beach. TheFrench.com is a place for women who love French culture and style. I hope this site inspires you to adopt a modern 'French' lifestyle and build a casual chic wardrobe that takes you through all of life\u2019s moments. If you like what you read, please consider subscribing to my weekly newsletter! Bisous...","sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/victoriaptrsn\/","https:\/\/pinterest.com\/victoria_ptrsn\/"],"url":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/author\/victoria\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4502"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7182,"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502\/revisions\/7182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}