How to Recreate the Effortless French Girl Aesthetic

The effortless French girl

She’s normally captured galavanting across a Parisian street, at an art gallery with a super-chic outfit on. Or she’s casually eating breakfast in her amazing apartment. She’s got some freshly baked croissants, and she’s wistfully looking out of her apartment at the Eiffel Tower. 

The effortless French girl is classic and stylish, but it is sort of a no-effort thing as if she just rolled out of bed that way.

In this tutorial, we're going to explore the core themes in the French aesthetic, key wardrobe pieces, and how to emulate that effortless French style.

The French aesthetic

I think the key to the whole French vibe is less is more. First up, before we get into the specific garments that the French girl wears, we have to talk about the color palette.

The effortless French girl has a very muted color palette; she likes beige, camel, champagne, white and black. Most of the colors are very muted except for a classic military red, which is a color they like to throw in there too.

Having such a muted and select color palette can be a little bit restrictive. At the same time, it’s actually kind of a good idea because it means that every piece of clothing that you own goes with other things in your closet very easily.

Another major element of French style that I’ve noticed is quality over quantity. So as you’ll see, the French girl likes to invest in quality pieces that are timeless and classic.

Elements of the French girl style

1. Blue jeans

The first piece of clothing I always see the effortless French girl wearing is a classic pair of mid-wash blue denim jeans.

I rarely see them wearing skinny jeans, it’s almost always a straight cut or a boot cut. Pretty much all of the time, they are high-waisted or maybe a mid-rise.

2. Silk blouse

Another staple piece for the effortless French girl is some sort of satiny, silky blouse. I normally see them wearing them in a cream or champagne color.

Generally, they like to go for an oversized fit and tuck it into those blue denim jeans. 

I will say that this look is very classic. It’s a timeless outfit that’s not going to go out of style. As trends come and go, you can add a trend piece to this very classic outfit.

3. Cami top

As well as the silky blouse, the French girl does like a silky cami top. Wearing lingerie as clothing does go along with that whole undone, "I just rolled out of bed this way" vibe.

I think that a crucial way to pull off the cami top as clothing is going for one that is a little more dressed up, so maybe one that has a little bit of lace on it.

Another trick to pulling off the cami top is to make sure the rest of your outfit is quite dressed up, tailored even. That way, it doesn’t look like you’re just wearing pajamas.

Here, I’ve gone for these black linen tailored shorts and then popped on a structured leather jacket over the top. The cami element of the outfit gives it that casual, undone, sensual vibe.

4. Leather jacket

The leather jacket in the outfit leads me to another French girl staple that I’ve noticed which is… a black leather jacket. The one I have has quite a 90s vintage feel to it.

Or you could go for that more traditional biker-style leather jacket. This seems to definitely be a staple piece for the French girl, and I think it’s a great way to add texture to outfits.

5. Tousled hair

Let’s not forget effortless French girl hair. They all seem to have perfectly tousled undone hair that floats around, yet it doesn’t look messy. 

6. Claw clip

I’ve also noticed that they like to accessorize a lot with a little hair scarf in there or a claw clip. Claw clips are coming back in in a really big way.

I like them because they’re very practical to sweep your hair up, but they’re not a hair tie that pulls your hair back tightly. You get to have that undone, wispy look while wearing your hair up.

7. Beret

I do think the ultimate accessory is a beret. I don’t know how many girls in Paris are running around with a beret on; I suspect probably not many, but who cares! When I think French girl, I think beret.

Going for a beret in that French girl color palette is always a good idea. In general, hats and hair accessories are an easy extra thing that adds some je ne sais quoi to your outfit.

French aesthetic style guide

Now you are all clued up about the French girl aesthetic, you're ready to emulate the style. Go for classic, timeless pieces in a neutral color palette, and you’ll be looking très chic in no time!

Let me know your favorite element of the French aesthetic in the comment below.