The American woman’s obsession with French style continues…between the topknot and the ballet flats is this very particular way of looking chic and insouciant at the same time that we love to emulate {yours truly included}.  They have a certain je nais se quois! These are the ladies who wear red lipstick and skirts while effortlessly biking about Paris.  {I’d be a grubby little mess attempting such a feat, and I’d be doing it in a pair of workout pants.  Gauche, not Gamine.}

Lately there has been a buzz about the parenting style of the French & who hasn’t heard of their knack for staying slim?  In the outtakes of the movie Bridesmaids there are scenes of Lillian and Helen biking around Paris with baguettes.  Our cultural conscious is speaking French!

These pieces are the foundation of French style.

Woody Allen’s recent film Midnight in Paris shows France’s own First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy looking pared down, but brilliant:

I’ve been a fan of Amelie since it came out in 2001 {the DVD was also my very first Ebay purchase}.  Audrey Tautou plays that quirky, do-gooder of a character while the cinematography captures the streets of Paris beautifully.  See it if you haven’t! Her hairstyle in that movie sent many American girls to the salon.

Audrey Tautou and Marion Cotillard are just two modern day examples of the cult of c’est chic and they certainly inspire a girl to make the effort, but not to try too hard: