I Went to Paris, and Here's What People Wore

I've been told the French dress well, so I stared at people in Paris like a creep.

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Welcome to the latest Fashion Friday! Since I’ve gained a lot of new subscribers recently, heads up that every Friday I do an article about fashion, but fashion isn’t my main “thing.” No, you did not accidentally subscribe to a fashion Substack. But hey, I encourage you to check it out anyway. If you’re a man and not interested in women’s fashion, check out my guide for how men can dress sexy or the results of the men’s fashion survey.

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For a long time, I’ve been irked by the fetishization of “French girls” as the arbiters of fashion. No, I do not want to “dress like a French girl” or “eat like a French girl” or “flush the toilet like a French girl” or whatever. I’m pretty happy being American and given that I don’t even live in the most fashion-forward place in America, going out of my way to appear French doesn’t feel like a worthwhile venture.

I know I look American, and I don’t care.

I went to Paris over spring break this year with my family. I did not care about being clocked as an American. I kind of figured I’d be, and I was fine with that. The clothes I packed on my trip were just clothes I enjoyed wearing, not clothes that I was hoping would make me appear Parisian. The irony is not lost on me that my usual ‘60s-inspired, Chanel-inspired knit stuff is exactly what clueless Americans wear when they are trying to look French, but it’s just my personal style. I regret to inform you that I saw multiple Americans wearing literal berets in Paris, so it could be worse.

Anyway, I spent a ton of time in Paris people-watching, specifically for the clothes. It’s not so much that I wanted to dress like a French person, but Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world, so I was curious to see what was trending (I visited in 2019 as well and discovered an abundance of chunky sneakers, which inspired me to buy my own.)

So anyway, here are the stuff I noticed everyone in Paris wearing: