Flats or Heels? The Surprising Way French Girls Decide

The allure of French style can be maddeningly mysterious (just ask a guy what "je ne sais quoi" means to see our point), so we were thoroughly delighted to come upon a concrete tip that anyone can try. Cupcakes and Cashmere’s Emily Schuman recently posted about a French rule of thumb from one of her Parisian readers that’s too good not to share. Essentially, if you’re wearing a longer dress or skirt, opt for heels, and if you’re sporting a miniskirt of mini-dress, wear flats. This little trick will ensure your outfit proportions are always on point, and that you’re showing just enough skin. We pulled some street style outfits to illustrate the rule, and have to say that it works every time. 

Scroll down to see if you agree whether flats really look better with a shorter hemline, and heels with a longer one. Then shop our skirt and shoe pairings, and pin the slide below for future reference!

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Above-the-Knee Hemline + Flats
(Image credit: A Love Is Blind)

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(Image credit: Stockholm Street Style)

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(Image credit: Stockholm Street Style)

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(Image credit: Stockholm Street Style)

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(Image credit: Stockholm Street Style)

Shop our perfect pairings:

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Below-the-Knee Hemline + Heels

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(Image credit: Stockholm Street Style)

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(Image credit: Lee Oliveira)

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(Image credit: Stockholm Street Style)

Shop our perfect pairings:

Editor in Chief

Kat Collings has over 15 years of experience in the editorial fashion space, largely in digital publishing. She currently leads the vision for editorial content at WhoWhatWear.com as the site's editor in chief, having risen through the editorial ranks after joining the company in 2012. Collings is a Digiday Future Leader Awards nominee, was named Buzzfeed's best fashion Instagram accounts of the year, and is a member of the CFDA Awards Fashion Guild. Prior to Who What Wear, Collings worked on styling projects for brands such as Vogue, Teen Vogue, Lucky, and Oliver Peoples. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in communications and calls Los Angeles home.