Ooh La La: 13 French Girls You Should Look to for Perfect Parisian Style

Are you as obsessed with French style as much as we are? From the ingeniously concise ways these girls craft capsule wardrobes to our newfound love for their country's first ever online-only label, Sézane, it's not just the lofty runways of Paris Fashion Week that fascinate us.

The French fashion crew may not get as heavily street style snapped as, say, the Italians, but that's because their outfits aren't outré and are rarely lens-attracting. But that doesn't mean they're any lesser in terms of real-life impact. These ladies are subtle, classic and often wearing the very same outfit they wore last week and the week before that… And the week before that. They're the kind of women we aim to dress like more often—chic but not try-hard, casual but somehow smart, trendy but never slavish to trends. 

So of course you know styling gurus like Carine Roitfeld already, but what of some of other sartorial luminaries that fly un petit peu under the radar? Scroll down to see the French fillies whose wardrobes we'd like to raid—then shop for sophisticated buys to match them.

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(Image credit: Vanni Bassetti/Getty Images)

Who: Caroline de Maigret

What: Model, muse, musician, generally cool human being

Wear: Caroline wears the hell outta trousers. She's often snapped in a tailored suit, but these Fendi leather pants caught our eye—who would've thought to pair them with a romantic blouse?

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(Image credit: Rindoff/Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Who: Aymeline Valade

What: Model, actress, Saint Laurent girl and our ice-blond hair icon

Wear: Aymeline brings a smidgen of rock chic to every look—even in a smart Dior ensemble like this. Note the swept back hair, stacks of jewellery and rolled-up cuffs.

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(Image credit: Timur Emek/Getty Images)

Who: Camille Charrière

What: French-British blogger who could easily be mistaken for a Scandi thanks to her capable skills with oversize clothes

Wear: Camille doesn't have a set look, but what you will often find in common with each outfit is a certain degree of déshabillé—a too-long sleeve there, mussed-up hair there…

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(Image credit: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)

Who: Clémence Poésy

What: Actress, model, darling of the fashion world

Wear: Clémence is the kind of girl you'd imagine in a Chloé advert (fact: she actually is a Chloé campaign girl), breezing through a field with tousled hair and a bohemian gown. She also does tomboy very well–case in point, those flat shoes.

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(Image credit: Osiah Kamau/Getty Images)

Who: Lea Seydoux

What: Actress, Bond Girl, total babe

Wear: During the promo trail for Spectre, Lea proposed a series of seriously sharp ensembles, from the red carpet to the sidewalks. She's always very polished—think of a Hollywood version of French dressing—and often seen wearing Prada.

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(Image credit: Vanni Bassetti/Getty Images)

Who: Julia Restoin-Roitfeld

What: Art director, model, founder of super-cute mommy blog Romy And The Bunnies

Wear: Julia, as you can see, has cracking legs. She's most commonly seen in a miniskirt with heels, balanced out with something suitably casual like this striped knit. Sassy but never too sassy.

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(Image credit: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

Who: Julie de Libran

What: Fashion designer and artistic director at Sonia Rykiel

Wear: Those in the industry think Julie is about as cool as they come—that's plain to see in the way she rocks the hell outta those silver Sonia Rykiel pants. Her choices aren't as simple as the standard Parisian formula, so for wildcard French style, this is our woman.

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(Image credit: Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images)

Who: Anne-Catherine Frey

What: Designer, stylist and blogger

Wear: This angelic face first captured the hearts of street style photographers as a student when she kept having her picture taken at Paris Fashion Week. Her elfin qualities are cut through by a wicked wardrobe—her style is very changeable, she's currently looking quite grungey.

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(Image credit: Jacapo Raule/Getty Images)

Who: Jeanne Damas

What: Designer, occasional blogger, muse, model, It girl

Wear: Jeanne always injects a girlish attitude to even the most relaxed looks (especially via a little lipstick) and we've noticed a thread of the 1970s running through her wardrobe.

Related: The Paris Fashion Week Show Everyone's Talking About

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(Image credit: Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images)

Who: Jennifer Neyt

What: Editor in chief of Vogue.fr

Wear: She's a denim addict by the looks of things and has persuaded us into wearing white jeans again. With heels and a demi-tuck of a shirt or knit, Jennifer always looks artfully pulled together.

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(Image credit: Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Imahges)

Who: Violaine Bernard

What: Stylist, marketing guru and street style favourite of Tommy Ton and Garance Doré

Wear: Violaine is cute, cute, cute. She wears sweet clothes in the sweetest ways, putting together unexpected layers in a fairly strict colour palette so her vibe never reads as wacky.

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Who: Geraldine Saglio

What: Stylist and Vogue Paris fashion editor.

Wear: Geraldine can often be seen walking at the side of her magazine's editor, Emmanuelle Alt, and the two certainly share a love for skinny jeans, belted jackets and kitten heels.

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Who: Garance Doré 

What: Photographer, illustrator, writer and blogger

Wear: Garance is adept as wearing masculine clothes without losing any of her innate femininity. She extols the virtues of top-quality, simple wardrobe pillars on her blog but is just as partial to a frivolous shearling coat, for example.

Next up, 10 secrets to getting dressed like French women. 

Hannah Almassi
Editor in Chief

Hannah Almassi is the Editor in Chief of Who What Wear UK. Hannah has been part of the the Who What Wear brand since 2015, when she was headhunted to launch the UK sister site and social channels, implement a localised content strategy and build out the editorial team. She joined following a seven-year tenure at Grazia magazine, where she led front-of-book news, fashion features and shopping specials as fashion news and features editor. With experience in both print and digital across fashion and beauty, Hannah has over 16 years in the field as a journalist, editor, content strategist and brand consultant. Hannah has interviewed industry heavyweights such as designers including Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Anderson through to arbiters of taste including Katie Grand and Anna Dello Russo. A skilled moderator and lecturer specialising in the shift to digital media and e-commerce, Hannah’s opinion and work has been sought by the likes of CNBC, BBC, The Sunday Times Style, The Times, The Telegraph and MatchesFashion.com, among many others. Hannah is often called upon for her take on trends, becoming known as a person with their finger of the pulse of what’s happening in the fashion space for stylish Brits. Hannah currently resides in Eastbourne with her photographer husband, incredibly busy son and highly Instagrammable cat.