BEFORE ANYONE gets the wrong idea, Ines de la Fressange would like to point out that you cannot just spend your way into becoming a Parisian.
“I do think it’s a state of mind,” says the original French supermodel turned designer and fashion consultant — and, more recently, and much to her surprise, bestselling style book author.
“There are people who want to buy a lot. I’m the one saying, ‘Don’t buy a lot — buy the good things’.”
Since it came out in France last fall, La Parisienne has sold well over 100,000 copies, entertaining readers with its chummy, cheery prose and prompting an English version — Parisian Chic — for an Anglo-Saxon market crowded with finger-wagging what-not-to-wear guides.
“I didn’t write it to be a best-seller,” said De La Fressange, 53, who last October reappeared on the pret-a-porter runway for Chanel, where she attained iconic status as Karl Lagerfeld’s androgynous muse in the 1980s.
“French women generally say they’re not really interested in fashion, so when I was told that it had sold more than Harry Potter or Keith Richard’s autobiography... It certainly was a surprise.”
Conceived like a Moleskine notebook with a burgundy cover, it draws on De La Fressange’s lifetime in fashion — and her habit of making lists for advice-seeking friends — to explain what it takes to truly look Parisian. To hear her tell it, it’s effortless.
Six rules apply: Mix styles and never coordinate. Reject bling. Explore new labels. If it feels right, wear it. Worship no fashion idols. Beware good taste.
Then stock your closet with a blazer (“belt it!”), trench coat (Burberry if possible, but not necessarily), navy sweater (“more sophisticated than a plain black sweater”) and tank top (“a classy supporting act”).