It’s tricky coming up with brands like Sezane but cheaper.
Plenty of American brands are cheaper but can’t land the French thing. Plenty of French brands channel that same Parisian chic but charge just as much (or more). (Looking at you, Sessùn — and Soeur and APC and Balzac etc etc.)
A side note: I need to shop on a budget, and I love Sézane’s style, so I’m always looking for brands like Sézane but cheaper. That said, I generally prefer alternate shopping strategies to ditching the brand, which I detailed in this post — there are plenty of barely worn Will jackets on Poshmark and eBay and other resellers. Buying American brands at lower price points can mean skimping on quality, and buying inexpensive(ish) French brands from the U.S. can mean canceling out your savings with delivery and customs costs. I’ve included French brands here despite this, mostly for readers visiting France or already there.
Speaking of: As a direct result of tariff chaos, fewer French brands deliver directly to the U.S. — you can get around this by using a reshipper, but at that point it’s probably just cheaper buying Sézane. If a €50 sweater that’s a dupe for a €100 Sézane sweater costs €63 to ship via Chronopost…just buy Sézane, right?
All that said, there is a very narrow band of inexpensive French brands and very clever U.S. brands (plus, uh, one Swede). These are the best.
#1 QUince
Quince has so many beat-for-beat Sézane dupes that we did an entire post on it. The best swap is probably the denim — I actually like Quince’s better since it has a little stretch in it though this is strictly a preference issue. The savings don’t always work out: Their version of the Gabin is virtually indistinguishable from the original…and $60 more expensive.
ROI: 5/10
Frenchiness: 3/10
Sézane-cool vibes: 3/10
Delivery: Standard is free
#2 Liberté (🇫🇷)
Honestly this would be #1 on the list if it shipped to the U.S., because if you’re just looking for Sézane style for less, it’s hard to beat Liberté. They have tons of cute stuff — including the dress and ruffled blouse at the top of this post — for a fraction of what you’d see at Sézane (that fraction is usually about 1/2). But it does feel closer to fast-fashion, and the materials that don’t feel as nice — the vibe is right, but the details are only part of the way there.
ROI: 5/10
Frenchiness: 10/10
Sézane-cool vibes: 7/10
Delivery: Not currently shipping to the U.S.
#3 MONOPRIX (🇫🇷)
Monoprix is my (and essentially all of France’s) go-to for pens, pencils, printer ink, Diet Coke, olive oil, those weird French word puzzles, sunscreen — and indeed clothes. It’s particularly good for straightforward tees, linen pants, swimsuits, and underwear. This dress? This is a great, simple dress, and it’s €56, which is undoubtedly cheaper than what you’d find at Sézane. Much lower hit rate than Sézane, but when it hits, it hits. (FTR the homewares can be amazing.)
ROI: 8/10
Frenchiness: 10/10
Sézane-cool vibes: 2/10
Delivery: No longer ships to the U.S.
#4 AN'GE (🇫🇷)
An’ge is a 40-year-old French brand that channels some of that same whimsical vibe — not consistently but often enough to make it worth a look. That shirt on the left? That’s a really great shirt. Some dresses look quite Sézane-y, while others look — Farm Rio? It’s getting there. Not a Sézane replacement but there’s enough here that it’s worth a bookmark.
ROI: 5/10
Frenchiness: 10/10
Sézane-cool vibes: 3/10
Delivery: Ships to the U.S.!
#5 MAKE MY LEMONADE (
)
Make My Lemonade is on the border because (a) its vibe is generally looser and more colorful than Sézane’s and (b) its prices can be just as high, which defeats the “cheaper” part of “brands like Sézane but cheaper.” That said, it can be a good place to look for pieces that are similar but more ready to party. Also, Make My Lemonade’s models are much more representative of the world at large, which is great.
ROI: 2/10
Frenchiness: 10/10
Sézane-cool vibes: 8/10
Delivery: Free shipping to the U.S. over $200!
#6 &Other Stories
&Other Stories is so big that it’s inevitable some of its pieces feel super Sézane-y. As one of H&M’s subsidiary brands, it shares the mothership’s fast-fashion model — collections come in and out with a shift in the breeze — though the materials are certainly higher quality than you’d find at H&M. The whole concept here revolves around collections created in one of three ateliers: in LA, Stockholm, and Paris. Sézane-adjacent pieces can be found in all three, though the savings can be small.
ROI: 4/10
Frenchiness: 6/10
Sézane-cool vibes: 8/10
Delivery: Free shipping to the U.S. over $200!
#7 Madewell
Madewell’s the default option for American brands channeling Sézane style (maybe via California): You won’t find the Frenchier, more feminine stuff here, but you will find the more casual range: boxy pants, boxy tees, striped sweaters, etc. Its normal prices are extremely competitive with Sézane’s, but they go on sale frequently.
ROI: 4/10
Frenchiness: 2/10
Sézane-cool vibes: 4/10
Delivery: $5 for economy shipping
You must be logged in to post a comment.