All posts filed under: elements of style

jeanne damas sunglasses

Jeanne Damas Sunglasses: 21 Perfect Pairs

Published by Diana

Jeanne Damas sunglasses! There’s no easier way to French style than finding your own best take on the uber-influencer’s lunettes. If you haven’t bought her book — In Paris: 20 Women on Life in the City of Light — it belongs on the same francophilic bookshelf as How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are. If you are looking for near-daily photos from what seems like an perpetually stylish vacation in the South of France, you will absolutely want to follow her on Instagram. And if you are interested in taking a look at her style — a primer on how to do that Frenchy-styley thing — you are bienvenue. You might want to begin with a wider look at her style — cropped sweaters! wide-legged denim! straw bags! — here. You may be most interested in her shoes (these are my 19 favorites), which seem to alternate between espadrilles (I mentioned the neverending vacations???), designer heels, and one pair of go-to booties. Or! You may be most interested in her wide array of sunglasses, in which …

jeanne damas shoes

Jeanne Damas: Her 19 Best-Ever Pairs of Shoes

Published by Diana

French model/designer Jeanne Damas wears some pretty terrific shoes. These 19 are our favorites. If you’re not familiar with her, this & Other Stories video should provide a very strange introduction, and excellent practice for wandering through a fancy mall store and saying “J’aime ça” over and over.

Caroline de Maigret seen from the back

Caroline de Maigret: Her 20 Most Fashionable Moments

Published by Diana

Caroline de Maigret is one of those French women who makes me happy that I live in France: Do we even have an American analogue? She’s over 40, modeling for Chanel, and seems to be consistently on tour with her musician boyfriend. I remember my therapist once asking me: “Are you the sort of person who — when you walk into a room — people would say, ‘She looks like she knows how to have fun?’” Uh, now that I look at that, it seem a little inappropriate, but that might also be because the answer is of course not!!

a black and white image of the actress marine vacth

Marine Vacth: Elements of Style

Published by Diana

It’s August in Paris, which is my favorite time of the year — because the weather is perfect and no one is there. So either you’re on vacation and it’s awesome or you’re in the city and it’s empty and wonderful. Fact: My last trip to the airport took 26 minutes and even my Uber driver was like, “Fuck this place I’m outta here Barcelone a demain!!!!!” 

a black and white image of jane birkin and serge gainsbourg

Jane Birkin: Elements of Style

Published by Diana

Jane Birkin: a master of French style even if she was born in London. I don’t even love her vibe so much. What I love about Jane Birkin as an example of the genre is that there’s not much to see here on some levels: These aren’t prom queen good looks, you know? Which in my experience is the essence of French (via London) beauty: You just do the best with what you have. It’s more mystique and attitude than anything else. And anyone can have mystique and attitude. It’s the great leveler, attitude, and thank God for that.

francoise hardy eyeliner

Elements of Style: Françoise Hardy’s Eyeliner

Published by Diana

Françoise Hardy is the sort of French polymath I’m not sure we have in America: She sings, she writes, she provides the soundtrack for pivotal moments in Moonrise Kingdom: Part of her genius is her management of her style: When I read Edith Wharton’s immortal wisdom (“Genius is of small use to a woman who does not know who to do her hair”) and I think of her.

emmanuelle alt in a blazer

Emmanuelle Alt: Elements of Style

Published by Diana

The same day I realized that half the reason I like traveling is because it’s the easiest way to get rid of clutter (this book is changing my life) I realized the other half of the reason I like living in France: It’s easier to be a lady here. I should rephrase that: It’s the other half of the reason I like being an American in France: It’s easier to be an American lady here.