The 12 French Girl Style Staples We Wear on Repeat

There are at least two things that the French do better than almost anyone else: food and fashion. Yes, it’s possible to find a nearly perfect Parisian pastry in the U.S., but it takes some experimentation to replicate the effortless je ne sais quoi of classic French Girl style. And, while I dream of making a perfect pain au chocolate someday, over a decade of working in fashion makes me much more qualified to source the most iconic French-style staples without pulling out my passport.

For a fresh dose of outfit inspo, I scrolled through several of my favorite French follows on Instagram and identified a dozen pieces that appeared at least once on each account. Some items are easy to shop for, such as classic Breton stripes and oversized totes, while others require a bit more style-savvy to pull off, like slinky slip dresses and mismatched prints. The trick is finding a few items that can easily integrated into your existing wardrobe, then have fun creating new outfits that feature at least one or two French-feeling pieces.