“If she can’t afford it, she won’t buy it. If it doesn’t fit (or make her feel good, or flaunt what she’s got), she won’t wear it. If she can’t find it, she won’t compromise. If she loves it, she won’t toss it. She reuses it, rethinks it, lets it age.
When a French girl shops, it isn’t a solitary act of buying something new. It’s part of a lifelong process of editing her environment, making small but meaningful additions to her home, her closet, her life.
When you shop like a French girl, you buy only one of anything – and make sure it’s the best quality you can afford.”
from Entre Nous: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl
Taking Inspiration
Notice that we already have many of these pieces in our capsule wardrobe. For the first look, you could combine the boyfriend jeans, chambray button down, long sleeve tee, and bright flats. For the second look, you could approximate the J.Crew look with skinny jeans, the pussybow blouse, and the military jacket. The third look is simply your bright pants with a striped shirt.
I try to take inspiration from many places, and I particularly like the looks J.Crew puts out. I think their creative direction is brilliant and has really redefined the mid-level apparel market in recent years. However, as much as I sing their praises, their clothes simply do not fit me well. I try them on every season, and every season I am disappointed with how they fit me. So, instead of buying their pieces–I pick apart the outfits that they feature in their lookbooks. I dissect the ensembles to see what I may already have and what I may be able to pick up somewhere else. Of course, the pieces won’t be exactly the same, but most of the time I can find things that look similar and fit me much better.
Permission
Please, feel free to not shop at stores that make clothes that don’t fit you. Feel free to skip out on a trend that doesn’t suit your personality or your body type. Hold on to pieces you love and feel great in, even if the magazines say you’re passe. Don’t hesitate to part with pieces you spent money on, but don’t do you any favors. Your mental clarity and closet real estate is worth more than the money you already spent on the shirt you never wear.