French style is the perfect mix between carefree, sexy, and chic. There is something quintessential summerly about the French way of dressing. Creating a French summer capsule wardrobe makes perfect sense.
You will be oozing “je ne sais quoi” wherever the summer of 2023 takes you.
Inspiration for your French summer capsule wardrobe
Let’s take a look at how French It-girls like to dress. As you can tell, I’m particularly fond of Jeanne Damas’s style.
It might look complicated, but as you will see when we break it down, you just need 8 pieces of clothing to create most of these outfits.
(If you want more French style, I also wrote an article on How to dress like a French woman over 50. If you are younger than 50, don’t worry, the advice is for everyone.)
Basic French summer capsule wardrobe – 8 pieces
Let’s shop (or look in our closet) for these 8 necessary pieces of clothing.
Black silk Camisole. White lace top. White t-shirt. Black Cardigan.
Blue straight-leg jeans. White wide jeans. Printed midi skirt. Printed dress.
The best accessories for your French summer capsule wardrobe
When it comes to dressing like a French fashionista, don’t underestimate the power of accessories.
As you will see in the actual outfits, the right accessories give the outfit the right vibe.
6 French summer capsule wardrobe accessories
Black strappy sandals. Straw bag with black details. Goldcoin necklace.
Red lipstick. (I’m not counting the lipstick since it’s technically not an accessory.)
Black bag. Black Sunglasses. Neutral espadrilles.
French summer capsule wardrobe outfits
It’s time to start creating outfits.
From our 8 pieces of clothing, we can create at least 8 outfits. (With a bit of imagination, you can create 16 different outfits.)
These 8 are my favorites.
(If you are interested in more summer outfit ideas, read my article The best cute and casual summer outfits. )
Extended French summer capsule wardrobe – 6 extra pieces
In this part, I add 6 more pieces of clothing so that the total wardrobe will consist of 14 pieces.
I wanted to show how much more versatile this summer capsule becomes by just adding some extra pieces. Also, we needed a jacket, for those chilly nights.
Amazingly enough, the accessories stay the same.
6 new additions
Oversize denim jacket. Breton top. Printed top.
Mini skirt. Striped shirt. Denim shorts.
French summer capsule wardrobe outfits, extended version
Take a look at these 8 new outfits. They capture the feminine and effortless style of your favorite Parisian.
Tips and tricks for your French summer capsule wardrobe
The French girl’s wardrobe looks deceptively simple, but don’t be tricked.
What makes this style great is the perfect balance between vintage and modern, masculine and feminine, carefree and carefully collected.
If you want to learn more about creating amazing outfits, I recommend my article What makes a great outfit?
Checklist for creating your own French capsule wardrobe
- Decide on a color palette.
- Make sure you mix feminine clothes with masculine clothes. This is one of the main tricks to achieve that French nonchalance.
- Play with proportions, and combine fitted clothes with oversize clothes.
- Stuy these images to see how the chosen accessories help anchor the looks. French girls are famous for their strappy sandals and straw bags.
- Add stripes and flower prints to your capsule wardrobe.
- Don’t try too hard. French style is all about being comfortable and expressing your true self.
A Final Note
Creating a capsule wardrobe is about finding clothes you love. It’s about focusing on the fact that all pieces of clothing can be worn together. Every time we travel, we are forced to create a capsule wardrobe, so it is a good skill to have.
French style is about combining classic clothes such as denim shorts and a striped shirt with more standout pieces such as a feminine skirt. Just lay out your chosen clothes and start creating outfits; you’ve got this.
Moa Ailert is the founder and editor-in-chief of Her Brilliant Friend.
She has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and plenty of insight into human psychology from traveling and living in different places around the world.
Moa is currently based in Portugal where she has a guesthouse; Villa dos Irmaos.
She has various websites, among others Ericeira Insider, but Her brilliant friend is her true passion project.
