How to dress like a French woman over 50

Look as elegant and effortless as a Parisian

To answer the question of how to dress like a French woman over 50, I studied a bunch of chic French ladies.

I searched for common themes, analyzed outfits, and picked favorites.

Some of the answers I found were, frankly, pretty surprising.

3 different women – 3 different styles

I chose 3 stylish French women over 50 and decided to take a closer look at how they dressed. My chosen ones are Carine Roitfeld, Isabel Marant and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

They are all accomplished and cool ladies, with their fingers on the fashion pulse.

I also picked apart their wardrobes and chose a capsule wardrobe for each of them. Let’s imitate their style.

A distinct style

The thing that stood out the most was that all these ladies has a distinct style. They know how they like to get dressed and what works for them.

Carine Roitfeld likes a pencil skirt and a statement coat and she doesn’t shy away from a bit of sparkle and glamour.

Isabel Marant loves her own patterned blouses, and she also often makes a statement with her pants, while at the same time looking utterly comfortable.

Charlotte Gainsbourg takes inspiration from menswear to get that cool carefree Parisian look. She likes to combine neutral colors in a unique way.

Choosing your outfit formula

They all relied on their favorite types of clothes and adjusted these outfit formulas to the season and the event.

When you reach a certain age, you know what you like.

5 tips to remember when you want to dress like a French woman over 50

• Clothes that are fitted but not skintight.
• A monochromatic base with pops of color.
• Don’t shy away from colors and prints. Combine them with a neutral, as you can see in the pictures of Carine Roitfeld and Isabel Marant.
• Embrace your feminity.
• Choose your accessories carefully. When you study these pictures, you can tell that the accessories take the outfits to a whole other level.

Carine Roitfeld

Doing research for this article, I started with Carine Roitfeld, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris.

She is born 1954 (so well over 50,) but I think many of these pictures were taken when she worked at Vogue 10 years ago.

I was instantly smitten with her style; I think we all can learn a lot from her. Her style embodies French elegance. She also looks very feminine, something I know can be a struggle as you get older.

I also want to say that her outfits are very age-appropriate, even though I hate that word.

She has her favorites

The third thing that I noticed was that she actually re-uses a lot of her clothes. And she definitely relies heavily on her favorite outfit formulas.

When you find a combination you like or a favorite piece of clothing, don’t be afraid to get it in different materials and patterns. If you are wondering how to dress in the summer, do check out my article Summer capsule wardrobe for women over 50, Summer 2023.

Showing a bit of skin

It’s also impressive how she managed to give the illusion of showing a lot of skin, while not showing a lot of skin. I’m sure many of you will appreciate this styling trick for how to dress like a French woman over 50.

Carine Roitfeld – Capsule wardrobe

Black top: This top with the boat neckline and the 3/4 length of the arms is her most used piece of clothing. Go get one if you want to imitate her style.

The unusual cut flatters her frame and makes her look elegant. It’s a black top, but it’s so much more than a black top; it’s the perfect combination with more daring pieces.

Black silk blouse: This is her second favorite piece of clothing. Nothing is sexier than a black silk blouse and she wears hers to perfection.

Camel T-shirt: We all need a simple T-shirt, and for her, I picked a more elegant and interesting color.

Camel blazer: All these ladies utilized the classic blazer in their wardrobe. This piece of clothing is great for elevating your jeans and top looks. French ladies know the power of a good blazer.

Camel bomber jacket: Her love of statement outerwear is not shown in the pictures, but do have a look at Pinterest, to see how it’s done.

Since I wanted to give this wardrobe a summerly feeling, I chose an interesting leather jacket. A statement jacket is one of the best styling tricks for how to dress like a French woman over 50.

Patterned pencil skirt: I would say this is the third most used piece f clothing in her wardrobe, she has it in many iterations and she loves using it.

Flared pants: When she uses pants, she opts for pants with flared legs.

This is a good styling trick for all the petite ladies out there. Those pants also help her look elegant. It can be hard to find the right cut, but when you do, you will feel like Carine Roitfeld.

Denim skirt: I wanted to show how she changes her favorites according to the season. In the summertime, she uses a pencil skirt in a lighter color.

Black pencil skirt: She also showcases her love for elegant clothes by always having a black pencil skirt. They come in handy in all sorts of situations.

Carine Roitfeld – Accessories

After talking this much about her wardrobe, I’m not going to say much about her accessories. But she does like to add something interesting when it comes to her shoes. It’s another good way to show a bit of skin or sexiness.

Carine Roitfeld – Outfit Ideas

Here you can once again study the mastery of her unique style.

Isabel Marant

Isabel Marant is one of the most iconic French fashion designers. Her clothes are loved by cool girls all over the planet.

In her design aesthetic, she manages to capture a sweet combination of modern art, vintage treasures, and a laid-back, adventurous spirit.

I don’t have many clothes by her (since they are expensive.), but the ones I do have instantly make the whole outfit.

At 56 years old, she still wears her own brand like no one else. Her style is unique and full of joie de vivre.

I particularly like that she still uses feminine blouses and statement pants. Those clothes make her look very creative and like she would be fun to hang around with.

Isabel Marant – Capsule wardrobe

White blouse with lace details: This is a staple in Isabel Marant’s wardrobe, as well as in her own brand. Combine the blouse with blue jeans for a classic spring outfit.

Grey men’s style blazer: Isabel Marant wears a lot of feminine pieces, but she also likes to contrast them with inspiration from menswear.

Printed blouse: This is one of the most popular pieces in her wardrobe, I imagine she takes inspiration from all over the world to design these tops. Her tops do look like great vintage finds or something you picked up on an exotic holiday.

Cream sweater: She likes to be comfortable, so a big chunky sweater is a must.

Grey henley: I wanted to give her wardrobe an easy piece to use with all her cool pants.

Jeans: Isabel Marant often wears jeans. It’s just that her jeans are a little bit cooler and more original than what most people wear.

The ones in the picture are from her own brand. The subtle acid wash together with interesting details is what gives them that Parisian vibe.

Menswear-inspired cream pants: She wears a lot of lighter clothes, and she needed a counterpart to her sweet tops.

Black leather pants: These are faux leather, but that shine gives her outfit just the right edge. Combining sweet and feminine tops with tougher-looking pants is key to her signature look.

Cream faux leather joggers: You can tell from the pictures (And her worldwide success) that she is a woman who works. With a pair of joggers, she can easily move around and stay up all night to make important design decisions.

Isabel Marant – Accessories

Her accessories are on point. She designs them as well. Those Crisi boots have been in production for 10 years.

Isabel Marant – Outfit Ideas

She launched her brand in 1994 and it was an instant success. Today, it is still popular and relevant. The style has evolved over the years while staying true to its DNA. The same goes for Isabel Marant’s personal style.

In many ways, she is designing for herself. Her clothes are unique, but they are also timeless in the sense that her best sellers look good on 20 years old as well as 60 years old.

When it comes to her, it’s not a question of how to dress like a French woman over 50. It’s a question of dressing as yourself. She manages to do exactly that, which makes her a role model for how to dress in your fifties.

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Charlotte Gainsbourg is another woman who embodies French style.

One could say she has it in her blood, considering who her parents are. She is 51 years old and balances her Rockstar side with a healthy dose of menswear.

When you think about that nonchalant Parisian style, that “I just woke up like this” and it still looks amazing, Charlotte Gainsbourg is one of the poster girls. She doesn’t look like she is trying.

Who knows, she might not even be trying. It could be a natural effect of having a wardrobe consisting of amazing clothes. Let’s take a look.

If you want to learn more about how to create amazing outfits, read my article What makes a great outfit?

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Capsule wardrobe

Trenchcoat: A must for effortless French style.

Blue blouse: The picture of her wearing the blue blouse is a textbook example of how to dress like a French woman over 50. Understated elegance.

Black classic coat: Her menswear-inspired coat helps give her outfit and edge.

White T-shirt: A foundation piece of her wardrobe is the white T-shirt. She successfully combines it with other classic clothes to create her fuss-free style.

Navy cashmere sweater: If you would ask me to only get one piece of clothing to achieve dressing like a French woman over 50, I would suggest a navy cashmere sweater.

Blue jeans: Charlotte Gainsbourg loves her slim blue jeans.

Camel pants: Slochy and chic; when she doesn’t wear jeans, she goes for pants in a neutral color.

Menswear pants: She also likes charcoal grey. This is another great color to take note of when you want to dress like a Parisian.

Striped shirt: The perfect base to dress up or down. Combine with either jeans or pants when you want to look sharp.

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Accessories

Observe how she anchors her looks with the help of white sneakers. When she is a bit more dressed up, a pair of patent leather boots helps make her outfits memorable.

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Outfit ideas

A final Note

The best way to dress like a French woman over 50 is to do exactly what I have done here: choose a couple of pictures for inspiration. Analyze how the outfits are done. What makes them great?

Choose the exact pieces of clothing you need to re-create those outfits. Check what you have in your own wardrobe. Make a list of what you need to buy.

Choose carefully

There is no stress to find your clothes, buy one or two pieces every month. Make sure you love the clothes you do pick. Finding a pair of good jeans can take one or two months.

As you can see here, with only 9 pieces of clothing, you can create many different outfits.

I also strongly recommend going to vintage stores and second-hand stores, now that you know what you are looking for.

Happy hunting.