Everyone knows the streets of Paris are filled with beautiful women in expensive clothes. For me, that’s noticeable wherever I go, because of my decision to dress a little simpler and wear a little less makeup. I rarely feel uncomfortable because of it. But in Paris, they’re on another level. Now, it’s not that I’m uncomfortable, and of course, I’ll likely always be spotted from a mile away as a tourist in Paris. But all it takes is one night out with your arm around your new man and his girl friends in tow to realize, you need to go shopping or you’ll never survive.
So I need clothes a little more chic, if you will. I’d describe a night out in Paris as punk meets business casual, which I realize is difficult to imagine. I also realize that no one should take fashion advise from me seriously, so proceed with caution. But here, unless you’re in high heels and a leather jacket, you’re a tourist. It’s also evident you’re a tourist if you carry any more than five extra pounds, and to use myself as a benchmark, I carry about an extra 15 by French standards. Weight aside, I needed something super cool, and I needed it tout de suite.
Now, I’d done enough exploring to find plenty of shops near me. Including H&M (forgive me for the familiar choice) and Kilo, a vintage Parisian shop that sells clothes by the kilo. Really. Those two stores are all it took for me to find my Paris essentials.
Striped Shirts (4€ and 12€ from Kilo) : Here, I opted for a casual and dress version because let’s face it, striped shirts aren’t only reserved for French films and postcards. Both of them short, both of them extremely versatile.
Jean Jacket (8€ from Kilo) : Actually more of a pullover, this shirt is the casual essential and beats my olive green jacket any day. Complete with elbow patches and a missing chest pocket, for that added vintage authenticity.
Black Skinny Jeans (20€ from H&M) : Ok, so I may already have a number of black skinny pants, but you can never have enough in the world where black rules. And unless your jeans are boyfriend style with a lot of holes, black pants are your only option.
Black Flats (15€ from H&M) : Again, black rules. And any shoes that show more than one month’s worth of wear are just old. Now, my fault here was choosing flats, but I am still American. They’re extra pointy to make up for it.
A Scarf (7€ from H&M) : And last but not least, the scarf. Again, I own about 30, but only brought five with me. And why not participate in what the French take most seriously and honestly execute the best.
Five items doesn’t exactly exhaust the list of essentials. I might have added a few things if I had the budget and the luggage space, including a leather jacket and sneakers (lots of sneakers). But there you have it. You’ll find me in these 5 articles at least 5 days a week.