French Style Book: Lessons from Madame Chic

Have you ever wanted to add a little ooh la la to your capsule wardrobe?

This week, at The Capsule Wardrobe Blog, we are going to speak French. By that I mean, we'll be talking about French style.

As we begin to dive into all things French style, let's take a look at the book, Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Lessons I Learned While Living in Paris, by Jennifer L. Scott.

Your ultimate goal is to create a wardrobe that you love, in which every item of clothing speaks to who you are, and to create a space for your clothes to breathe. Your wardrobe should consist of ten core items, give or take a few, but those ten items do not include outerwear,...occasionwear,...accessories,...shoes, and what I call under shirts—mainly tee shirts, tank tops, or chemises that you wear as layers or underneath a sweater or blazer. - Jennifer L. Scott, Lessons from Madame Chic
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Lessons in Style from Madame Chic

We could argue that one of the most important lessons we could learn about French capsule wardrobes is how to live with less. According to this book, it's very common to have capsules of about ten items only.

Imagine that you've been challenged to choose ten items from your closet, using the quote's guideline, and wear only those clothes for 2 weeks.

Could you do it? What would you choose?

Each season, you would re-assess what you had, getting rid of or putting away what you no longer needed, and replacing those items with things that would work better. So the three pullover sweaters you wore during the winter, might be replaced by three short-sleeved tops in the spring.

In the book, the author creates two ten-piece capsule wardrobes, one for cold weather and the other for warm, and then shares what it was like to wear each one for a month.

Opening my closet in the morning makes me happy. Not only is it wonderful to see my clothes hanging so neatly in their own space (not jam-packed next to each other), but it makes me inordinately happy not to wonder what to wear for the day. There are so few options, it only takes me a minute to make a choice. - Jennifer L Scott
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Finding True Style

Another important lesson the author says she learned is to develop a sense of style & identify or create a signature look.

Frenchwomen really seem to know their style and weave it into their lives masterfully. By defining your style, you are deciding how you would like to present yourself to the world. - Jennifer L. Scott

Can you describe your own style in a few words or less? How would you describe it?

Tell me in a comment & keep it in mind this week as you consider how to augment it with French style.

See you tomorrow!

Love, Jeanine
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