Make a difference, own your unique style

Nowadays, we are constantly bombarded by all types of advertising and marketing that try to convince us what is the best for us: from what we have to eat to be healthy, where we have to go out to be trendy to how to dress to make sure we are in the frontline of fashion. However, I don’t know about you, but I am gradually feeling more oppressed by this desire to standardise people, to make me look like Madame Tout le Monde (Madame everyone) without even considering what I like, my personality or my current cravings. I want to make a difference.

But most of all let’s focus on the world of fashion. I have a deep admiration for these men and women who are able to be asserting themselves through an eccentric, original or distinguished style. I especially keep a sharp-eye out for the detail of accessorises. To dare to wear clothes that really define your feelings and who you are, instead of wearing boring suits that often dissimulate our fears or anxieties, takes a huge amount of confidence and courage. Yes of course, you know when you turn a blind eye, I think we’ve all done it at some point, choosing to disguise yourself along with fashion trends out of fear of not being accepted, being rejected with this false assurance of conforming to a norm of our society.

It’s not about fashion

Then I so often hear that French people have style and I think I can affirm this without French arrogance that yes French people have style (like Italians or Japanese that admired for their creative expertise). With their unfortunate (for some) and enthusiastic (for others) way of standing up for their beliefs, French people assert themselves also with the way they dress.

For example, a French woman will always tell you (or almost) that she refuses to follow fashion, she is of course inspired by it but with the specific aim of creating her own style. The last thing she wants is to look like everyone. She will always claim to wear some clothes or accessorises which she’s the only one to know the name and the address of this specific designer that she found completely randomly. Wearing a unique piece reassures her on the fact that she’s distinctive with respect to other women and knows that it’s her strength and charm. 

It’s the same for men. I have a few male friends who place great importance what they are going to wear, they even have their own tips and secret places that maybe even their own wives do not know. 

Make a difference

The most important thing is not about wearing luxurious brands to impress, or buying your Vuitton bag to make sure that you also have your monogram in the wardrobe, or following every single instruction in fashion magazines. No seriously, I believe that you must be yourself, find brands that resonate with your lifestyle, your values and you deep inside. Of course I’m not saying not to wear designers but the question that you should ask yourself is: am I buying this item for myself, my own pleasure or am I buying this for others?

Personally if I had to choose a designer it would be Chanel. Ok, yes it’s a cliché for a French woman, I can hear you. Some of you may find this snobbish but it is not. The story of Gabrielle Chanel resonates with my own story. A woman who is plainly taking care of herself, a woman who had the courage to believe in her dreams and realise them, who overcame her fears and a woman who turned a sad episode of her life (being abandoned by her father) into a strength and the determination to make a difference.

And some designers that I find by random sometimes during a trip in France, a talk with a girlfriend or even on Instagram. My recent crush is for a French brand called Be Parisian that knows perfectly how to glamourise my mood.

I only can guarantee you one thing, next time you go shopping with this new state of mind, it will add an exciting touch, a search for the real you, your true personality. So happy shopping and remember that you are unique, and this is what gives you your charm and your je ne sais quoi.