Bistro Chic » Fashion

Guide to a Travel Chic Wardrobe

jennifer — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 02:58:51 +0000

In just two days, I’ll be headed to Hawaii for a two-week business trip/anniversary trip. When packing for a trip, it’s just as important to consider what you will wear on the plane as is it to decide what to wear on the ground.

Like any aspiring chic French woman, comfort is key, but style can’t be forgotten, even when traveling. My business trips are usually limited to 3-4 hour jaunts around the US; however, an 8-9 hour flight to Hawaii takes special consideration in regard to what to wear in transit. Not only do I need to consider being confined to my seat for an extended period of time, but I also need to address the temperature difference, leaving 40-degree Chicago weather and landing in 85-degree heat.

To address all of these factors – comfort, style, temperature, and flight length – I believe that wearing layers is a must, provided your under layers are just as cute as your outer ones. Let’s take a look at how to pair functionality and practicality with a bit of style:

3 Go-To Travel Chic Outfits

Preppy Chic – Khaki pants, short or long-sleeve white button-down, with a lightweight v-neck navy sweater or waist-length cardigan. Throw on a strand of long pearls just for fun!
High Street Fashionista – Your favorite or most comfortable jeans, crisp white t-shirt, a velvet blazer (a la Jcrew), paired with a scarf or long necklace.
Celebrity in Disguise – Long, wide leg black yoga pants (I prefer Lucy) paired with a short-sleeve solid t-shirt with a long-sleeve black t-shirt on top. Add oversized sunglasses and a chunky scarf for the dramatic effect.

What’s your go-to travel outfit?

Ciao!

5 Eurochic Fashion Finds for Fall

jennifer — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 02:34:57 +0000

(photo source)

For the last few months, I have anticipated each issue of the new monthly online magazine – Matchbook. I am enamored with the editors’ beautiful photos, remarkable fashion sense, quirky writing style, and plenty of Eurochic finds for my Franchophile/Europhile personality. September’s issue has a particularly large selection of eye-candy. Let’s take a look at a few of my Eurochic favorites for the Fall:

5 Eurochic Finds for Fall (courtesy of Matchbook Magazine)

Argyle Socks (pg 16) – I can honestly say that I have never owned a pair of argyle socks. Yet, just seeing these fun stockings (in 7 different colors no less) makes me want to buy a dozen pairs and a brand new pair of Wellies to go with them!
Oversized Sunglasses (pg 19) – The House of Harlow sunglasses are divine! It may be the end of summer, but a girl can always use a new pair of glam shades.
French Poodles (pg 21) – I rarely come across something at Anthropologie that I don’t like and I especially adore these cute French poodle bookends.
Kate Spade City Lights Skirt (pg 22) – So Madmen-esque it’s nearly a crime and, now that you mention it, so is the price! But a girl can dream, can’t she?
Leopard Print Scarf (pg 70)- An animal print scarf surely completes a French chic wardrobe…purrrfect, ooh la la!

Ciao!

British Styles at the Gap

jennifer — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:51:21 +0000

(Gap’s Portobello Road Collection)

This weekend, I headed to an outdoor mall for a little back-to-school shopping. No, I’m not personally headed back to school, however, this time of year always makes me want to buy new clothes.

I passed by several shop windows before seeing a truly lovely display in Gap’s window. This may not seem like an odd happening, until I mention that the store was Gap Kids. The display was showcasing their new Fall lines – three of which favor British styles – all named after famous streets or areas in London:

Portobello Road Collection – This collection pairs classic British style (think Oxford tweed, only pink) with the sassy elegance of Kate Middleton. High Street fashion at it’s best, even if you’re only 11 years old!
Brick Lane Collection – Funky style that mixes pinks and blacks with stripes, leopard print, and denim. A perfect mix of girly frills, edgy fun, and a bit of that I’m with the band attitude.
Covent Garden Collection – Highly feminine style with purple and pink influences. These outfits can make any girl feel like a real-life fancy Nancy and are quite appropriate for taking tea in the afternoon with grandma or the Queen.

Sadly, Gap does not offer these fantastic British styles for young women. Guess I’ll have to head across the pond for the real thing.

Ciao!

Traveling Coach

jennifer — Tue, 10 May 2011 02:02:42 +0000

Last year when I was traveling around the US and Canada for work, I hesitated taking a purse. At the time, the purses I had were not huge by today’s standards, but large enough to take up room in my carryon luggage, which meant I may be faced with paying for a bag. Let’s face it, when you’re trying to decide whether to take a bulky purse or pay an extra $25, practicality would win in most instances.

So there I was, trip after trip, left with the dilemma of not having a purse in a foreign city, and sometimes in a foreign country. I was forced to carry everything I’d normally carry in my purse in the pocket of my pants or coat. Now, I could be wrong, but bulging at the pocket seams is never a good look for a woman in most professional situations. What’s more, I never seemed to have enough pocket space to carry everything that I wanted, not to mention, finding it when I wanted.

After a year of loosely juggling my purse contents all over the country, I decided this year would be different. I was determined to find a small enough purse to fit in my luggage – but one that was both chic and practical.

A few weeks ago, about the time of my birthday, I was shopping for said purse, when what do my wondering eyes should appear, but a sale on Coach purses at Macy’s. I must have looked at and tried on a dozen purses over the course of a week, hoping to find that magical mix that would hold my “night on the town” contents, but still fit neatly into my rolly.

Enter the above leather wristlet in peony by Coach. Technically, her given name is “Kristin”, but I have renamed her Pippa, for Kate’s sister. And, for those of you who don’t know, I affectionately refer to my Kate Spade leather handbag as “Kate” in all social situations. So it is only natural that sisters Pippa and Kate should stick together. But I digress.

My new Pippa purse, with it’s soft leather and creamy color, has the beautiful combination of size, style, practicality, and sass – all perfectly proportioned to fit on my wrist. Oh, and did I mention that it can hold all of my necessities – ie. iPhone4, lip balm, lip tint, pressed powder, and a handy dandy new petit wallet sleeve – also from Coach – with a credit card, ID, and cash. Voila – I now have the answer to all of my travel purse needs.

Whew, all of this pomp and practicality has me dizzy.

By the way, Pippa’s first trip will be this week as she travels to San Antonio and Denver.

Ciao!

Morning Dress at the Royal Wedding

jennifer — Tue, 03 May 2011 02:34:05 +0000

(Photo sources: left, right)

I was one of the many millions of people who watched – celebrated - the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton last Friday. I absolutely loved Kate’s dress – simple, understated, elegance, quite like how she dresses normally. But I also loved seeing all of the other party-goers suits and frocks. While watching the festivities and reading subsequent news articles, I kept hearing about how wedding attendees were either wearing or not wearing what is considered morning dress in England. Although I’ve heard of women wearing one outfit for a morning wedding ceremony and changing into a more fun dress for the evening reception, I had never really heard of the term morning dress in a formal or royal sense.

According to Wikipedia:

Morning dress is the daytime formal dress code, consisting chiefly for men of a morning coat, waistcoat, and striped trousers, and an appropriate dress for women. Men may also wear a morning suit, a popular variant with all parts (morning coat, waistcoat and trousers) are the same colour/material, often grey.

Morning Dress (for men) consists of:

Morning dress coat
Waistcoat
Formal striped or checked trousers
Formal shirt with a turndown collar to tie, or a shirt with detachable wing collar
Plain or patterned silk handkerchief or pocket squart
Black Oxford shoes or dress boots
Optional items – top hat, gloves, a cane or umbrella, a pocket watch or wrist watch, boutonniere

In modern day England, morning dress is rarely worn and is generally saved for weddings, some official government or Royal functions, races such as Royal Ascot, and as uniform at some of Britain’s most traditional schools such as Eton.

If you’re still not sure about what is considered modern day morning dress, check out David Beckham’s suit that he sported at Will and Kate’s wedding. Proof that even footballers can look dapper.

Casually Chic Fridays in France

jennifer — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:01:24 +0000

In the US, where business casual work environments and “casual Fridays” prevail, it’s easy to forget that a place of business is still, well..a place of business. Even if you don’t have meetings on Fridays or if your CEO never shows her face after 3 PM on Thursday, it could still be considered a faux paus or even a career disaster if you show up wearing sweats or worse, looking like the office tramp.

In Paris or possibly anywhere in France, casual Fridays are becoming more common but are still rarely observed. Even on the most casual of work days or office events, French women still manage to look effortlessly sophisticated, sexy, professional, and tres chic all at the same time. They believe that, even on Fridays, you never know who could be watching you or judging your professional decorum.

However, just because French women don’t wear cut-offs or logowear on Fridays does not mean they are uptight or strictly conservative in what they wear. On Fridays, you may find the French girl wearing jeans or skinny black pants, but they will be paired with a colorful blazer, a funky top, and, what else?, a scarf of course! After all – just because you’re trying to be professional, does not mean you have to be boring or school marmish! So, as you see, to a French woman, it’s not so much a casual Friday, but rather a casually chic Friday.

I also believe in the French women’s philosophy of observing the casually chic Friday. Likewise, I believe that you should dress for the position that you want. So if you’re an admin but want to be an account manager – dress like it! Take tomorrow’s ensemble (pictured above) for example:

Olive green velvet blazer (JCrew, circa 2009)
Blue and beige striped fitted long sleeve tee (JCrew 2010)
Dark wash perfect fit bootcut jeans (Gap 2011)

Fun and stylish? Yes. Trampy or frumpy? Never! The new director of communications….we’ll see

Ciao my friends and dress well.

French Lessons: One Scarf, Four Ways

jennifer — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 02:40:25 +0000

French women collect scarves like American women collect handbags.

Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat

It seems that when most American children are just learning to tie their own shoes, children in France are learning to tie their own scarves. This goes for girls and boys. And they don’t learn just one way to tie a scarf. By the time they are old enough to date, most French women can tie a scarf in several different ways, giving the same outfit several different looks. This, of course, is what makes a French woman so enviable, along with the tousled hair and bright red lipstick.

In the past year, I have purchased – no, invested – in a few key accessories, including jewelry, handbags, and, yes, scarves. Scarves really are the perfect accessory. What I love about scarves is how versatile they are. But I also love how they can take any plain jane sweater or top, including a t-shirt, and turn the whole outfit into something trendy and chic. It seems French women really knew what they were doing with a scarf way before we ever did.

Lucky for us, most popular scarves now can be tied many different ways, especially the longer styles. And, you don’t need to be a French woman to wear them well. Take the photo above for example. This grey and black leopard print scarf from the Gap can be tied or worn at least 4 ways, making a very simple black turtleneck look just a bit classier.

In my eyes, there really is no completely wrong way to tie or wear a scarf. But there are definitely styles that are better than others. It’s really a matter of preference. Whether you like a short scarf tied in a tight knot or a long scarf loosely covering your shoulders, just experiment until you find the right scarf and right style of knot that looks well with the specific outfit you’re wearing. Just because one scarf or knot doesn’t look well with one outfit, doesn’t mean it will show poorly with another.

If you do plan on starting or adding to a collection of scarves, similar to our French sisters, keep in mind, that scarves need not be expensive to look good. Even a French woman knows that a good knot and quality scarf care can keep even inexpensive scarves looking elegant. But shhh…that’s a secret!

For a French Woman, Less is More

jennifer — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:59:57 +0000

(Photo source)

When it comes to clothes, American women tend to think that more is better, or that more expensive is better. But that is not the case with a French woman. For her, less is more, and even inexpensive items can be, in her view, priceless. For instance, an American woman may have a closet stuffed full of clothes, many of which are rarely warn because they are out of fashion, unflattering, or just don’t fit properly. Even with an abundance of clothes, somehow, these same women still insist that they don’t have a thing to wear.

In a striking contrast, a French woman would fill – not overfill – her modest closet, with only her favorite pieces. Those limited pieces are, above all, classic and flatter her figure from top to bottom. They also are versatile enough for her to mix and match and are high enough quality for her to wear over and over without looking warn or dated. By doing this, she has the rare ability to deceive everyone, especially American women, into thinking that she has an extensive wardrobe at her disposal, when really she could pack her whole wardrobe into a suitcase.

So the next time you are contemplating whether or not to buy your 3rd navy sweater – stop and ask yourself – what would a French woman do?

I See London, I See France

jennifer — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:11:58 +0000

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, I see London, I see France. Not only did I laugh when I saw these in Macy’s on State but I thought the picture was perfect for the blog! These are Calvin Klein’s men’s x-global trunks. No doubt as a tribute to the 2010 World Cup, these briefs are imprinted with 11 different countries on the backside including:

Brazil
Canada
France
Greece
Italy
Japan
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
England
USA

Can you guess what Scott is getting for Christmas in his stocking? He he! I only wish there was a similar style for women!

Happy Birthday Coco Chanel

jennifer — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:28:59 +0000

(Photo Source)

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was born on this day in 1883 in Samur, France. Many people know Coco for her timeless perfume – Chanel No. 5, but did you also know that:

She was raised by nuns who taught her to sew.
She was given the name “Coco” while working as a singer. The name is a shortened version of “cocotte”, the French word for ‘kept woman’.
She started out selling hats.
She had a relationship with a German military officer during the German occupation of France during WWII.
She popularized wearing multiple strands of pearls, tailored suit jackets, and the little back dress – all of which are still popular today.

Can’t afford a Chanel suit jacket or expensive eau de toilette? Opt for a less expensive Chanel staple – the Rouge Allure lipstick!

Happy Birthday and Joyeux Anniversaire Coco Chanel!