Women in Paris Will Wear These Basics With Skirts and Jeans in 2024

Every time I travel to Paris, I find myself enthralled by the way that French women can make simple wardrobe basics feel so pulled-together. Over the summer, I sat at a café in the Marais, watching women take their lunch break dressed in jeans, sneakers, and cute miniskirts, and I began to mentally tuck away ideas that I could bring home and make use of myself. Luckily, I realised that I could easily re-create them using items I already own. It would just take some new styling to pull it all together. 

What I was particularly struck by is my French counterparts' ability to use simple pieces like a button-down or a blazer to give a sweatshirt or sneakers a dressier feel. It's an easy trick, but it has a big impact. Fully embracing 2024, I'm putting aside a fresh crop of ideas centred around the two pieces I find myself always going between: jeans and a simple skirt, like a suede mini or a silky black slip skirt. On Instagram, I've found some French outfits I can't wait to re-create in New York, bringing a little bit of Parisian flair over the pond. All of these outfits manage to take simple wardrobe basics and, through thoughtful styling, make them feel more elegant than they might otherwise. Here's my breakdown of the best basics to mix and match to re-create that Parisian sensibility.