Home at last-France and Italy were everything I’d hoped for. Along with studying all of the art and history of Europe, I’ve always been a big people watcher, and observing the trends and differences between French, Italian, and American women was absolutely fascinating to me.

I could truly write a book about everything I did and observed in Europe, but I’ll start smaller for today! I’d like to tell you about the trends I saw in Paris and share with you how you too can adopt “Parisian Chic!”

Linen

The biggest trend I noticed was linen. Women of all ages were wearing it. Overall, the styles were fairly casual and unstructured. And yes, it was wrinkled. But the wonderful thing about it was that it didn’t seem to bother anyone. The thing is–linen is supposed to look wrinkled. If you work in a business casual environment, consider an unstructured linen jacket and either matching or coordinating pants or a skirt for a cool, comfortable way to beat the heat.

I did a little shopping in Paris’ major department store, Galleries Lafayette, where I could have spent weeks. When I purchased a couple of unlined linen jackets, (surprisingly affordable,) I inquired about the care instructions. They’re washable linen. Even though linen will wrinkle, it’s definitely best to start the day with everything ironed. I actually think that a Jiffy Steamer, (www.jiffysteamer.com, using promo code image 048 for free shipping,) would do a good job, too.

The one thing I noticed the most is that although there are trends, no one looked the same or interpreted the trends exactly the same. It’s kind of difficult to explain, but there’s a quiet confidence among French women. They seem to create their own look, not being afraid of trying something a little different. For example, one of my favorite looks was a woman in her late 30’s to 40’s wearing lilac, wide legged, linen pants; a white linen safari style jacket; a medium gray athletic style t-shirt; white satin, ballet toe shoes; and a light gray nylon purse. Beautiful!