Oooo La la...

I'm headed to gay Paris next week and couldn't be more excited~!  In an effort to procrastinate packing, I've been researching Parisian style and Oh the places one can go! One recent book that received a lot of press is Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Inès de la Fressange.  Formerly a model for Lagerfeld, not everyone can capture her nearly 6" tall French finesse and style; however, she had some great advice on how to shop and build one's wardrobe.
 
Here are two great quotes we, at Labels, thought we'd share about basic styling that are easily attributable to our American lifestyles, especially at Labels:

'Trust a bit more'
Everybody has prejudices. I had a friend who had a short neck, so she thought she couldn't wear a turtleneck. Some people say blue can't go with black. Another friend said, "I can't wear earrings because they don't suit me". Where does it come from? If I wore a skirt, a matching jacket and big earrings, I would look like my grandmother. Fashions change, and I'm always learning. Talk to shop assistants or go shopping with friends, because sometimes they say, "why don't you try this?" and you might never have thought of it.
'Have fun'
There are some women, believe it or not, who think it's boring to go shopping. And they don't enjoy it. But everybody should enjoy looking better – it's nice, it gives you joy and fashion is all about joy. Lately there has been a lot about businessmen and huge companies, but we work for women, for the joy of finding somewhere new, of looking better and feeling desirable. There's this idea with fashion of "oh, this is going to be funny". You're funny if you say funny things, but who wants to look like a clown? Buy things without thinking they're funny – buying a black sweater isn't fun, it really isn't. But afterwards, when you wear it with nice neat hair and ballet shoes, you can look really beautiful. And that is fun.
 
Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Inès de la Fressange with Sophie Gachet is published on 11 April by Flammarion, priced £19.95