French Style Essential: small bags
If you want to emulate classic French style, start with the foundation: the bag. What bag do French women wear? One quintessential element of French style is the small crossbody bag. Most Parisians don’t carry a bunch of stuff around in their purses. French women like to look low-maintenance. (The desire to appear low-maintenance while being totally high-maintenancemay be why Parisian women smoke so much.)
If you want to dress French, your handbag should be big enough to fit your metro card, your phone, your Guerlain lipstick (preferably in red), and a tiny Pocket edition of some slender novel with a watercolor cover. If your bag is big enough to hold your laptop, it’s too big. The exception, of course, is Paris Fashion Week. Only then might you see Parisians walking around with something a little bigger, like this.
Small Crossbody Bags Are Classic French Style
In general, a crossbody bag is the purse of choice, often with a chain strap. This small black crossbody from Kate Spade is classic French style and would be right at home in Paris.
A pale pink chain crossbody is perfect for spring and summer. (Although the Kate Spade website calls it a “wallet,” Parisian women would consider it purse sized!)
A chain strap is perfect because it helps the purse to hang well, and it’s pretty and delicate without being over-the-top. This gold crossbody bag with the classic chain strap, would be perfect for a Parisian evening out.
Most Parisians dress conservatively. They add color through blouses, sweaters, and accessories. A bag is a great place to add a pop of color (notice the red statement bag I spotted on the street, against a palette of black). While you won’t see many French women wearing animal print dresses or boldly colored pants or skirts, they’ll wear an animal print bag, red belt, or bold red purse to round out a neutral outfit. And of course, red lipstick!
I’ve discovered that carrying tiny bags is quite liberating. Do I need my laptop? No. Do I need a phone charger? No, because Mr. Reluctant P. is very good about putting my phone on the charger every time I take it off, which is about 19 times a day. Do I need a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, a bag of almonds, a pen, a notebook, and three lipsticks? Well, okay, maybe. I snapped a photo of this young lady on Faubourg, wearing a bag so tiny you can barely see it. Look closely and you’ll see the chain strap slung over her cool black jacket.
A purse I bought soon after arriving in Paris and have now used for years is the small navy leather crossbody bag from Balzac Paris. If you’re used to carrying a big bag, it will be an adjustment. You really have to be selective in what you carry with you!
In fact, here I am at Musee de Balzac with my Balzac crossbody bag! (If you’re ever in Paris, Musee de Balzac has a lovely, quiet little garden and a nice attached cafe where the barista does some rather interesting, thematically appropriate foam art.)
Here are a few of the bags I bought in Paris. I love the classic red leather bag from Sandro. It’s special to me because I purchased it just days after lockdown ended. A few shops had opened but most were empty. I was the only person in the shop, and a red bag felt like a gift to myself after the dreary lockdown. The one I use most during the winter is the brown Balzac Paris bag, which has a rich brown embossed leather.
If you must go big, go tasteful.
If, however, you just can’t fit what you need into a tiny bag, a Longchamp bag is a great choice. The Pliage is an absolute French style classic. These are quality leather pieces that you’ll keep forever. They fold over, which makes them perfect for travel. You can pack a lot into a Longchamp bag on your flight by fully expanding it, then fold it over for a smaller bag once you reach your destination. Longchamp makes a smaller version of the Pliage, called city leather tote, perfect for your strolls around Paris or anywhere.
I bought a blue leather Longchamp bag from the Longchamp store on Faubourg St. Honore a few months before we moved away, and I always use it when I travel or when I’m out and about and might buy something–as it’s big enough to fit small purchases. The classic Longchamp Pliage in nylon is also a great choice at super affordable price.
If you need to carry your laptop, a sweater, and pretty much your whole life around with you, go for something understated, like the Everlane Italian leather tote. It’s high quality leather and will last forever, so your closet won’t be full of totes you never use. When it comes to French style, quality is always more important than quantity.
If you liked this post, you might enjoy 7 Things Parisian Women Really Wear.
