As an avid Real Housewives fan, I’ve gotten used to seeing women in splashy outfits. Logo mania looms large in the Bravo universe, which makes it the perfect form of escapism. My own sartorial tastes are decidedly more sedate. While I’ve never shied away from color or texture, I grew up in a household where the saying “take one accessory off before leaving” is gospel, and while I believe rules were made to broken, you have to admit that restrained dressing is becoming more and more of an art form.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock this year, the terms “quiet luxury” and “rich mom” dressing aren’t novel to you. But the French have been doing it for ages and doing it well. They know that dressing expensively doesn’t require draining your bank account, just discerning taste, smart investing, and pairing pieces well.
Read ahead to see how French women fake it (and by “it,” I mean money in their bank accounts).