Inès de la Fressange dishes lessons in Parisian chic. We pick our top 10.

If you’ve always dreamed of bike rides along the Seine, wearing Breton stripes, but meanwhile find yourself locked in your room with Vivre sa Vie and Serge Gainsbourg on repeat (is that just us?), you’re probably wary of books claiming to be guides to the Parisian lifestyle. Leave it to the ultimate Parisian It girl, Inès de la Fressange, to pen a guide to French style that is not only quite readable but useful too! Former muse to Karl Lagerfeld, de la Fressange has long been an icon in our eyes… and here are our 10 favourites from her many pearls of wisdom:

1. “Resist the head-to-toe look of the lady who lunches at all costs!” Ines’ prescription for effortless style? Try “a diamond necklace with a denim shirt, jeans with gem-encrusted sandals, a chiffon dress with battered biker boots, a sequined sweater with men’s trousers”. Je t’aime!

2. “Have three make-up bags⎯one for your home, one for your bag, one for the office, I do, even if I always forget to refresh my make-up during the day.”

3. “Know how to edit your wardbrobe. Think of a friend whose style you admire and ask, would she wear this?” but…

4. “An hour sleeping or making love is better than Botox.”

5. “Make room for ‘hideous clothes I just have to keep’ and ‘fabulous things that are so not my style but I love anyway’.”

6. “Cinch everything with a big, well-worn man’s belt. Tie the excess length in a loose knot.”

7. In both fashion and decor, mixing is essential. “IKEA, designer pieces and flea market finds can live together in harmony.”

8. Hosting a dinner party? “Have your children decorate the table. I lay a coloured tablecloth, and let the children take care of the rest: black plastic plates, unmatched old white china… Everyone will love it!”

9. “Keep your guests hungry! The longer they wait, the more they’ll tell you how delicious everything is.”

10. “No time for under eye concealer!”

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