Reevaluating 'Effortless' French-girl chic
Graphic by Austin Kim
In the modern day, French-girl style manifests everywhere from trendy Mary Janes and ballet flats to the cult appeal of fashion icons like Camille Rower to the ever-growing popularity of Réalisation Par’s Parisian ethos. It seems the past hundred years have seen a sustained obsession with Parisian style, beauty and charisma. The notion of French-girl style remains alive and well, and arguably no other trend cycle has withstood the test of time as valiantly. What specifically has lent Parisian chic its longevity? I believe the answer lies in a key concept frequently used to describe the French-girl aesthetic: effortless.
Especially from an American perspective, we tend to idealize and emulate French style for its air of effortless elegance. Case in point in various Vogue headlines:
“Unpacking the Effortless Cool of French Beauty”
“Camille Rowe’s Guide to Effortless French Girl Beauty”
“Lily Collins’ Effortless French Beauty Secrets”
“The Secret to Natural French Girl Beauty”
“How to Achieve that Effortless French Girl Hair”
And the list goes on. From a generalized American perspective, the French-girl style has been historically couched in language like “natural,” “effortless” or some synonym of the sort. As a culture, we are drawn to effortlessness. We are fascinated by people who can achieve beauty while putting forth minimal effort – we gawk at child prodigies; we envy our peers who perform well on exams without having to devote as many hours. It, therefore, makes good sense that Parisian chic, a style praised for its embodiment of the French concept of je ne sais quoi, has remained in the trend cycle through the decades.
Don’t get me wrong – I genuinely enjoy the classic silhouettes and capsule wardrobe pieces that comprise French-girl style. However, I must admit – I also relish the thought of presenting as put-together, but having put in minimal effort to do so. In fact, I’ve come to notice that generally speaking, women face far more pressure to achieve the effortless look compared to men. Whether this manifests in the undying promotion of effortless Parisian style or the constant stream of beauty trends promoting “no-makeup” makeup looks, the trend cycle repeatedly places an onus on women to make themselves as beautiful and put-together as possible but hides the fact that any effort was exerted to achieve as much.
I first began to notice these unreasonable expectations when my friends and I began to experiment with makeup in middle school. Boys would complain that we look like “completely different people” with mascara versus without. Yet, we felt pressure to continue to wear mascara because we were “uglier” when we opted to come to school sans makeup. It’s disgraceful to try, but it’s also disgraceful to look the way you do when you don’t try. We should make ourselves look pretty, but in such a way that it’s undetectable to the male gaze. From a young age, women have been conditioned to believe it’s embarrassing to try. I believe fear of this embarrassment in part fuels our obsession with French-girl, effortless beauty. If we can disguise any evidence of attempting to perfect our dress, society thinks this makes us more attractive and trustworthy and, therefore, more female.
I’ve always loved the French-girl style, but I’ve begun to second-guess exactly why I find its effortless character so appealing. Beyond a universal human desire to appear naturally talented, I’m realizing that also at play is a pressure imposed uniquely upon women to appear effortless because to try is shameful, but to present as naturally composed and beautiful is somehow more worthy of celebration. Sure, as a human race, we are enraptured by that which is effortless – this, I understand. But as women, we are pressured into effortlessness, and this must change.