Transcript
Hi, it's Allison McNamara and you're watching FabSugar TV. Bastille Day is France's Independence Day and we're celebrating with 10 French women whose independent sense of style made them fashion icon. Brigitte Bardot went up the movie theaters in the 1960's but it was her off-duty French femininity that we continued to emulate.
Brigitte's retro bikinis and sexy fitted flare dresses while breezing around St.-Tropez made her a young bombshell. Actress and singer, Charlotte Gainsbourg is the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. Her style is unique because she always looks pulled together without trying too hard. She usually goes for a natural hair and makeup, but always adds in a quirky factor with bold print or interesting shoes.
Her effortless subtle look appeal to Nicolas Ghesquiere who featured her in Balenciaga's ad campaign for their perfume. Coco Chanel might be one of the most wellwell -known fashion designers of all time. Coco redefined the meaning of ladylike dressing with her sweet suiting and the creation of the little black dress and that style still reigns until today.
She was actually pretty sporty and moved women away from tighter silhouette and even encouraged a more comfortable way of dressing with boxier shapes even pants. Francoise Hardy was a pop music singer in the 1960's and her style has influenced people like Nicolas Ghesquiere of Balenciaga and Alexa Chung.
Francoise's look was heavily influenced on a British Mod trend. Think mini dresses, oversized sunglasses, brighten tops, and turtlenecks. Jane Birkin isn't technically French. She was actually born in London, but she's spent so much time in France in the 1960's that we felt we had to include her. Married two musicians before Gainsbourg and mother of aforementioned style icon, Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Jane's unfailing fashion which is the best of British quirkiness and French chic. Also Hermes' legendary Birkin bag was named after her. Lou Doillon is also a daughter of Jane Birkin and she has a style that's all her own. She's a French model and is a little bit of rock n' roll wearing foot pants and black leather jacket.
But also has a ladylike style with pretty dresses. Vanessa Bruno alongside Lou is one of her muses and you can find her sitting front row at all the best runway shows in Paris. From Gossip Girl to Harry Potter, it seems like Clémence Poésy is everywhere right now, and we can't help but notice her impeccable style.
Like most French women, it's her simplicity that inspires us. She usually wears basic pieces like a fit and flare dress or jeans and a tee, and gives them a cool girl spin with tough add-ons. Marion Cotillard knows how to make an entrance on the red carpet. She stole our hearts in La Vie en Rose and even won an Oscar for the role.
Today she continues to deliver elegant ensembles on the red carpet from Cannes to the Met Ball. Catherine Deneuve is a French actress and was one of Yves Ste. Laurent's favorite muses in the 1960's and 70's. While Catherine maintains a lower profile today, She's one of France's sexiest stars with a taste for oversized sunglasses, cocktail dresses and, of course, all things YSL.
Finally, we have Emmanuelle Alt, French Vogue editor-in-chief, whose understated style we covet. She's typically dressed in a uniform of black skinny jeans, blazers, button-down tops and pointy toe heels. All of which define that effortless Parisian chic. The key to capturing Parisian style is simplicity.
So grab a brightened stripe top, a beret, and a glass of wine, and have a great Bastille Day. I'm Allison McNamara and I'll see you next time.
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