The Parisian Style: Rising Trend on Instagram. Real Creativity or Simple Copy-Paste? Decoding!

They take over Instagram, hashtags like #parisianstyle, #alafrançaise, #howtobeparisian, or #frenchstyle make the Parisian style shine from the feed to the stories, and even the reels. This niche target is seduced by its aesthetics, to the point of quickly increasing the number of followers. Let’s discover the trend!

The new face of Instagram: less spontaneity for more “creativity”

Originally created to share photos of daily life, with spontaneity, Instagram has changed its focus on shared content in recent years.

With higher quality content, we now prioritize polished content over spontaneity. Photos with perfect framing and lighting, well-crafted staging and editing, all set to trendy music from around the world.

By developing tools that promote the growth of creator profiles, Instagram has given the platform a new face.

A new face that has led to a more strategic and marketing approach from its users. From a simple photo sharing platform, we are now on an extremely powerful tool to build a community and a reputation, in order to derive financial benefits from it. And many have understood this and want to seize the opportunity.

Thus, content creators have started targeting niche subjects, such as van conversion, vegetarian recipes, pottery, or #parisianstyle. These themes allow them to create engaged communities, bringing them interesting reach and quickly growing their accounts. This is how accounts with less than 10k followers have reached over 50k in just a few months by working on the Parisian style.

But then, #howtobeparisian?

In 2014, Anne Berest (novelist), Caroline De Maigret (model), Audrey Diwan (writer), and Sophie Mas (film producer) released their book/case study, How to be parisian, wherever you are. A deconstruction of the quintessential Parisian style, both in terms of fashion and lifestyle. Because indeed, the French woman, and more specifically the Parisian woman, inspires beyond all borders. She is idolized, always imagined as elegant, a woman of character, seductive, walking on heels, with a beret tilted to the side, going to the bakery to get her baguette…

Two years later, Jeanne Damas, fashion influencer and writer, launched her own ready-to-wear brand. Rouje.

A brand designed as an ode to women and the Parisian lifestyle. Vintage-inspired pieces that embrace women’s bodies with sensuality to showcase their elegance. From perfectly fitted jeans to little floral dresses, it has won the hearts of both true Parisians and those who dream of living in the capital.

And for the past few months, it is on Instagram that the Parisian style has been spreading through carousels and reels!

What #ootd to have the Parisian style?

So, what outfit should you wear to feel like a Parisian woman?

Scrolling through the trend’s feed, we see berets, silk dresses, hair bows, heels, cigarette pants, trench coats, small bags, and other gold jewelry as far as the eye can see… With certain touches of Chanel, Jacquemus, Louis Vuitton, Dior, highlighted, of course…

The Parisian style is illustrated by wearing refined and elegant pieces throughout the day, with prestigious brands to add cachet to the outfit. Sprinkled with vintage and, let’s say, a bit of cliché, like the series Emily In Paris…

With a well-defined aesthetic, many brands are attracted to these profiles to promote their products. From hair accessories brands to dresses, hotels, or even flower bouquets.

The Parisian style, more than just an outfit, a real #mood

Café tables, coffee stains on a newspaper, and croissant crumbs scattered around a Chanel bag… Beyond just a fashion style, the Parisian style is above all a global mood, the #parisianlifestyle.

An aesthetic created from different criteria, namely:

• The outfit
• The accessory
• The location
• The attitude / action
• The music

The accessory of the Parisian style

Although the outfit is the main element in the Parisian style, it is only complete with the right accessory!

These can include:

• The baguette
• Croissants
• The newspaper
• Flowers
• The Kitsumé café cup
• The hot chocolate from Café de Flore
• Macarons, La Durée mug
• Angelina mug
• The essentials for a picnic, not to mention vintage champagne glasses
• Bonus: vintage cars or polished wooden boats

In conclusion, a mix of different accessories, most of which fall into the category of “French clichés,” enriches this French-inspired ambiance and aesthetic.

The ideal location to showcase your Parisian style

In order to create this aesthetic, the choice of location is crucial. These can be categorized as: cafés and brasseries / streets, squares, and views / parks and gardens / museums / luxury establishments. Each of these places reflects an elegant Parisian atmosphere, playing on “postcard” locations that are typical of Paris.

Cafés and brasseries:

• Café de Flore
• Angelina
• La Durée
• Kitsumé Café

Streets, squares, and views:

• The bouquinistes on the banks of the Seine, and other bookstores
• The entry code doors of buildings
• Place des Vosges
• The covered passages
• Place de la Concorde
• The rooftops of Paris
• Rue de l’Université
• Avenue du Camoen
• Metro entrances

Parks and gardens:

• Jardin du Palais Royal, with the Colonnes de Buren
• Jardin des Tuileries and its green chairs around the fountains
• Jardin du Luxembourg
• Jardin de Bagatelle

Museums:

• Musée Rodin
• Palais Galliera
• La Bourse du commerce

Luxury establishments:

• Avenue Montaigne
• Place Vendôme

And to add a touch of elsewhere to this Parisian style, there is one address outside of Paris that attracts anyone coveting this aesthetic… Étretat. Indeed, its cliffs have never seen so many staged picnics photographed in recent months! Its bucolic setting makes it a perfect backdrop, we must admit!

The attitude of the Parisian style

This aesthetic is based on the staging of a Parisian atmosphere, in a French way, where everything is precisely arranged. Naturalness is forgotten, and posing takes its place!

Slow walking, a fashion week runway spirit, hair movements, looking off into the distance with a slightly haughty air… This is the attitude that is depicted of the Parisian woman, leisurely enjoying coffees and hot chocolates.

This attitude is also used for reels, very cute, showcasing different outfits. Another trend that has recently invaded Instagram.

The typical music

One goes hand in hand with the other. How to depict Paris without including some Edith Piaf or accordion music? With the success of reels, more and more people enjoy creating scenes that promote the Parisian style. This is how soft melodies like “La vie en rose” come to envelop your feed.

The Parisian style, an aesthetic that seduces but quickly becomes tiresome?

Our opinion on the trend is two-fold…

On one hand, we find this aesthetic pleasant to see. It brings a bit of sweetness and marks a suspended moment in time. For some, the posts take on the appearance of paintings and provide a break in a sometimes messy and aggressive feed. We discover a beautiful face of Paris, resembling a film where everything is elegant and dreamy.

However… It lacks reality and feels a bit too copy-paste.

Indeed, the Parisian style that is staged remains an idolized vision, corresponding to the clichés that foreigners may have of Paris, fueling the “Paris syndrome”.

Also, all this staging and unnatural attitudes take away the spontaneity of these posts. However, it must be said that spontaneity on Instagram is no longer very much in vogue, unfortunately…

The point that makes us distance ourselves from this trend is its somewhat tiresome aspect. After seeing dozens of similar posts and reels, with the same angles, the same outfits, the same accessories, the same poses, the same croissants and hot chocolates at Café de Flore, or Kitsumé mugs, the same picnics on the cliffs of Étretat… We have a feeling of déjà vu… Although pleasant and soothing to see, we thirst for novelty, uniqueness, and a bit more originality… This is the challenge we are throwing to all these creators with a Parisian style. Surprise us!

Now, if you come across someone in the Jardin du Palais-Royal with a beret, croissants, and a bouquet of tulips under their arm… You’ll understand that a #parisianstyle hashtag will soon be attached to a photo or Instagram reel!