On Length

If you've ever wondered what length to wear your pants, I found the perfect model as I couldn't explain to you better.

Now, this is gospel: we are talking about two different kinds of lengths... that of the front side and that of the back side.

The front side has to fall such that the pants mark a slight break (I know, it sounds like a math exercise ;) Slight break though, otherwise you'll look like a teen. As for the back side hem, it needs to be slightly longer than the front and about 3/4th down from the top of your high heel. Actually, it's precisely 3/8th down (between 1/2 and 3/4 - yes, math).

Ok you may say, but how about the lady below? Isn't she utterly fashionable?

If I were her, here's what I would have said to myself while dressing up that morning:

- I know my shoes are this awesome blue, and I want to watch them all day - as I am now by the way. So I'll roll my jeans up...

- Of course, I don't want to look silly rolled up, so I think I'll wear large jeans :)

- Because I'm playing with length, I'll need to coordinate this short bottom with a short top (mixing instead of matching silhouette lengths would make the look too complicated, as already blue shoes can be: no long coats or trench coats here pls).

- Because I'm playing with colors, I'll need to match these baby blue shoes with another childlike color. A pink cartoon print tee, while highly unlikely in every closet, is just what I need... Otherwise I would have gone for something white or grey.

- Because I'm looking like a kid with these colors and these round toes with a strap, I made the right decision by wearing my boyfriend's rolled-up jeans ;)

CQFD*

As a standard though, please follow the lead of the main protagonist here, who's decidedly got all her lengths right (hair, sleeves, sweater, heels)...

*CQFD: Ce qu'il fallait démontrer. Literally means "what needed to be proven" or "case made". This widely used expression is originally applied when solving math problems...

Profiled: Emmanuelle Seigner

Emmanuelle Seigner is a French actress/singer/model, married to cult film director Roman Polanski (a little Rosemary’s Baby for you?), sister of another famous actress and granddaughter of Louis Seigner, a monument of French theater. This is for introductions…

Now - and apart from her famous associations - I’ve always been fascinated by this woman.

First, because of her evident beauty and raw sexuality. Second, because she’s proof that the most potent beauty ingredient is love. Third, because she has a style of her own, yet is unafraid to be versatile: here the icy blonde à la Grace Kelly and the diaphanous Californian babe, à la Sharon Tate of course…

Style-wise, this lady is typically Parisian, wearing extremely simple garments and in her case, an almost absence of accessories. It’s very smart, because while the goal is to downplay her strong presence, the result is to enhance her mirroring abilities as she is, definitely, a mirror to our fantasies*.

For more pictures, click on our making of page.

* as seen above, the “fantasizer” group strongly and universally including men from 13 to about 75 years old ;)

Bienvenue

So this is it, 31 Million's blog. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have preparing it!

Our concept is simple: if 31 million French women manage to achieve what is known as French style, then you can too.

This blog will post pictures of the women of Paris, updated regularly, as well as profiles of ladies we think have a great sense of fashion. These are women like you and me, so feel free to comment as well as make these looks your own!

Finally, do check the 31million website, where you can sign up for my French style and nutrition classes in my current city Amsterdam, and rent clothes and accessories with a "French Touch" from the site's dedicated platform.

Bienvenue chez nous!

Nicky