Paris.

Have I told you about my love affair with Paris?  I know, I know — every gal has a love affair with Paris at some point in her life.  But Paris — on two separate occasions — has felt like the very center of my life, the centrifugal force that kept various moving parts in balance and motion.  The first occasion took place just after I’d graduated from high school.  My loving and indulgent parents flew me to Paris for a week of art, cuisine, and extravagance.  They put me up in my own room at the Ritz {Place Vendome}, which — coming from a family with 5 kids — bowled me over.  Not only did I have my own room, but it was my own room at the Ritz.  When the staff wheeled in a breakfast cart that featured, amongst other delicacies, the most outrageously flavorful brioche sucree I’ve had in my life, and I laid there in my ginormous fluffy bed in my exquisitely appointed room with a window that looked out on Paris, preparing for a day at Versailles, I was quite certain that life would never be as good.  I’d peaked at the tender age of 17.  I floated around Paris for that week, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, taking in the sights and sounds of the most cultured place on earth.  It felt like my horizons were expanding by the second — whereas I’d previously only been privy to one narrow wedge of the landscape, I was now seeing a much broader vista.  That moment in my life felt like a hinge, a lynchpin — just before I was to fly the coop for college, while I was still in many ways just a girl who needed her parents’ direction and guidance.  Paris pushed me to adulthood.

{print by Jessica Durrant, available here for $25}

The second occasion took place three years later, while I was studying abroad in Lyon.  I actually loathed and despised my semester abroad.  I was painfully, achingly homesick, to the point where my father, after sitting on the phone to many a sob session, cut me off and said: “Jennifer, you are coming home.  I’m booking you a ticket tomorrow.  We’ll figure out the rest once you’re back.”  My stubborn and competitive doppelganger {named Jename — but I’ll save that story for a different post} arrived and dug her heels in, so I willfully and heart-wrenchingly committed to sticking it out.  I know this all sounds ridiculous and far-fetched.  Woe is me, I had to live in Lyon and eat the most amazing cuisine {Lyon is the gastronomic center of France} and guzzle amazing and cheap Cote de Rhone wine and travel Europe, all on my parents’ dime.  But I was so unhappy.  I cried myself to sleep every night, especially after discovering that our apartment was infested with mice that would crawl through the walls and eat every ounce of food in sight {it was such a problem that we had to hang our food in bags from the chandelier so the mice wouldn’t get to it}.  At any rate, my parents hopped across the pond to visit me and treated me to yet another extravagant multi-day stay in Paris.  I’ll never forget seeing my mother step out of the quaint French taxi in her floor-length mink coat after not seeing her for weeks and weeks {I talk to my mom almost every day}.  It was like coming home — pure relief.  Paris again marked some sort of renewal, rebirth.

Oh.  And did I mention the fashion in Paris?!  Paris also marked the beginning of a life-long love affair with style.  Paris women were just plain chic.  See below:

Um.  Can I be them? 

The thread that ties these looks together?  Restraint.  As I learned then, the key to Parisian chic-ness was doing less.  A well-made blouse, tailored jeans, and simple heels.  Nothing flashy or over-patterned.  Clean and classic.  I just guest-blogged on Palm Beach Lately about a perfect Parisian lunch get-up — check it out here!  But below,  a couple of other key ways to achieve that Parisian chic vibe…

First, a simple white tank ($75, Net-A-Porter), black jeans, a salt and pepper collarless coat ($450, Barney’s),  and some fabulous booties (Zanotti, on sale for $588, Stylebop):

Finish with uber-chic shades (Thierry Lasry is all the rage right now — $385, Net-A-Porter) and a sophisticated and unfussy handbag (3.1 Philip Lim, $795, Shopbop)

The goal here is simple, clean separates/investment pieces.  Alternately, channel CLASSIC Chanel with this two-tone ladylike boucle dress (Moschino, $1,295, Net-A-Porter):

In the summer months, pair with unexpectedly dressed-down (and yet sleek) banded sandals (Michael Kors, $595, Neiman’s — or get the look for less with this $98 pair from Vince Camuto):

Meanwhile, these retro-chic horn-effect shades from hip line Super ($165, Swell) and a structured tote from high-end line Valextra seals the deal:

For a slightly more dressed-up affair {I think back with particularly fond memories of an indulgent lunch we had at Taillevent, by the Arc de Triomphe}, I’d sport a white blouse ($98, J. Crew), a serious collar necklace (these collar styles are all the rage right now $158, Dannijo — but if that terrifies you, consider this gemmed $145  Max & Chloe variation), and a simple pleated skirt ($350, Mulberry):

I’d finish with these INCROYABLE PVC pumps (Thierry Mugler, $1,225, Opening Ceremony)

I’d finish with a quilted handbag (this ASOS style is only $28! — but if you can swing it, the Real McCoy — a Chanel — would be ideal; alternately, consider this $595 Marc Jacobs style or this $148 Michael Kors version for something in between):

— AND, finally: hey!  you’re in Paris, so wear a romantic felt hat (DSquared, $225, Farfetch — or get the look for less with this $20 H&M style) and some serious shades (House of Harlow, $148, Shopbop):

Alternately, consider this simple white sheath ($520, Saks)

And finish with nude booties ($220, Lindestore):

The restraint is the hardest part — I’d want to add lots of bold jewels, but this will definitely set the tone.  Accent with some chic shades (Tom Ford is the creme de la creme for high-end eyewear; the style below is $360) and the always covetable Chloe Marcie ($1,995, Net-A-Porter):

In the evening, an LBD is in order.  This drapey Rachel Comey number ($516, Saks) pairs perfectly with these delicate sparkler drops ($29, Tallulah):

Turns ultra-chic with the addition of these platformed, tasseled heels (Rachel Zoe, $325, Shopbop):

Finish with the Alexander Wang Adriel clutch ($525, Net-A-Porter) and a deco cuff (KJL, $207, Max & Chloe):

TAKE ME AWAY!!!!