This Celeb-Loved, Midrange Brand Is Perfect For 40+ Women Who Want To Dress French Lady Chic
And by women, we mean us.
Image: Mark Cuthbert | Getty
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by The Candidly Team
Why do Parisian women look so effortlessly chic? And by that we mean why the 🤬 do Parisian women look so effortlessly chic?
Honestly, that kind of elegance/graceful aging/exquisite taste/ je ne sais quois can feel like just another unattainable thing we’re not living up to while plunked down in our joggers wondering if we can get that salsa stain out from our slipper.
But one thing we’ve realized about our style goals since we passed age 40 is that we don’t have to give up on them. We just have to make them easier. More accessible.
We need pieces that do the work for us. Not a lot of styling and fuss - just perfect, perfect articles of clothing that make us look like we know what we’re doing on a chic, French lady level.
Enter Sézane - the French label where every piece is just a little bit more elevated, unique, grounded in classic French style, but with a twist. The quality is on a designer level but the prices are midrange.
A scroll through their site is like a stroll along the shops of the Marais. But there are 9 particular pieces we found unbelievably useful to transforming our summer wardrobe. Et voila - here they are.
1. Pippa Dress
If the somehow understated leopard print didn’t thrill you as it did us, rest assured this dress comes in many a solid color. And what really matters anyway is the fit, because it’s miraculous and flattering and utra-feminine and is incredible at concealing a belly pooch while making all our other curves look skimmed and elongated. The material is like a t-shirt, but the cut is so chic, we wear it from the pool to a party simply by swapping our flip flops* to heels.
Price: $160
2. Elina Marinière
This is the classic, striped tee once made famous by Coco Chanel and now folded in the drawers of every existing French woman. We adore the cut of this one, because the length means we don’t have to fuss over a tuck, and everything still falls in a very clean and flattering way. Repeat after us, shorter tops makes waists look smaller. More women need to believe this.
Price: $105
3. Noa Skirt
Sézane makes the kind of skirts we fall in love with when so many brands are no longer making any skirts at all. They made the one famously worn by Kate Middleton above*, but this one is, in our humble opinion, the romantic summer skirt of our collective dreams. It turns every top and shoe into a stunning look, but wear it with THIS* black tank, THESE* elegant flips, and THIS* bag for the chicest color combination of all time. But black MUST be on top. That’s a rule we live by.
Price: $180
4.
John Top
This shape of tank is unbelievably flattering. It doesn’t cling but still looks alluring with its scooped neckline which, incidentally, is the most complimentary way to frame chests, shoulders, and arms (this is what often makes the difference between a gorgeous and very, very bad-fitting tank). The straps also blessedly cover our bra. It comes in solid colors which make for great summer staples, but this soft stripe is too pretty to pass up.
Price: $55
5. Wallace Shorts
Sézane makes shorts for grown ups. That doesn’t mean they are long and granny and schlumpy and sad. They’re tailored and luxe and look fantastic on our lower bellies and ample butts. This pair has nice big leg holes and the critical A-line shape that flatters a woman’s lower body most. They’re long enough to cover everything important, and somehow, they are sophisticated. Shorts?! Sophisticated. We therefore live in them in multiple colors in the summer.
Price: $130
6. Rym Shirt
Sézane is famous for their lace shirts which come in too many styles for us to even narrow down to one. They’re special because the detail turns any dumb jeans we’re wearing into an elevated outfit. Here’s just a sampling of some we’ve worn of late. All from Sézane. All very similar to this one:
Price: $135
7. Cesar Trousers
If you were to look in your closet at this moment, could you find a pair of beautifully tailored-looking trousers that drape in a way as to make your legs look longer, have pleating that flatters your lower belly and hips, and just generally read “quiet luxury” and amazing? If not, may we suggest these?
Price: $180
8. Yaelle Top
Before you scream, but how will I wear a bra with that without the hideous straps showing, you can and you will. We explain how HERE. This kind of detail being added to something as staple and essential as a white tank is what turns clothes into outfits and makes all the difference in terms of how we feel in our clothes: happy and confident versus meh and whatever. And it’s why we love Sézane so much.
Price: $100
9. Maella Shirt
Yes, you need about 4-5 button downs to achieve French woman chicness. One is white and classic and works with silk skirts and all your jeans and over swimsuits, and it lives HERE if you don’t already own it. But a striped button-down is going to elevate 87% of what you wear. This one is uniquely cut to make our waist look nipped and our legs look like they start HIGHER with zero extra fabric to fuss over, tie, and tuck. Le dream!
Price: $125
Bonus: The Accessories
The Basket Bag*: A Sézane basket is world famous. Invest in one for yourself, but pro tip: it also makes a beloved, lifetime gift to the ladies in your life you hold dear.
The Scarf*: Of course Sézane makes the best scarves, though they sell out constannnnntly. Ugh. But this one is somehow still in stock. Pounce accordingly.
The Elevated Hair Tie*: We wrote a whole thing about why this might be the chicest hack around when it’s hot and we live in a messy bun.
The Sandals*: The detail my friends. It’s what separates the good from the gorgeous.
P.S. Here we are with our own beloved basket…
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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