becoming an amateur fashionista

I must admit, that while living in Paris these past 3 months or so, I definitely have been bitten by the fashionista bug. Just walking around the city offers so much fashion insight and outfit ideas. It also doesn't help that my beloved house mate, Annie, is a fashion design and merchandising major and is always up on the newest trends and offers excellent fashion advice. I really feel like this is one thing I'm going to miss about Paris once I leave. In the US (and in Tacoma, WA in particular) the majority of the population goes for comfort and cheapness over fashionable, when it come to clothes. The past 19+ years of my life I have never found anything wrong with this simple fact, but now that I've spent a considerable time in Paris, something has changed, and now it seems like a big problem. Parisians even believe that it is utterly necessary to dress your babies well. I can't count how many 2 year olds I've seen in perfectly tailored pea coats. I don't even have a perfectly tailored pea coat. My first opinion of these well-dressed toddlers was that they were adorable, but that it was completely unnecessary, considering they will probably grow out of all their beautiful clothes in a month! Now, something in my mind has changed, and I see how important it is for those 2 year olds to have their wool pea coats, thick, colorful tights, matching hats, and mary jane shoes. It makes perfect sense.

All joking aside, I wanted to make sure to document some of the current trends that I have notice around Paris. Here they are:

First off, we have the tights and shorts combo. I love this one. I have acquired many pairs of tights over the last couple of months (hey don't judge, they're versatile and cheap!) and love to pair them with many things and even just wear them under jeans as sock replacements when I haven't done laundry in awhile. Next we have the black skinny jeans, black blazer, and French retro striped shirt. You can never go wrong wearing these stripes in Paris, they are everywhere and widely accepted as fashionable.
Another blazer photo. There is a kind of magic that happens once anyone puts a blazer on; a sense of maturity and professionalism arrives out of nowhere. You're suddenly in charge, and you can handle anything. Highly recommended to wear for job interviews, internships, and any other environment demanding professionalism to be pulled out of thin air. The blazer is also a very versatile item of clothing and can be a great light layer to add to any going-out outfit.
Last but not least, the Ben Simon. The Ben Simon is the trademark tennis show of Paris. To put it in an analogy: Ben Simon is to Paris as Converse is to the US of A. They are simple, low to the ground shoes that come in many fabulous colors and various styles. The lace up (shown on the right) is the most classic, but recently they have come out with more styles such as the slip on (as seen on the left) and the faux lace-up slip on (as seen in my closet). Ben Simons are worn amongst children, teens, and adults alike, although seem to be a bit more popular among the younger populations. Selling for 25 Euro a pop, it has been hard for me to resist buying all the colors and variations my little amateur fashionista heart desires.