A flick through some French fashion magazines

When in France, disappointed by some (the majority?) of the street fashion I witnessed, I figured a trip to Paris via the pages of a magazine would be a good idea. I tried hard, very hard to understand the writing in Vogue and L'Officiel Paris, to some avail. The pictures however were far more interesting...

Some were a bit boring, some quite funny, and others just rather french. Here's a few that stood out for me.

This spread, "Le belle etoile", in L'Officiel by Matthew Frost seems to have that particular French je ne sais quoi. While it may not seem on the surface the most exciting photo (left), I like the confidence and the statement made by looking at the back of the dress, as opposed to the more obvious front.

I love this image (right), from the same story, mainly because of the random sun worshippers in the background. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think they may actually have really been there. That is just so French, so typically laid back and I think, absolutely fabulous.

The next spread in L'Officiel by Rene Habermacher entitled "Tension" includes and image of a couple, clearly going through a rocky patch. While it is an editorial spread, the focus isn't so much on the clothes, but the scene, the situation and the feelings between the couple, which makes for a refreshingly different fashion story.

I can't help smiling at these images in the "Trompe D'oeil" story as I love the humour and the novelty aspect captured by photographer Paolo Zambaldi.

Moving onto Vogue... Remember in my last post, I moaned about not seeing the relaxed elegance we so associate with France? This picture (right) taken by Maciek Kobielski, is exactly what I'm talking about.

Finally is a spread of the new season key pieces from a selection of designers shot by top photographer David Sims. I like the uncontrivedness (is that a word??) and rawness of the images, which allow the clothes to speak for themselves.