Recessionista

It’s panic on the streets of Paris. Expats are getting sent home, layoffs left, right, and center – and somehow there’s still pressure to look like La Parisienne Parfaite!

La Mom has learned a thing or two from Frenchwomen over the years. Now is the perfect time to put their secrets to work for you.

Here are a few tricks for looking fab even when the economy is staler than a day-old baguette:

Simplify.

Frenchwomen have a knack for putting together supremely chic outfits from just a few basic pieces. There’s a practical reason for this – closets don’t exist in France. No kidding. If you’re really lucky or have megabucks, you might have a pseudo-closet called a “dressing”. Otherwise, it’s a plain old-fashioned wardrobe.

Here’s the chance to go through your stuff and ditch what you don’t wear. If it hasn’t touched your body in one year or more, trash it. Sell it on eBay, give it to your babysitter – but get rid of it.

A faire: Ditch anything you wore in college. Trust me, you don’t want to wear it again – especially not in Paris!

A ne pas faire à tout prix: Hang on to clothes you might wear “one day”.

Here’s what you really need:

5 pairs of kick-ass jeans or pants in dark blue, faded wash, white, black, corduroy, or velvet.

Be prepared to shell out for a great-looking, sexy cut, but it’s worth the investment. Darker washes can be teamed with a jacket and heels for the office and a fine-knit T-shirt on the weekends.

(Moms of young children are allowed to have a couple more pairs. Practically no one in Paris has a clothes dryer, so you don’t want to come up pantless when all of your Sevens are drying on the radiator and your toddler has just smeared Nutella on your last pair of clean jeans.)

More Recessionista tips to come this week…