Ever since I started working for the EU as an interpreter, I've heard my colleagues speak so highly of the beauty of Strasbourg. I got to visit the city this week (there's a long vlog coming up!) and I spent quite a great deal of time taking these long walks in the little streets (getting lost in them, too) fishing for inspiration.
Whereas you'll get to see a glimpse of what the city has to offer in another post and a vlog, I wanted to share with you some style ideas I got as I observed my surroundings in this beautiful French city. As I always say, you can get your sartorial inspiration from anywhere. You just need to keep your eyes open!
The Main Elements
Okay, so I'm going to start off by outlining those aspects that I now associate with Strasbourg before moving on to translating them into outfits. The first is white lace. Whenever I got to work slightly early (every single day practically), I would take a little stroll around the pretty houses around the European Parliament area. These houses look identical, yet every house has that little distinguishing feature. Some of these houses had the most gorgeous white lace curtains! My heart swooned at their sight, so I wanted to include them in this entry too.
Then, there's maroon, black, gold and brown. Those are the main colours I observed as I pranced (almost literally guys!) through the streets and alleys in the Cathedral Square area. The three hues work well together, and they can also be paired with other shades without compromising that typical French feel of the city (or the outfit!)
Last but not least, cropped pants. It was quite warm here in Strasbourg over the past few days and many people were out in their shorts, florals and pastel shades. It totally put me on Spring mode. I'll be shopping for Spring wear over the coming week now! Anyway, when I visited Place Kleber, I saw a lot of children rolling up their trousers to jump in the cool waters of the fountains. The picture is kinda stuck in my head now, so I chose cropped pants as my third and final element.
Hello, Outfits
My first outfit has a very Summery feel. I've seen Strasbourg people wear something strikingly similar...I wonder whether they were wearing the exact same pieces I included in my combination! A floaty white lace top is a must as the climate gets warmer, and you can pair it with your favourite cropped jeans before it gets way too warm! I included maroon and brown in the accessory and shoe department respectively, a lovely berry-coloured lip colour from Barry M to seal the look.
My next combination is so French you can almost see croissants floating all over my Polyvore set! Some of us still can't enjoy extremely warm weather, so we have to layer on a blazer quite often. Hence why I still included a maroon blazer in my set. Cropped brown or tan pants are a staple here in Strasbourg, maybe because they are so versatile! Tan and maroon complement each other and well, you can never go wrong with a striped shirt. Never.
This last outfit is both my favourite one and the one that reminds me most of my stay here in Strasbourg. I've seen so many people sporting something along these lines. I can't wait for the weather to get warmer (or come back here pretty please!) to wear a similar combination. This is ideal for transitioning from one season to the next, when it's warm enough to flash a bit more skin yet not warm enough to flash it all. Yes, there's yet another Micheal Kors watch in one of my sets.
I am going to miss Strasbourg, even though this was a very short stay! I'll be commencing my pilgrimage back to London early in the afternoon. In the meantime, stay tuned for more from the French city.