How to Dress like a European Lady

Americans are great at lots of things in fashion. Sportswear and jeans just aren't the same in the rest of the world. However, a lot of American women find themselves looking at pictures of European women and marveling at their seemingly effortless elegance. While we can't all rush off to Paris at the drop of a hat to go shopping, we can learn some basic lessons from how these ladies dress and apply them to our own lives.

Lesson 1: It's not the size of the wardrobe; it's what's in it.
This is perhaps the best lesson to learn from European women, since it's just so simple to apply to everyday life. The fact is that many European women live in tiny apartments with tiny closets and tiny washing machines. Therefore, out of necessity, each piece of their wardrobe has to serve a specific purpose, or the closet itself will overflow in no time.

Think of it this way: Plan two weeks' worth of outfits. Then mix and match for another two weeks' worth. You'll be amazed at how few pieces you need to accomplish this, and you'll be even more amazed at what you don't need. Why are we even doing this? A general fashion rule of thumb is, if you wear something once every two weeks, people will not remember it (even though you do), and you will always look fresh. Further, if you mix it up, you will always look new and polished.

Pare down your wardrobe this way, then make sure the pieces you do reserve are special. Taking out the clutter is the easiest way to get dressed in the morning, and the easiest way to always look fashionable.

Lesson 2: Never ever be afraid of your body.
Many women in the United States have body image problems. Either we think we're too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall; whatever it is, the tendency a lot of American women have is to wear blousy clothes that attempt to "mask the problem." Especially as we get older, American women tend to wear roomier and roomier clothes to tent our perfectly normal older bodies. The resultant look inevitably makes the poor woman look much larger than she is, much older than she is, and somewhat slovenly.

European older women seem to dress as though they're proud of their age and their bodies. As they get older, skirts actually get more fitted, skimming rounded tummies and hips, then flaring at the knees. Fishnets, other patterned tights, and low heels tend to round out the look, with not a thought to whether or not it's too sexy or age appropriate to wear them. The result is that they always look elegant, proud, and slim, regardless of size.

Everyone can use a little tune-me-up once in a while, and everyone can use some inspiration to do it. Keeping your eyes and ears open to ideas from any source, including abroad, can help keep you excited about getting ready in the morning, and keep your partner excited about you coming home at night.