7 Affordable Winter Pieces to Build a French Look in a Few Clicks

Eugénie Trochu is aBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing editor in residence known for her transformative work at Vogue France and her Substack newsletter, where she documents and shares new trends, her no-nonsense approach to fashion and style, plus other musings. She's also working on her upcoming first book that explores fashion as a space of memory, projection, and reinvention.

French style is a bit like a croque-monsieur recipe: Everyone thinks they can make one; very few actually can. It has nothing to do with price or pedigree and everything to do with instinct, that sense of balance between effort and ease. Here is my selection of winter pieces that are accessible, effective, and capable of changing everything.

Coats

First step, and a mandatory one: coats. My winter obsession. I keep coming back to the beige quilted jacket—not the BCBG cliché, the other one. The one that has shed its countryside strictness for something softer, quieter. I also have an irrational attraction to structured coats, the ones that cinch the waist as if by muscle memory. They remind me of Balenciaga archives, pieces that carried the posture before they shaped the silhouette. And then there is the false leopard. Not the loud one, not the costume version. A calm leopard, almost shy, that does not try to be interesting. A discreet fantasy. I like these small contradictions; they say more than an explanation could.

Jeans

In France, jeans are not clothing; they are a state of mind. But everything depends on cut and fabric. The low-rise brown model below revisits the 2000s with a winter twist: low on the hips, wide in the leg, warm brown, casually nonchalant. At the opposite end, I am drawn to the wide white jeans, that quiet Parisian luxury: luminous, almost couture, perfect with a gray knit or a camel coat. And finally, the straight black jean: high-waisted, clean-cut, dense denim. The kind of jean that behaves.

Knitwear

Winter is ruled by knitwear. It sets the pace for the day. I love the big navy or gray turtlenecks, slightly masculine, wrapping the body and giving a calm presence, almost like wearing a coat indoors. The black open-knit sweater belongs clearly to the evening. It reveals just enough. Softer mornings call for a plush, slightly retro cardigan, easy to throw on and comforting like a warm coffee. And then there is the grandpa jacquard, unexpected and oddly stylish, turning a mountain sweater into a deliberate fashion moment.

Tops

Winter tops are mostly subtext. They hide under a blazer, appear alone at night, or play contrast with heavy knitwear. Black velvet gives that quiet winter sensuality, while the sleeveless silk high-neck has a soft '70s energy, fluid but sharp. I am also loyal to fine jerseys with thumbholes, that very French balance of elegance and comfort. And the cropped white shirt remains a bright essential, either open over a tank or tucked into high-waisted jeans. Everything becomes clearer with a white shirt.

Belts

A belt is the detail that pulls everything back into place. I prefer thin, almost invisible models that structure the silhouette without weighing it down. Equestrian styles bring a certain polish, classic brown leather stays relevant all year, and a subtle leopard print can wake up a monochrome look. Sometimes a slightly Western buckle or gaucho note adds just the right kind of bohemian ease.

Shoes

Second-to-last touch: shoes, the things that bring a look back to reality. Reworked ballerinas add poetic lightness to the simplest outfits, biker boots give that functional minimalism that lasts the whole day, and suede riding boots bring an unexpected softness to winter. Even classic loafers, when chosen well, anchor a Parisian look without forcing.

Bags

I like bags that do not fight for attention but finish a silhouette with precision. Soft shapes tucked under the arm, small crossbody bags that free your hands, discreet bucket bags that make you feel like you are going somewhere even when you are not. I like bags that suggest a story: a hint of color waking up a too-serious coat, a quiet print that only works on a minimal outfit, a soft suede piece that survives a whole season without complaining.

Dressing “à la française” is not about stacking trends but choosing the right points of balance. These pieces, accessible yet precise, say something true without being ostentatious or simplistic. French elegance is not about price but about the gaze. It is the calm gesture of slipping your hands into the pockets of a perfectly cut coat, walking through winter with that effortlessly careless look no one ever fully manages to copy. It is the measured mix of comfort and structure, of masculine and feminine, of heritage and a personal twist.

In short, the art of seeming like you did nothing when in fact you fine-tuned everything.