Will TikTok Shatter the Illusion of The French Girl?
The French girl has been an American obsession since the 1960s. With French new wave films, stars like Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot created the concept of the French girl that we still think of today.
The French girl herself is, of course, an illusion. Harpers Bazaar writers Elizabeth Whitehead and Hayley Peppin state that “she’s been crystallized into our collective imagination as the epitome of effortless beauty, charisma and charm.”
“She’s beautiful, but without effort. She’s thin, but without ever denying herself anything. She’s liberated enough to be sexy, but not enough to be considered a feminist (god forbid). And if all of this sounds unrealistic, that’s because it is. The French girl isn’t real—she’s a fantasy.”
We have been fascinated with the French girl style for quite some time, but it has seen a rapid rise with #messyFrenchgirl and #Frenchgirlaesthetic being used on TikTok.
The mystique of the French girl runs deep in our media. Her charm is partly due to the fact that she is a character. On TikTok, Gen Z and millennials have taken to revealing the truth about many unrealistic beauty standards and ideals. As an unattainable reality, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gen Z call this out.
Even though she might be a fictional character, we are still drawn to admire both her physical appearance and disposition.
In CR Fashion Book, Eman Alami writes, “The French girl style is perfectly undone, it’s chic without trying too hard, and always looks perfectly put together.”
Americans are intrigued by the French girl because her life is so different from theirs. French women shop for well-crafted, high-quality, perfectly fitting pieces that they will wear for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, Americans are constantly trying to keep up with trends without spending time thinking about the future of their clothing.
“This [idea] comes from a reputation of elegance and education of the French women I believe,” says Catherine, a Parisian who has lived most of her life in Paris, later spending time in New York and the South of France. “Maybe it has been accented by American movies in the 60s,” she says, “where you always see the perfect French woman and their children are very well educated, strict manners, dressed with style.”
Catherine doesn’t think all Americans have this obsession. She believes this image is held “amongst an elite of American mothers and that the mass of American mothers don’t have that obsession.”
“It is a kind of statement,” she says, “an image of good taste, and it is snobby to me.”
Catherine claims that French education is “into extremely demanding manners and it requests that you have to be polite.”
“It is true that when I met American women when I arrived in New York, they were so complimentary of my country and our style that it was funny to me and so caricatural,” she laughs. “Not always the truth, right? […] French is just chic in the mind of American mothers.”
“French women embrace the virtues of ‘jolie-laide,’” one TikTok creator claims. “They do not believe in perfection. Instead, they believe in the beauty of imperfections and tend to exalt the authentic.”
Americans enthralled by “hustle culture” who obsess over perfection perhaps don’t allow themselves to appreciate imperfections. They try so hard, which is a direct contrast to the French way of life.
In our age of overconsumption, we find clarity in her effortless, simplistic way. Her carefree nature may allow us to dream of such a life while we ourselves are stuck in corporate, consumerist America.
“France has been the place to be as a tourist or an American,” says Matthew, a French American in his 20’s who lived in France for six years. “French culture is something they sell, it’s a fairy tale.”
According to Matthew, “it’s about selling the image of living in the old world, and it’s great in the sense they have made a lot of money off of this.” By pushing French cosmetics and makeup onto an international scale, the French girl aesthetic has become a classic.
“It is undeniable that it is popular,” Matthew says.
Fashionista editor-at-large, Maura Brannigan, claims her ‘For You’ page “began supplying a steady stream of ‘French-girl-aesthetic,’ defined by smudgy red lipstick, Juliet balconies, and spritzes of Chanel No. 5 in marble bathrooms.”
TikTok has been popularizing a range of aesthetics. People, specifically Gen Z, are becoming fixated on having a singular aesthetic. It is only right that the French girl aesthetic has emerged as a popular choice.
While this style has been around for decades, it is interesting to think about how it will change now that it has reached TikTok. Will the idea of this perfect French girl shatter in the hands of Gen Z, who are quick to call out things that aren’t realistic?
What are your thoughts on the French girl aesthetic? Let us know in the comments.