Les Espadrilles

The French have long mastered the art of dressing, making chic look effortless rather than planned and elaborate. There is a certain appeal to a deconstructed chignon and a very basic but nonetheless elegant outfit. It has become clear to me that as much as I love dressing up for certain events on a daily basis I will always gravitate towards the simplest of outfits putting comfort above everything else - the 5 piece wardrobe is probably one of my sartorial goals. The comfort I am talking about though is psychological rather than physical, wearing outfits I feel comfortable in opposed to ones I could actually work out in. Leggings and flip-flops are still a long way from what I would deem to call an outfit.

The best example in this respect is my preference for flats rather than high-heels. Besides the fact that my lazyness wins most times I simply feel more comfortable (again- psychologically not physically) in flats. For this simple reason I am now on the lookout for a pair of summer flats, something different to ballet pumps. Last summer I drooled a bit over the Chanel espadrilles but they were far out of my budget and I also had trouble figuring out whether I liked them or the Chanel name attached. This summer however I actually think espadrilles have grown on me and I might take a leap and buy a pair. An Asos pair most likely, definitely not the Chanel ones but much better to start with and definitely lighter on my bank account. 

In exhibit A I have lined up the usual suspects, Stella McCartney sheer white espadrilles and Rag&Bone black leather ones for those looking for Scandinavian minimalism, Valentino lace ones for the girliest of girls and for those of you that are feeling adventurous blue satin espadrilles courtesy of monsieur Christian Louboutin and wacky banana print ones from Mother of Pearl. Most of these are courtesy of Net-a-Porter so pretty pricey, but there is an Asos pair also which will leave you €300 or so richer than the other options.  

But enough of me talking - what is your opinion on espadrilles - can they ever be elegant, stylish, chic?

1.Asos | 2.Stella McCartney | 3. Christian Louboutin | 4. Rag&Bone | 5. Valentino | 6. Mother of Pearl