Meet Ruchel: a French frum fashionista. Born in Paris, Ruchel’s family has been involved in the fashion industry for generations. Her father, a retired fashion designer, actually designed clothes for film star Brigitte Bardot. Ruchel shared some photos of her personal style as well as insight into the Jewish French community. Some of the pictures include her adorable 4 year-old daughter, Mati, whom Ruchel calls “a future fashionista”!

Q. What is unique about French frum fashion?

More casual = Even at simchas you see women wearing denim skirts, snoods and other casual head coverings. There are very few long gowns at weddings (except for the bride!) Fewer women wear heels and when they do, the heels are lower.

More color, less black = Black is common for skirts but not as a whole look unless you are a Gothic (not so many frum ones!) or very overweight. Black to me is not a simcha color, davka the opposite. (If you agree, check out “Lighten Up - Tznius Dressy Dresses that are Not Black!”)

Tznius clothing availability = In recent years some tznius trendy shops have opened, in real and especially online. Before that there were a few VERY ugly tznius shops, but most frum shops actually carried mostly untznius stuff. The problem was especially big for wedding gowns. Unless you could afford a custom one, or had 6 months + to customize one, you went with something not to your standards or you wore a white tee shirt under.

Fewer extreme sizes = Fewer ladies here are very obese, and fewer ladies wear the American “size 0”. Size 0 translates as a size 32 here, which is not found in regular shops. You need a teen shop or a short shop. Most clothes start at the equivalent of a US 4 or even a 6. But you also have much fewer very big sizes and fewer plus size shops (though recently there have been more, especially among the frum sellers). There is a weight problem in the Jewish community, where plump is often still seen as healthy and if you don’t finish your plate your mom/mother-in-law/grandma/friend will be upset ;)
As a Bais Yaakov teacher I noticed a certain % of teen girls are already overweight, and as a shadchanit I also have a number of really overweight young girls. Men here, in shidduchim, do not ask size. They may ask “not fat”. A very modern and trendy boy may ask “slim”. I have set up these men with size 12 girls without any issue.
The average French woman is 5’3 and a US 10/12.

Body image = Girls with body image issues are a lot more common in the non-frum world, but still present in the frum world. Some want to be thinner, some want to be bigger (I have a couple of size 4 friends who tell me it’s not feminine, better be bigger or even a bit overweight but at least feminine!). I think with good clothes anyone can look good!

Accessories = They seem less important here and more conservative. You won’t see SO many babies with earrings, or ladies with a headband with a flower, or those huge original hats. Not all women mind how their purse or shoes look. Fewer ladies have pierced ears, too, especially among the oldest ones and the youngest ones. Many places won’t pierce a child’s ears. Some Jews consider it is mutilation, hence discouraged. One lady told me she doesn’t want her son marrying a girl with pierced ears because of that!

  “Frum codes”= In Israel you can find someone’s hashkafa from his kipa and clothes. Not so much here. Some guys who are barely frum wear black kippot and some very charedi men wear coloured kippot. Some very modern ladies wear sheitels, , some very charedi ladies wear denim floor length skirts and sneakers. My daughter’s Bais Yaakov asked kids to come in Shabbes clothes for the class picture, and there were many girls in denim, sneakers, sandals, converse (all with tights). Many boys came in dark jeans and coloured shirts.

Popular French Frum Trends =
*Leggings under a skirt
*Tunic over a skirt                                                                                                                                                *Long dresses with prints
*Ugg boots
*Gladiator sandals (option: tights)                                                                                                                   *Converse shoes (option: tights)

So what do you think? Personally, I love the converse and tights trend and the fact that some French brides wear a white t-shirt under their wedding gowns because it’s so hard to find a modest one!

Did anything surprise you? Do share!