Want A Style That's Timeless, Yet Effortlessly Modern? The French Girl Chop Is The Only Answer

If you ever feel in a rut with your style, simply look to the continent: French hairstyles are the ultimate inspiration. Just as French women are known for their impeccable fashion choices and their je ne sais quoi make-up, their hair always looks so well put together and considered. Case in point: the French girl chop, which has to be the most iconic iteration of the bob we've seen over the past decade.

Cutting your hair is a big step: trust me, I get it. As someone who's attempted to grow long, Rapunzel-esque locks for most of my life, I am rather accustomed to the feeling of getting an idea in my head to cut it all off when I'm bored, and usually following through with it. The interesting thing is that I never regret it: cutting off your hair not only feels liberating through the act itself, but the bob trends are timeless and hard not to like.

From breakups to new jobs, there are plenty of life events that spark a need for change. But this year, it's purely the change of the season that has me desperate for something new. Summer, after all, is the ultimate period for hair inspiration. Sofia Richie's new sophisticated cut is proof of that, surely.

Renowned Stylist and Salon Owner Luke Hersheson is an advocate for the summer chop, in part because of its ease this time of year: "The great thing about the French girl bob is that you can let the cut do the talking. If you have long hair, to make a statement you need to style it, whereas with the French bob, the haircut is the statement: you don’t really need to make any extra effort with it."

He says this haircut becomes your statement piece. "Therefore, it is super low maintenance, yet feels modern, especially when paired alongside natural and easy texture rather than anything too blown-out or manicured."

Hersheson looks to Gracie Abrams, Elsa Hosk, Lori Harvey and of course, now Sofia Richie, for his ultimate French girl chop inspo, which he says "suits the majority of hair textures and face shapes as it can be worn in different ways," thanks to the fact it's "a super versatile and low maintenance cut."

What to ask for in the salon

With so many different styles of bob, it can feel overwhelming to even attend a hairdresser's appointment and know what to say. Luckily, Luke can help with this, too. "Ask your stylist for ‘invisible layers’ around the front, so your bob never hangs down in two curtains, but springs to life with instant shape once dry. Then we keep the back one length, to give body and texture, without you even trying."

How to style the French girl chop

If your bob is cut well and as you requested, the styling comes with ease and little effort. Luke says that the key here is combining the right product with the correct drying technique.

He advises reaching for the Hershesons Air Dry Spray (which now comes with UV protection for the warmer months) and spritzing it across damp hair, before taking a hairdryer to the hair and rough blow-drying it with the help of fingers. If you aren't prone to frizz, you could even leave your hair to air dry. "This will help create an airy, cool 'French' finish rather than an overly-styled blowout," he says.

With my own shorter style, I tend to take a matte pomade (just a tiny amount, FYI) to the mid-ends of my dry hair to achieve that effortless, textured finish so synonymous with the coolest French girls around. Arkive's is a new favourite.

French girl chop inspiration