The style formulas French Instagrammers swear by

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

You're probably bored of hearing how chic French - and particularly Parisian women - are, but you can't deny there's something fascinating about their sartorial insouciance. You see, they don't really care about trends, so much as investing in timeless pieces they know looks great on them.

That said, there are a few winning style formulas I've noticed some of my favourite French influencers wearing on the regular, which are pretty easy to recreate when it comes down to it. Scroll down to shop them below.

The paired-back summer dress + basket bag

A photo posted by on

As seen on influencer Adeline Rapon, this is a classic French summer style combo that dates back all the way to Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot. You simply can't go wrong with a white dress (preferably with broderie Anglaise details) and a basket bag.

Shop now: SALONI Fara broderie-anglaise cotton midi dress for £402 from MatchesFashion.com

Shop now: Mango mini picnic basket bag in natural for £27.50 from ASOS

The slip skirt + men's shirt

A photo posted by on

AnneLaure Mais Moreau, founder of French online shop Musier, knows a thing or two about balance. It's all about dressing down a fancy item to make it more wearable, the key to looking French is never trying too hard after all. Case in point: the sexy slip skirt, teamed with an oversized shirt.

Shop now: Bow satin skirt for £35.99 from Mango

Shop now: Cotton shirt for £12.99 from H&M

The flares + slogan tee

A photo posted by on

Jeanne Damas is one of those people whose style is so inherently cool that she would be just as on trend 30 years ago as she is now. Flares may be very of-the-moment, but she's been wearing them forever, adding a dose of cool with a slogan tee or Breton top.

Shop now: Indigo Flared Jamie Jeans for £40 from Topshop

Shop now: Ma Cherie Amour Logo Tshirt for £49 from Whistles

The classic suit

A photo posted by on

A la French, le classique suit (sorry) is worn oversized, in a neutral shade such as navy, and preferably with nothing underneath, as demonstrated by Marta of Life of Bohème. The blazer can also be style with a men's shirt and straight leg jeans for another staple look.

Shop now: SHAWL LAPEL BLAZER for £89.99 from ZARA

Shop now: FLARED TROUSERS for £39.99 from ZARA

The vintage-style tea dress

A photo posted by on

Whether it's Camille Charrière, Jeanne Damas or pretty much any other French influencer, the one staple everyone owns is a pretty floral dress for summer, which can be teamed with biker boots, sneakers or sandals.

Shop now: RIXO LONDON Abigail floral-print silk-crepe wrap dress for £255 from Net-A-Porter

The biker jacket + feminine skirt

A photo posted by on

As mentioned before, the key to Parisian style is all about balance. Here, Margaux SLV proves that a tough black leather jacket can be softened a tad with a retro skirt and a t-shirt.

Shop now: Balfern biker for £318 from ALLSAINTS

Shop now: GANNI Pineberry floral-print stretch-jersey pareo for £170 from Net-A-Porter

Without going to far into stereotypes, striped t-shirts and denim dungarees will always have room in a wardrobe, but in reality French style is so much more creative and unexpected that that, all the while staying classic.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.