French fashion Special 3 - The French high street

As promised I left my snowy mountains this morning and drove down to have a closer look at what a provincial French town has to offer clothes-wise.

To be honest I was expecting grey, grey and more grey. I was not entirely wrong, but in the midst of all these dull, dark colours I spotted the accessory I will be taking back to London.

This season the French are doing something big in fashion - literally: the oversize scarf.

They are in all colours, from clementine-orange to grapefruit-pink.

I later realised that the magazines are ablaze with the question: "the oversize scarf: do you dare, or do you fear it?"

I say: DARE.

Vogue featured it in an Amazonian shoot last year, and the effect is sublime: all wool, it really adds contrast (in colour and texture) to a black or uniform outfit.

The rest of the displays were well set out and embellished but the inside of the shops rather disappointing ...

Take your typical high street store and remove any items containing bright colours, tight fits, sequins and unusual textures (I am thinking the overly popular shinny or leather leggings). Now you have it: the French high-street.

Style, but safe style only.

Let's beat the cold with (layers of) statement tights

I am making the bet that all the elaborate hosiery trends are really going to take off next Spring.

Not before, and especially not during the last mile before Christmas.

Knee-high socks might be spared because they are easy to accommodate with any pair of thick leggings, or even jeans.

They are a great way of adding a smudge of colour to a dark winter outfit - and colour lifts the mood.

Fancy print and lace tights however, are in danger of becoming winter-extinct.

Mostly, because they are too thin to protect against the cold.

And unless you work in an Caribbean-beach-like warm office and you have a taxi to shelter you from the frost and wind while traveling from point A to point B, they are often not worth a month with the sniffles.

The way out is to wear them over a pair (or two) of skin coloured tight. Because let's admit it, they look fantastic.

Statement tights however might be the solution

A lot of brands have opaque statement tights: they are thicker which rhymes with warmer.

Opaque also means it is easy to wear another pair underneath, without them having to be paper-thin and skin coloured.

And of course there are all the patent, PVC, shiny or leather imitation leggings.

Even ice-age temperatures cannot stop a girl to show off some leg from underneath woolen trenches.