Françoise Hardy and how 1960s French chic can inspire your summer wardrobe

Do you have a basket bag in your summer wardrobe? A broderie anglaise blouse, or a pair of wide-legged jeans? Might you wear it with a shirt, knotted at the waist, or espadrilles that lace at the ankle?

For many of us, the answer will be yes to at least a couple of those styling touches. These modern wardrobe staples owe their origins to the effortless chic of the Côte d’Azur in the 1960s, where French singers and film stars would decamp for the summer months.

Its influence on the way we dress today owes a lot to the women who made it look so appealing. The singer and actress Françoise Hardy, who died this week at the age of 80, was a muse for André Courrèges, Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne – a fashion influencer of her day. The seminal Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo named her brand, Comme des Garçons, after a line in one of Hardy’s songs.

It’s not hard to see why. Hardy, who shot to fame in 1962 with her debut single, ‘Tous les Garçons et les Filles’, epitomised what it meant to be stylish at that time. From the eyelash-skimming fringe to the willowy frame, and the tomboy-ish wardrobe, it was a powerful combination. No wonder Mick Jagger called her the “ideal woman” and Bob Dylan felt compelled to send her love letters.

Along with fellow Sixties ingénues Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve and the late Jane Birkin, Hardy presented a new take on French chic. No matter that Birkin was actually English, they all embodied what we now know as the “French Girl” look, and British women have aspired to that “je ne sais quoi” ever since.

Hardy understood the power of fashion though. Although she exuded nonchalance, she was intentional with her wardrobe, telling a journalist in 1969: “If it weren’t for the way I dress, no one would notice me.”

This group of women’s style legacies have endured in part because it was such a transformative time for fashion. In Paris, a new generation of designers including Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Cardin were shaking up the fusty world of haute couture with relaxed silhouettes, ‘space age’ aesthetics, and affordable ready-to-wear collections. They made fashion accessible and ignited a faster trend cycle.

Hardy was at the heart of it, performing in Courrèges funnel-neck mini dresses and Go-Go boots, Saint Laurent’s ‘Le Smoking’ suit, and Paco Rabanne’s chainmail. In 1968, she wore a gold version, touted by the designer as “the most expensive dress in the world”. Only she could make it look so effortless.

Hardy’s peers each honed their own interpretation of 1960s French-style staples: Birkin was a little more bohemian with her cotton lace blouses and denim; Bardot was all glamour; Deneuve was a pared-back minimalist.

They were all individuals, but their wardrobe foundations were the same: short, short skirts, slim, ribbed knits, flared trousers or jeans and cropped close-fitting jackets. They were all fond of a baker boy cap for rain or shine. Low-heeled boots were de rigueur in Paris, but in Saint Tropez, it was more chic to go barefoot – espadrilles and ballerinas to be worn only when necessary.

“The 60s was all about a new sense of freedom and having fun, with the birth of so many silhouettes and trends – from mod to boho to hippie – and of course the debut of the mini skirt. It resonates to this day,” says Ketzia Chetrite, co-founder of French label Tressé, which has just started shipping to the UK. “[Hardy’s] silhouettes tended to be streamlined but with a distinct sense of her personality in her classic knits, shrunken biker leathers and Paco Rabanne chainmail.”

She’s not the only modern-day designer who looks to the past for inspiration. Chrysoline de Gastines, founder of French fashion brand Balzac Paris cites Hardy as a muse too: “With her androgynous style and avant-garde clothing, Hardy combined classic elegance with modernity,” she says. “It’s an influence we love to explore in our collections.”

De Gastines is on the money. Today, the words “French Girl style” remain catnip to British women. We still look to photographs of Hardy and Birkin in the 1960s for inspiration; their outfits haven’t dated. They are why we aspire to wear our clothes “just so”, debate with our hairdressers whether to get a fringe and buy ballerina flats in the hope that they’ll inject a little Gallic flair into our everyday looks.

Our appetite is also evidenced in the proliferation of French fashion boutiques on the high street, all offering us their own vision of “French Girl” style: the feminine tomboy at Sezane; the bohemian at Ba&sh, the sexpot at Rouje (the online label founded by French fashion influencer Jeanne Damas). Try Soeur for minimalist design and sculptural silhouettes, and Maje for Chanel-inspired tweed minidresses. Tressé, with its colourful dresses and cheeky cut-outs, is new to the UK, but has a strong following already in France.

There are even “French Girl” threads running through Sienna Miller’s new collection for M&S, and our very British style pin-up Alexa Chung has cited Hardy as one of her own fashion crushes.

If your French Girl summer wardrobe still needs a little work, it’s not too late to buy the essentials - you already know that they won’t date, so you can invest with confidence. Of course, the British summer appears to be running behind schedule this year. But let’s be optimistic: buy the espadrilles, and hope for the Côte d’Azur weather to break through too.

Montorgueil flare jeans, £160, Rouje; Cotton espadrilles, £120, Castaner; Raffia and leather basket, £240 Sezane

Cotton blouse, £195, Ba&sh,; Cotton crochet beach dress, £175, Me&Em; The Wind sunglasses, £135, Jimmy Fairly; Straw hat, £60, Jigsaw