I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm not the next Bill Cunningham but since I was in Paris, I couldn't resist snapping a stylish Parisian, or two.

I remember an old interview that Charlie Rose did with Joan Juliet Buck back when she was an editor of French Vogue, and her stating that "a French woman doesn't need to be told how to dress." This is true. If there was one word to describe Parisian style it would be "effortless." Or at least, they make it look easy.

From far away I thought "this could be Sofia Coppola." It wasn't, but you can't deny black on black is a winning combination. In the same aforementioned interview with Joan Juliet Buck, she explained that during her tenure with the magazine, they never featured black, because that's the first thing a French woman will buy each season -- black doesn't need advertising. 

Effortlessness most often comes with flat shoes. You won't see a Parisienne limping down a cobblestone street in 6" stilettos. The most popular shoes? Chucks!

This girl is sort of a quintessential Parisienne, a Francois Hardy type, with that long flowy hair and thick fringe. I love that she is sporting the holly grail of French style: the striped tee.

I spotted this stylish gamine a mile away. It was the red accents on her coat that gleamed colour in an otherwise very neutral style palette.

Speaking of neutral, this woman could teach a class on how to dress head-to-toe in khaki. I need these roll-y boots for next fall, and I need white jeans ASAP. (No she is not wearing a scrunchie -- it's a little scarf of some sort.)

Okay, so our helmet laws prevent us from ever looking this chic on a bike, but this may just be the most stylish city cyclist I've ever seen. Another effortless tip to take from the French? You will never see a Parisienne with a perfectly coifed head of hair. And she will never be caught wearing too much makeup.

As for the designers they wear? Well, I did run into one... Yohji Yamamoto, looking as cool as one can possibly look. Let's call it my magic Parisian moment, shall we?