When it comes to fashion, beauty—and, well, just about anything that requires taste—it’s a fact that the French never disappoint.
For fans of Emily In Paris, the words ‘chic’ and ‘fashion’ weren’t exactly synonymous unless it was in reference to former matriarch of Savoir, Sylvie Grateau. Now, the French actress who mastered that same role, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, has proven that her personal style is not only similar, but even more chic than her character.
Attending Paris Fashion Week’s Ami Fall 2022 show, Leroy-Beaulieu posed in a sheer, deep forest green midi-length dress for a photo that has since reached viral Internet status.
Fitting the 58-year-old actress like a second skin, she paired the risqué look with a slouchy black coat, metallic heels, matching glittering earrings and scarlet nails.
Not only is it an outfit that we’re noting down for our own shopping inspiration, but the ensemble could easily pass as something Sylvie would wear while glamorously hurling insults at Emily in the Parisian marketing firm’s office.
But while we notice a style resemblance between the two, Leroy-Beaulieu says otherwise. Speaking to The New York Times in 2020, she explained that she doesn’t believe her personal style reflects Sylvie’s at all.
“I loved being overdressed in Emily, because I don’t do it in real life,” she told the publication. “I wouldn’t wear those heels on Paris sidewalks. But it doesn’t matter. The idea was to push all the fashion higher than real.”
But if the pair do share one thing in common, it’s their lack of fear when it comes to ageing.
In a recent interview with Glamour, Leroy-Beaulieu explained the way society sees women as they get older, explaining that we should feel “no guilt or shame around ageing”.
“A world where people cannot age is a dangerous world,” she told the publication.
“I had a talk with my daughter who’s 30 about this recently. She said, ‘Mum, I don’t want to live in a world where women cannot age’.”
“I think it’s important to really own this ageing thing and not make it a problem, not make it something we can’t talk about. There’s no guilt or shame around ageing. This is something that happens to everybody, you know?”
She continued: “I understand the insecurity, the pressure that we get, especially in our business. But if somebody doesn’t start saying, ‘This is my age, and this is who I am, my wrinkles are my wrinkles, I own my wrinkles, this is my whole life…’ it’s kind of sad.”
“Ageing gracefully is being a kinder person than you were when you were younger, because life kind of polishes you. And having a better understanding of how people feel, who people are, and having more compassion and less competition with everybody else.”