Paris in summer — what to wear when you walk all day
Paris is flat, dense, and you underestimate every distance. Twenty minutes on foot is normal here, and by the end of the day you have twelve kilometres on the counter without noticing. Your clothes should follow from that.
The principle: one colour family
The reason everyday Parisian clothing looks so effortless is rarely a special piece. It's restraint. Two, at most three colours, one of them a neutral base. That way every top goes with every pair of trousers, and the suitcase gets smaller.
What works
- One good T-shirt instead of three mediocre ones. Denser fabric falls straight; thin fabric creases and turns see-through.
- A layer for the evening. Even in July it cools down noticeably after sunset, especially along the Seine.
- Shoes you have already worn. There is no city that punishes new shoes faster.
- A bag you can wear crossbody. In the Métro and in crowds it is simply more practical.
What you can leave out
Anything that needs ironing. And the second pair of shoes you bring "just in case" and never wear.
The museum question
Big museums like the Louvre are air-conditioned and cooler than you'd expect. If you spend half the day inside, you're better off with a light overshirt than with the thought that it'll be fine.
Our See You In Paris T-shirt is made of 100% combed cotton at 220 g/m², which makes it exactly the piece that lasts the whole day. For the cooler evenings, just add the light layer mentioned above.