Bastille Day

With their laid-back polish and effortless panache, it's no wonder why the world is mystified by the fashion habits of French women past and present. Though we're definitely inspired by classic Parisiennes like Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, there are a crop of contemporary style setters who provide us with the utmost in sophisticated French dressing. Since today marks the first day of Paris Fashion Week, we're highlighting 11 of our favorite French fashion icons. Click through to see examples of their enviable style, plus find out why we love them so much.

Photos courtesy of Vogue Italia, Marie Claire, Vogue Paris, and Tatler

This past weekend, France celebrated Bastille Day with a bang, and it was an especially momentous holiday for France's new "unofficial" first lady, Valérie Trierweiler. The 47-year-old partner of recently elected president François Hollande is a working journalist and mother of three. Valérie's also France's first unmarried first lady, thus the unofficial title, and she's openly expressed her desire to be independent.

Over the weekend, Valérie was busy taking part in Bastille Day festivities, like the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris and the shipping festival event, Tonnerres de Brest, with her partner and the wives of other French political leaders. See Valérie enjoy her first Bastille Day as first lady and ogle the breathtaking fireworks beside the Eiffel Tower now!

Whether you're a die-hard Francophile or just getting in the July 14 Bastille Day spirit, these apps will bring you the best of all things French. From language tips to restaurant guides to stunning aerial photos, we've found some of the coolest apps to help you celebrate the holiday. Get your French fix and add some c'est la vie spirit to your smartphone with these seven iPhone apps.

Celebrate La Fête Nationale with some wonderful French cuisine! July 14 commemorates the storming of the bastille, and what better way to pay tribute than to cook up a storm in your kitchen? Here are 10 recipes full of French flavors that are sure to prepare you for Bastille Day.

Happy Bastille Day! And if you're engaged, then félicitations! (That means congrats in French.) For your big day, have your guests saying "oh, la la" with chic French details. Cartes postales, lavender, French signs, and, of course, Champagne will do the trick. Here are more ideas for your wedding.

Are the yé-yé girls having a resurgence? First there was Megan's infamous Mad Men song and dance number, and then they came up again in Wes Anderson's latest film, Moonrise Kingdom. In the film — set in 1965, a year before this season of Mad Men — Suzy Bishop is one half of the lovesick preteen couple at the center of the movie. While her style is clearly fashioned after the yé-yé girls, Suzy's interest in the pop singers is brought up at one point when she shows her love interest, Sam Shakusky, her favorite album, Tous les Garçons et les Filles by yé-yé girl Françoise Hardy. Later in the movie, Sam and Suzy have a very entertaining dance scene on the beach in their underwear to her song "Le Temps de l'Amour" ("The Time of Love").

Derived from "yeah! yeah!", the yé-yé movement was comprised of female pop singers from France, Québec, Italy, and Spain. The themes and lyrics of the songs, often written by men like Serge Gainsbourg, were deceptively innocent, as the girls beamed sexy naiveté. One not-so-innocent song Serge wrote for yé-yé singer France Gall was "Les Sucettes" ("Lollipops"), which was really referring to oral sex. It included the line, "Annie loves lollipops, aniseed lollipops, when the sweet liquid runs down Annie's throat, she is in paradise." In honor of France's Bastille Day holiday tomorrow, learn more about other popular yé-yé girls like Gillian Hills, Sylvie Vartan, and Sheila.