You don’t need a ticket to Cannes to know how to do French Riviera style – to own the Côte d'Azur, dazzle the film festival and hold your own on the Croisette (even if you’re not there), just be more Mr Cary Grant.

Heading to Cannes this week? You know, for the film festival? To be honest, unless you’re a movie star, auteur director or ankle-hugging publicist, the answer is probably a big fat “no”. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a little bit of the French Riviera’s inimitable style from home. In fact, this glittering stretch of coastline has a wonderful heritage of snappy dressers, sporting a distinct summery look best summed up by Mr Cary Grant in Mr Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 thriller To Catch A Thief. What’s more, the rules of engagement with this look are rather simple. Scroll down to discover them.

Lesson one in Riviera style: wear something blue. With stripes if possible. This, of course, is so you match the sparkling waters and crystal clear sky that cause the French to refer to the area as the Côte d’Azur. Of course, this can all become a little bit dazzling, so you’ll need some sunglasses, too. This tortoiseshell pair from Tom Ford have a suitably timeless vintage feel.

Lesson two: slip-ons are obligatory. It’s hard to attain that perfectly gallic mix of smartness and insouciance if you have laces flapping about all over the place. In fact, the French have a particularly interesting relationship with loafers – though they were sported by well-dressed gents for much of the 20th century, they also got taken up by Parisian mods in the 1960s. Get the best of both worlds by adding the above pair to your look, wearing with a pair of invisible socks to flash a bit of ankle. Ooh la la, etc.

Lesson three: lighten up your tailoring. This applies both to the weight of your suit or blazer (the above example from Boglioli is constructed without internal lining) as well as its colour – oatmeal, sand, light grey and blue are your key options here. This will not only keep you cooler as you step aboard that speedboat, it will nicely offset your inevitable tan.