tout enfant, j'ai senti dans mon cœur deux sentiments contradictoires: l'horreur de la vie et l'extase de la vie

you would think that after 16 days of croissants, pain au chocolats, and baguettes, that i would be bored, craving other breakfast/lunch foods, or up ten pounds. pas de tout!

bakeries are such a dream in paris, they really perfect their breads and pastries. and all the walking (/biking!) i do around here keeps me feeling pretty guilt-free about it. i will miss seeing parisians of every description walking around in the evenings with baguettes in hand like it is the key to a successful dinner.

***

title quote: baudelaire

la belle hortense

my friend/roomate and i have been trying to keep it local and get to know our neighbourhood well. i must say, le marais is quite rich in options. amongst the classics along rue vieille du temple like les philosophes and la perle, is la belle hortense. perhaps it had such a great impression on me because i went there on my second night in paris. perhaps because it is a bar/bookstore. perhaps because i found a french version of the picture of dorian gray which i had been searching for. nevertheless it was a very casual yet sophisticated atmosphere for a glass of wine before settling on the patio of les philosophes across the street.

but paris was a very old city and we were young and nothing was simple there

every time i come to paris i uncover a different facet of french style as i see it. i have had a couple revelations already since i have been here, one of which i will share with you now.

as i was in bed this morning mentally picking my outfit du jour, i noticed how quickly and easily i have been able to do so since the second i got here and quickly changed into pleated pants, repettos, and a baggy striped shirt for last minute plans. every morning, i throw something on with little analysis and am more daring with layering.

so heres what i think. i can do this, because i know i will be stepping out my door onto the cobblestone streets, adorable cafes and boutiques of le marais. i dont have to try so hard because the setting is doing most of the work; the aesthetic goes beyond my outfit. remember a while back when rick owens told us that americans ruin the parisian landscape with their clothes? i am contemplating the opposite... the landscape is improving my look by taking the pressure off my clothes. still developing this idea. also this post has made me realize i have few pictues of myself, i will work on this.

image from garance. title from hemingways a moveable feast.

love padlocks

a custom by which sweethearts affix padlocks to a fence or similar public fixture to symbolize their love. this practice began in the 1980s in hungary and i didnt notice it (if it was here) in paris until this year. le sigh.

i did something...

yesterday was my first day being totally solo in paris, so i decided to walk to the hôtel de ville metro, and see where it could take me. as soon as i saw the word concorde along the yellow line, my decision was made. it was faubourg st honoré time. and of course i realize as i surface that i am merely two blocks from rue cambon, the original location of chanel.

thinking i would just go to check out the windows, upon arrival i felt a magnetic pull that made me just float inside ...just to see it.

now, the back story is that i had a pair of chanel earings that i wore for 3 years and lost at pearson airport when i was moving back to toronto. its a touchy subject.

anyway, before i knew it, one of the salespeople was telling me to make a right after the shoes to find their earing selection. i pulled out my most polite french and asked to see les boucles d'oreilles qui sont petites et simples. while i admired a stunning middle aged woman trying on/ wrapping herself in a gigantic cashmere scarf next to me, the sales associate pulled out 2 trays of earings, and i spotted these lovelies immediately. classic, simple, small, vintage vibe.

i dont remember saying that i would take them, i think it was a reflex like blinking. but they took me to a side room to sit on an armchair as they processed my payment and wrapped my earings comme ca. it was a good, good morning.

[la promeneuse] solitaire et pensif tire une singulière ivresse de cette universelle communion

current status: living in a flat in le marais - the quaint yet commercially developed gay and jewish district of paris.

***

goals completed: riding a bike on a sunday morning. acquiring a membership to orsay and the louvre to ensure multiple leisurely visits. taking in the view from centre pompidou. being mistaken for a french girl (x4).

***

goals in process: trying every restaurant and cafe in my area. going into random small galleries. working to understand and embody the french effortless fashion sense. re-reading the communist manifesto. trying to orchestrate a plan to not leave. suggestions welcome.

bisous!

title from the poem les foules by charles baudelaire. image reblogged from vero

reconsidering fashion in dover street market

***
there are no words to describe dover street market. i know i lost mine halfway through the comme des garcons pieces on the first floor and was bordering on dilussional by the lanvin and celine-clad fourth floor. you must understand that in between there was demeulemeester, rick owens, alaia, margiela..... scattered amongst animal bones in an innovatively designed interior.
***

dsm is a concept high fashion store in london that considers art, fashion, and creative existence. the selection of brands, particular pieces, and the art and design that surround the objects work together to create a space that inspired me in a very new way. it was like going to fashion disney world.. imagination takes over (so much so that i forgot to take any photographs, these are just old ones i found through google). i am always searching for ways to marry fashion and art (theoretically and in life), and this store just makes it happen. you start looking at the clothing in the same way you are looking at the artifacts, the art, the chunks of red yarn hanging from the chandeliers... the features worked together to offer a creative experience and inspire visitors to live creatively and choose clothing as carefully as they would art.

love in london

the tube is not usually quite such a chic endeavour, nevertheless it was one night.

londoners take vintage seriously - the vintage emporium

banksy - more grafitti art to come

london fashion night out... calls for leather apparently

napket

stella mccartney bouquet anyone?

i just spent an internet-free week in london (with the exception of a quick cafe stop and printing my eurostar ticket from central st martins (!!)) and plan to be reviewing some of the amazing things i did more frequently from the comfort of my paris apartment. these pictures are just the previews xx

you need to anticipate me!

baahh where the heck is the rolling rack i do not have? i was at my friend moshas lovely apartment last week and was admiring the rolling rack in her bedroom. acting as a place for frequently used pieces, new purchases, and clothes she pulled for a photoshoot, the rack was a place for her inspiration of the moment.

on a practical level, it would really help me organize some outfits and inspiration before i pack. yes thats right, the actual packing hasnt begun, and yes i am leaving for london today! yikesss

image of alex wangs studio by todd selby. who knows where my title is from? im looking at you vero.

you live within it

if you havent been able to reach me, its because im lost in a mountain of black basics on the floor of my bedroom. aint packing grand?

i actually hate overpacking, i like to limit my options so that i dont waste time picking outfits when i travel. brig, one of my ultimate fashion icons, is basically exemplifying what im going for with this trip. simple, comfortable, fashionable, happy, and stunning :P im still having trouble finding shoes that say that...

***

title is from brigitte herself. every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it.

they looked back at me, remotely, possessed by intense life

yum. miu miu autumn 2010 campaign. young, whimsical, intelligent. reminds me of this, no?

***

title quote from: the great gatsby. currently reading, when not working/packing