Tag Archives: Paris
Aux Deux Amis
The word “hipster” may be permanently attached to the word “Williamsburg” in New York, but the hipster is an international phenomenon. At Aux Deux Amis in Oberkampf, a trendy neighborhood in Paris, guys with chunky framed glasses, mustaches and vintage plaid overcoats and their female hipster counterparts crowd around the bar, waiting for a table.
Fortunately, Parisian hipsters’ reference point seems to Serge Gainsbourg’s late ’60s/early ’70s Paris, not Valley Girl‘s 1983. The owners of this new bistro have followed suit, keeping the ’70s decor of the café that used to exist here – neon lights, Formica wood paneling à la Welcome to the Johnsons, mirrors, a beige-ish color to the walls. It’s a way of dining as one’s parents would have, but with irony. (more…)
7 Days of Anna Dello Russo
Rarely do you see anyone have as much fun with fashion as Anna Dello Russo. Just when we thought she couldn’t top the last outrageously fashionable outfit during Paris fashion week, she would arrive in a completely different ensemble, having gone back to the hotel to change between shows. She favors designers from her native Italy and doesn’t shy from color or pattern. I can’t imagine how she packs the variety of headpieces, boots, suits, furs, jewels and dresses it takes for a single week, but I picture a couple of Louis Vuitton steamer trunks in her hotel room. Hats off to this over-the-top fashion plate who radiates chic sunshine wherever she goes. A seven-day roundup, after the jump. (more…)
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Tagged Anna Dello Russo, Chanel, Chloe, Costume National, Fall 2011, fashion week, florals, fur, hats, lace-up boots, Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, Paris, Sonia Rykiel, street chic, sunglasses, Valentino, Viktor & Rolf, white dresses, Zac Posen
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Mini Palais
By day seven of our Paris trip, D. and I had eaten a lot of decadent French food. We braced ourselves for lunch at Mini Palais, the new restaurant installed in a wing of the famous Grand Palais, where all the elaborate Chanel shows take place. Surely this would be the pinnacle of decadent French-ness.
But already from the looks of things when we walked in, Mini Palais was not what we had expected. We were hoping for something classically romantic, like the Last Year at Marienbad themed Chanel show, but what we got was something between the grimness of the smoldering earth theme and the chilliness of the iceberg theme. Mini Palais has the soaring ceilings and huge French windows you would expect, but the dreary gray and beige tones of the decor and industrial lighting quashed any ideas of romance. If you didn’t know you were in a palace, you might think you were in a corporate dining hall. (more…)
Man in a Plastic Chapeau, Costume National
This outfit is not for the faint of heart, but I found it utterly fascinating. He kind of looks like a young Prince (the artist known as) in a dramatic clear plastic hat, the white shirt tufted with roses, vintage bag and oversize stopwatch. Gender-bending genius.
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Tagged Costume National, Fall 2011, fashion week, hats, men, Paris, street chic
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L'Avenue
On the corner of chic and expensive sits L’Avenue, a stone’s throw from the Plaza Athenée. During Paris fashion week, this tony restaurant has some of the best people watching in the world. A table outside on a sunny afternoon comes with a view: well dressed women walking by Dior, Chanel and Chloe, stopping in for lunch, often with kisses all around as they greet friends at neighboring tables. (more…)
Red Blazer and White Jeans, Costume National
I have been neglecting to post photos of the men of fashion week, but many were impeccably dressed, like this guy. This is how the spring color trend can play out beautifully for men: a bright red blazer paired with a purple v-neck and white jeans (which many men are already wearing now) and luxe leather accessories. Perfection.
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Tagged Costume National, Fall 2011, fashion week, men, Paris, red, street chic
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La Maison Mère
When you think Parisian food, do you think filet mignon or pastrami? Tarte au chocolat or cheesecake? If the answer is the former, it’s time to revisit Paris, because the latest dining trend sweeping the city is cuisine new yorkais.
Traveling across the Atlantic to patronize ever-encroaching American chains like Starbucks is not recommended, but new Parisian places like Marcel and La Maison Mère are worth a visit to experience the French take on delicatessen classics. Basically imagine a Cordon Bleu student interning at Katz’s, and you’ve got the picture. (more…)
Natasha Poly and Sasha Pivovarova at Chanel
To clarify: Not all models off duty dress fabulously. The standard uniform for the past couple years has been biker jackets, skinny jeans and biker boots – sexy at first, until it got boring. This season several of the top girls are breaking the mold, wearing more layers and texture, mixing up skirts and pants and interesting coats. Natasha Poly and Sasha Pivovarova, just off the Chanel runway, exemplify the look that Lagerfeld showed for the Fall 2011 collection, as Style.com‘s Tim Blanks put it: “mixing the street with enough high fashion fantasy to make the result seem rich and strange.”
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Tagged Chanel, Fall 2011, fashion week, fur, models off duty, Paris, Sasha Pivovarova, street chic, tweed
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La Bellevilloise
Once a communist club founded in 1887, La Bellevilloise still provides a valuable service to the people. Nightly live music and DJ sessions draw in a local crowd from hip, young 20th arrondissement, and the well-stocked bar turns out great cocktails as fast as they can drink them. (more…)
Stella McCartney Skirt, Tuileries
The Tuileries during Paris fashion week can be like a fashion magazine come to life – especially when you see guests wearing clothes just featured in the latest Vogue. This beautiful silk lemon-patterned Stella McCartney skirt looks even better in person. Love how she ties the whole thing together with unabashed color.
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Tagged Fall 2011, fashion week, Paris, Stella McCartney, street chic, Valentino
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Sarah Rutson at Chloe
Fashion bellwether and Lane Crawford buyer Sarah Rutson has been wearing a lot of stripes, and you know what that means: everyone else will be wearing a lot of stripes very soon. This chic outfit combines two stripe patterns, fishnets and lace-up heels in Rutson’s signature mix of sporty and sexy.
Addendum: She is in Prada SS 2011 – though Rutson actually improved on the runway styling by mixing up the colors of the jacket and skirt!
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Tagged Chloe, Fall 2011, fashion week, Paris, Prada, Sarah Rutson, street chic, stripes
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Hotel du Nord
Certain places in Paris are known to be Fashion Week hangouts, and Hotel du Nord is one of them. Industry people and models flock to this 100+ year-old classic restaurant in Canal St. Martin, where the main pathway through the dining room becomes a catwalk as glamazon women enter and leave for frequent cigarette breaks outside. (more…)
Vika Gazinskaya at Viktor & Rolf
One of fashion’s daredevils, Russian designer Vika Gazinskaya has rarely been seen in a boring outfit. She plays with line, color, form and material, easily mixing retro – in this case, peep-toe pumps and a silk scarf tied around her hair – with cutting edge – the suit fashioned entirely out of sweatshirt jersey.
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Tagged Fall 2011, fashion week, Paris, Russians, street chic, sunglasses, Vika Gazinskaya, Viktor & Rolf
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Girl in Khaki Pants, Outside Louis Vuitton
A lot of young people come to the Paris shows just to stand outside and be part of the mix. I thought this girl had great personal style with the khakis, the lace-up boots, the floral shirt under a thick cableknit cardigan and the necklace that is actually just an ordinary housekey on a chain.
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Tagged Fall 2011, fashion week, Louis Vuitton, Paris, street chic, women
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