Designers may come up with fancy flourishes but retailers are playing it safe this Fall. A walk through Paris’ four major shopping areas — Faubourg, Avenue Montaigne, Bon Marche and Printemps/Galeries Lafayette — shows some basic facts:
Flourishes and flounces are dead. Let’s keep it simple and classic. Pleats, of a Catholic schoolgirl kind, are fine.
Black and white are the favorite colors. Some subdued browns, navys and beiges, and some touches of color in the black and white. But when money’s tight, let’s stick to the safe tried-and-true.
Shoulders are strong for the younger set, whether cowled, draped, pleated or gathered.
If you are going to open your wallet, you must have one of three things:
– A leather jacket. In white or black of course.
– A bulky sweater. Nothing better to keep you cozy and warm when the times outside are dreadful.
– Slim pants. Skinny pants still are going strong. Even cargos are close to the body. But no jeggings, leggings or tights in evidence — with one exception (see below).
And if you don’t have a personal stash of gold, then put some on a clunky necklace to wear with your clean white blouse.
So where can we break loose from this puritanical simplicity? In the shoes, of course! Look at these things! Heels are higher than ever, whether stilettos, wedges or boots. Six inches and skinny as nails at Christian Louboutin — which killed my planned buying spree at their little store on the Faubourg. Who can walk in these things?
Okay, so I bought some anyway — but from Costume National instead of Christian. At last I can fulfill my dream of being 6 feet tall!
And to balance things out I got these cute kitten heels from Miumiu. I mean, I do have to walk.
Now for the exception to the leggings. One designer showed laced up leggings at the July RTW shows. Took the dressers one hour per leg to get them on the models. So now we have the pull on kind with fake lacings, writing, crochet, dots and, yes, zippers up the back.
Je t’aime le mode! Je t’aime Paris!
Designers may come up with fancy flourishes but retailers are playing it safe this Fall. A walk through Paris’ four major shopping areas — Faubourg, Avenue Montaigne, Bon Marche and Printemps/Galeries Lafayette — shows some basic facts:
Flourishes and flounces are dead. Let’s keep it simple and classic. Pleats, of a Catholic schoolgirl kind, are fine.
Black and white are the favorite colors. Some subdued browns, navys and beiges, and some touches of color in the black and white. But when money’s tight, let’s stick to the safe tried-and-true.
Shoulders are strong for the younger set, whether cowled, draped, pleated or gathered.
If you are going to open your wallet, you must have one of three things:
– A leather jacket. In white or black of course.
– A bulky sweater. Nothing better to keep you cozy and warm when the times outside are dreadful.
– Slim pants. Skinny pants still are going strong. Even cargos are close to the body. But no jeggings, leggings or tights in evidence — with one exception (see below).
And if you don’t have a personal stash of gold, then put some on a clunky necklace to wear with your clean white blouse.
So where can we break loose from this puritanical simplicity? In the shoes, of course! Look at these things! Heels are higher than ever, whether stilettos, wedges or boots. Six inches and skinny as nails at Christian Louboutin — which killed my planned buying spree at their little store on the Faubourg. Who can walk in these things?
Okay, so I bought some anyway — but from Costume National instead of Christian. At last I can fulfill my dream of being 6 feet tall!
And to balance things out I got these cute kitten heels from Miumiu. I mean, I do have to walk!
Now for the exception to the leggings. One designer showed laced up leggings at the July RTW shows. Took the dressers one hour per leg to get them on the models. So now we have the pull on kind with fake lacings, writing, crochet, dots and, yes, zippers up the back.
Je t’aime le mode! Je t’aime Paris!
No doubt about it. French women have style. Something about them makes them stand out.
Could be the cigarette.
There is somewhat of a standard uniform. A silk knit topped with a thin cardigan. Or a belted chiffon smock and light leather jacket. Then nice slacks, high-heeled sandals, a large purse, an I-phone — and a cigarette.
Slender body, long hair, well-manicured hands and painted toenails (red, coral or tangerine please!). The sandals of choice this year: Espadrilles.
You can spot these young women from a block away whether alone, in a pack or with male colleagues heading to and from the office.
The men are well-groomed with hair slicked back whether long or short. Their uniform: Oxford shirts, no tie, well-cut suits and long-toed shoes.
Older women are easy to spot, too. But they wear dresses, tweedy suits and much more sensible shoes. Think Ferragamos. And they don’t smoke.
Cigarettes and walking. Is this the secret that keeps the French slim? Believe it or not, we saw them exercising this morning, running around a track, kickboxing and cross-training in our neighborhood park, Park Monceau!
Outside of the park, however, only the tourists were wearing running shoes, graphic Ts and shorts (including cutoffs — ugh!).
No doubt about it. French women have style. Something about them makes them stand out.
Could be the cigarette.
There is somewhat of a standard uniform. A silk knit topped with a thin cardigan. Or a belted chiffon smock and light leather jacket. Then nice slacks, high-heeled sandals, a large purse, an I-phone — and a cigarette.
Slender body, long hair, well-manicured hands and painted toenails (red, coral or tangerine please!). The sandals of choice this year: Espadrilles. Though as we move into fall, short boots and closed toes are replacing the sandals.
You can spot these young women from a block away whether alone, in a pack or with male colleagues heading to and from the office.
The men are well-groomed with hair slicked back whether long or short. Their uniform: Oxford shirts, no tie, well-cut suits and long-toed shoes.
Older women are easy to spot, too. But they wear dresses, tweedy suits and much more sensible shoes. Think Ferragamos. And they don’t smoke.
Cigarettes and walking. Is this the secret that keeps the French slim? Believe it or not, we saw them exercising this morning, running around a track, kickboxing and cross-training in our neighborhood park, Park Monceau!
Outside of the park, however, only the tourists were wearing running shoes, graphic Ts and shorts (including cutoffs — ugh!).
Today’s visit to the Yves St. Laurent show brought me pain in two ways:
#1 — That I could never be as good a designer as he. Face it. He invented everything: Sportswear (Ensembles don’t have to match). Leather jackets for women (inspired by Marlon Brando and beatniks). Pants suits (Yes, Dietrich and Hepburn wore them in the movies but Yves brought them to everyday life.) Power suits (Remember those soft bowties as a substitute for a man’s tie when women were trying to break through the glass ceiling?) Safari jackets (An anti-war, anti-hunting statement). Transparency (Today if you see a bra or a brastrap through a chiffon top, no one cares.) Tunic and tights (His contribution to the youth culture of the 1960s. And we’re still wearing them today). Jumpsuits (Ditto.) And my personal favorite — Art in clothing (I made and wore a Mondrian dress in high school and had no idea it was a YSL knock off).
#2 — That he is dead. He died in June 2008, a month before my last visit when I also saw his private studio. We will not see the like of him again. Today’s designers are mostly corporate prostitutes. Yves was his own man. And a beautiful man too. From his youth to when he was old and sick.
We could only examine his garments without touching them. Looking at them as closely as I could without tripping the alarms brought me new insights and gave me two vows. I vow to plough new ground and not borrow from what he already created. And to make clothes that women want today. And I vow to continue perfecting the skills his atelier did so well whether in couture or ready to wear. I bought the 300+ page show catalog. You’ll love it.
Today’s visit to the Yves St. Laurent show brought me pain in two ways:
#1 — That I could never be as good a designer as he. Face facts. He invented everything: Sportswear (Ensembles don’t have to match). Leather jackets for women (inspired by Marlon Brando and beatniks). Pants suits (Yes, Dietrich and Hepburn wore them in the movies but Yves brought them to everyday life.) Power suits (Remember those soft bowties as a substitute for a man’s tie when women were trying to break through the glass ceiling?) Safari jackets (An anti-war, anti-hunting statement). Transparency (Today if you see a bra or a brastrap through a chiffon top, no one cares.) Tunic and tights (His contribution to the youth culture of the 1960s. And we’re still wearing them today). Jumpsuits (Ditto.) And my personal favorite — Art in clothing (I made and wore a Mondrian dress in high school and had no idea it was a YSL knock off).
#2 — That he is dead. He died in June 2008, a month before my last visit when I also saw his retrospective at the Fondation created by his longtime partner, Pierre Berge. We will not see the like of him again. Today’s designers are mostly corporate prostitutes. Yves was his own man. And a beautiful man too. From his youth to when he was old and sick.
We could only examine his garments without touching them. Looking at them as closely as I could without tripping the alarms brought me new insights and gave me two vows. I vow to plough new ground and not borrow from what he already created. And to make clothes that women want today. And I vow to continue perfecting the skills his atelier did so well whether in couture or ready to wear. I bought the 300+ page show catalog. You’ll love it.
One picture shows 1980s supermodel Carla Bruni wearing a “Picasso” wedding dress. She helped curate the show. That’s because she married some guy named Sarkozy and is now first lady of France.
