La mode (fashion) est la vie!
Le vendredi 8 juin
Before I tell you about my pleasant visit to the Musée des arts décoratifs, I want to share the location of the best view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris: Place de Trocadéro. Trocadéro is named after one of Napoleon’s battles in the 1800s. It is also mentioned in the song sung by Audrey Tautou in Coco Avant Chanel. “Vous n’auriez pas vu Coco? Coco dans le Trocadéro?” Nowadays, you can find many-a-tourist there at sunset, taking in the majestic view of la Tour Eiffel while seated on the steps, enjoying a bottled water or a cold beer from one of the many vendors on foot carrying buckets of iced drinks. Having seen the Eiffel Tower many times by now, I wish I could say that the view gets old, but it doesn’t. The first time I saw it in person, it truly took my breath away. To this day, it still does. Here is a selfie of me with Monsieur Eiffel:
On this morning, I put on my Italian-brand dress purchased from King of Frip in the Marais and headed to the Decorative Arts Museum, located just near the Louvre. Although the museum houses rooms and exhibits that boast all decorative arts (interior design, media, metal work), I’ll be honest: I came for the fashion. I was thrilled to read on its website that the museum was currently exhibiting pieces from Hermѐs under creative director Martin Margiela of the 90s.
Classic fashion always comes back around. A lot of Margiela’s pieces from the early 90s seemed to be pieces I saw popular amongst my peers in the United States in the early 2000s, over ten years later. I loved nearly everything that I saw in the exhibit. Margiela’s work seemed to reinforce all the style lessons I was learning over and over in my observance of fashionable Parisians that I encountered: 1) Pay attention to the tailoring and fit of your clothing. 2) Always dress, style, and carry yourself with the intention of being seen and admired by others (i.e. don’t muss with your hair on the metro or wear makeup that needs reapplication every two minutes). 3) Simplicity reigns and small design details matter.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the museum was the gift shop. I have become a postcard fangirl when it comes to museum boutiques, as postcards allow you to have a portable replica of an exhibit’s art piece without costing you more than 2 euros or so. So of course I grabbed the last Vogue postcard available. I also hemmed and hawed over the 19 euro price of a Vogue magazine which housed pictures of all of the Fall 2018-19 collections by european designers. I bought it.
I am eager to add some new facets to my classroom this year. In addition to my plans for an impressionist art library, I would love to have a wall of culture française where students can peruse French brochures, pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines I’ve picked up on this trip, such as the aforementioned Vogue fall collection magazine.
Following the exhibit, I ate at the pricey Loulou outdoor restaurant that possesses a phenomenal location outside in the Louvre’s gardens. I had to wait some time for a seat for one, but it was worth it. Once seated, I adjusted my chair so that at least my face was in the shade. I was able to overlook the stunning gardens and people-watch while tasting a crisp cucumber and citrus salad.
As they say, the French are très chic and their fashion, not to mention their savoir vivre, aspirational. I think I’ll take a cue from the French and keep it simple.
La vie simple est la meilleure vie,
Alana
Before I tell you about my pleasant visit to the Musée des arts décoratifs, I want to share the location of the best view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris: Place de Trocadéro. Trocadéro is named after one of Napoleon’s battles in the 1800s. It is also mentioned in the song sung by Audrey Tautou in Coco Avant Chanel. “Vous n’auriez pas vu Coco? Coco dans le Trocadéro?” Nowadays, you can find many-a-tourist there at sunset, taking in the majestic view of la Tour Eiffel while seated on the steps, enjoying a bottled water or a cold beer from one of the many vendors on foot carrying buckets of iced drinks. Having seen the Eiffel Tower many times by now, I wish I could say that the view gets old, but it doesn’t. The first time I saw it in person, it truly took my breath away. To this day, it still does. Here is a selfie of me with Monsieur Eiffel:
On this morning, I put on my Italian-brand dress purchased from King of Frip in the Marais and headed to the Decorative Arts Museum, located just near the Louvre. Although the museum houses rooms and exhibits that boast all decorative arts (interior design, media, metal work), I’ll be honest: I came for the fashion. I was thrilled to read on its website that the museum was currently exhibiting pieces from Hermѐs under creative director Martin Margiela of the 90s.
Classic fashion always comes back around. A lot of Margiela’s pieces from the early 90s seemed to be pieces I saw popular amongst my peers in the United States in the early 2000s, over ten years later. I loved nearly everything that I saw in the exhibit. Margiela’s work seemed to reinforce all the style lessons I was learning over and over in my observance of fashionable Parisians that I encountered: 1) Pay attention to the tailoring and fit of your clothing. 2) Always dress, style, and carry yourself with the intention of being seen and admired by others (i.e. don’t muss with your hair on the metro or wear makeup that needs reapplication every two minutes). 3) Simplicity reigns and small design details matter.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the museum was the gift shop. I have become a postcard fangirl when it comes to museum boutiques, as postcards allow you to have a portable replica of an exhibit’s art piece without costing you more than 2 euros or so. So of course I grabbed the last Vogue postcard available. I also hemmed and hawed over the 19 euro price of a Vogue magazine which housed pictures of all of the Fall 2018-19 collections by european designers. I bought it.
I am eager to add some new facets to my classroom this year. In addition to my plans for an impressionist art library, I would love to have a wall of culture française where students can peruse French brochures, pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines I’ve picked up on this trip, such as the aforementioned Vogue fall collection magazine.
Following the exhibit, I ate at the pricey Loulou outdoor restaurant that possesses a phenomenal location outside in the Louvre’s gardens. I had to wait some time for a seat for one, but it was worth it. Once seated, I adjusted my chair so that at least my face was in the shade. I was able to overlook the stunning gardens and people-watch while tasting a crisp cucumber and citrus salad.
As they say, the French are très chic and their fashion, not to mention their savoir vivre, aspirational. I think I’ll take a cue from the French and keep it simple.
La vie simple est la meilleure vie,
Alana
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