Trending In March
Coat and shoes, Zara; Top, Cloth & Stone; Bag, Manufacture Pascal.
The French are anxiously awaiting Spring time. Winter has been grey and rainy.
Snow finally came on March 1st, paralyzing most of the country including the South when many Southerners had never seen snow before. The national news were a comedy of impatience and "what the hell" and "over it".
A subliminal message to Mother Nature, everything in the window displays downtown is looking lighter and brighter. Here's a special edition with all the shoes that make us dream of better days.
FASHION
Patented Masculine/Feminine
Flashback to when maman'd buy me a brand new pair of patent leather shoes come Fall. Patent leather dresses the foot like nothing else. You could be wearing nasty sweatpants with them and still look at the top of fashion.
“OK maybe not, don’t do it.”
Shoes stores all around France are a festival of shiny, shiny masculine / feminine footwear. The upper left picture below is on point with the plumetis pantyhose. So very very French.
Top to bottom, left to right: Folane derbies by Heyraud Paris; Flignie monks by Heyraud Paris; Derbies Leeba by Bocage; Austin mocassins by André.
Shiny, Shiny Metallics
Flashback to when grandma'd buy me a brand new pair of gold ballet flats come Summer. They embody a return to nicer, warmer days and celebrate the impending arrival of Spring.
Mom just bought the Mellow Yellow metallic model in derby form in Paris yesterday, and they look so fresh and lovely.
Left to right: Boots by Mellow Yellow; mocassins by Petite Mendigote.
Run-Ins With Runnings
I have never been a fan but for the fourth consecutive year where these can be found everywhere and every brand has designed their own model, I am forced to admit that they are growing on me. Now that a full fall/winter look has been established (woolen coat, turned-up jeans and these) and that I am no longer obsessed with heels, I am considering all my options:
Top to bottom, left to right: sneakers by Sandro; Brilla baskets by Cosmo Paris; sneakers by Sandro; Laurette baskets by Bocage; two pairs of Runnings by Bensimon.
ARTS & CULTURE
Les Césars: The French Oscars
France, too, had their Film Award Season last weekend with Les Césars.
The movie 120 battements par minutes (120 BPM) was awarded Best Feature for its portrayal of the struggles of the ACT UP Paris association as they demanded action by the government and pharmaceutical companies to combat the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s.
"Impassioned", "sexy", "vital", 120 BPM is a rare piece of art. When a movie inspires both revolt and love, it is our duty to watch it.
Because fashion at Awards ceremony matters a little bit too (it is also a form of Art, after all), here are my three favorite looks on the red carpet by three of my favorite ladies:
Left to right: Vanessa Paradis in Chanel; Marion Cotillard in Halpern; Juliette Binoche in Balmain. Photos via Le Parisien.
Speaking of César...
The Award statue was designed by famous French sculptor César (1921-1998), whose life Art and studies on compression (crushed cars) and expansion (melted blobs that are insanely satisfying to stare at) are now exhibited at Beaubourg Centre Pompidou until March 26th, 2018.
Go see it if you are in Paris!