Instead of our usual Christmas
trip, my husband and I ventured
abroad this year. My husband’s brother and sister-in-law live in
Zurich, and invited us to meet them in Paris for the first week of
December. Paris? Impossible to resist. After 8 wonderful days spent
in the city of light, I am still vibrating with excitement from all the
delicious experiences not to mention pastries!
Laduree, credited as the inventor of the macaran, that scrumptious French creation of egg-white meringue, delicate pastel coloring, and cream fillings ranging from pistachio, rose, salted caramel and chocolate, celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. To commemorate the occasion they are inventing a new fabulous dessert every month. I was happy to try out “la duchesse”, a buche (log)- shaped creation which was a marvelous confection of chestnut paste, whipped cream and dark chocolate. Combined with a piping hot cup of orange blossom tea, it was a divine moment that I will not readily forget.
If this were not decadent enough, Ladurée has decked out all their window displays with a constructed pyramid of chocolate macarans frosted in gold leaf as a daring version of a Christmas tree. Thumbing through the catalogue I see that, in true Paris style, this gold-leafed wonder is not simply an inspired bit of decoration but is actually on sale to the general public for 600 euros!
Does the price seem astronomical for a Christmas table topper? Look around! Everywhere Parisiennes carrying huge Louis Vuitton purses in the jeweled tones of glossy red and burgundy swathe themselves in furs, revealing the true wealth of Paris! The real estate ads only underscored how expensive the city really is. Our amused perusal of the blurbs posted in the windows of real estate offices seemed to reveal that $500,000 brings at most a one-bedroom apartment of 400 square feet with a postage-stamp sized kitchen.
And the fashion! December really shows Parisiennes at their best. Confronted with 30 degree weather and rain, they have found an ingenious solution to the problem of how to stay warm and look glamorous at the same time. Fabulous scarves were ever present of course, and thick wool or quilted down jackets were ubiquitously worn to keep out the chill. But the daring solution of skin-tight pants or mere black tights underneath the pouff of a winter coat repels dowdiness entirely! While the top half of Parisiennes may be practically warm, the bottom half is all allure. And knee high black boots only serve to emphasize the sexiness of the tight pants they wear.
This street fashion image from Elle is one example:
I also saw several Parisienne wearing short denim shorts over black tights in the style of the image below:
For more great images of Paris streetwear, go to this website:
http://thefashiontag.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/paris-city-of-lights-love-fashion/
Luckily, my previous experience of Paris last October had prepared me, and I arrived armed with the requisite skinny black jeans, faux-leather black leggings and voluminous herring-bone tweed wool coat that allowed me to blend in with the crowd. And a giant wool scarf at all times! That goes without saying. I wore my Filatura di Crosa faux fur cowl the most:
Followed by my “Covet” snood by Kim Hargreaves.
But the most fabulous winter ensemble that I saw Parisiennes wearing this December was the combination of skin-tight black pants or patterned tights with a wool tunic that hit the mid thigh. (The whole, of course, is worn under a voluminous wool coat.) I thought this look was so chic that I am determined to create one of my own. Rowan, as usual, has come to my rescue with a marvelous tunic pattern called “Foxy” using the fabulous new Kidsilk Haze glamour yarn:
In keeping with the European trend, this airy wool tunic is paired with skintight metallic leggings. I have some of my own, not metallic, but damasked in black and dark blue, similar to this pair, from Bloomingdales, which I wore everywhere in Paris:
My pair is navy and black damask, and I think the blue in the leggings
will harmonize beautifully with the light blue of the Kidsilk
Glamour yarn, and the little flashes of light from the sequins that are
embedded in the yarn should provide additional textural interest.
As for my Gabrielle, the Chanel-inspired V neck I have been laboring over for almost 3 months now, I returned from Paris refreshed and ready to finish the front, which is now blocking again. The sleeves have been sewn up and trimmed with the crocheted edging, so the last step only remains of assembling and sewing the whole thing together.
After so many months of work, I feel an enormous pressure to bring the thing off, but considering that I made the whole thing up out of my head with no previous experience of this type of project I do not know that my expectations should be that high. At any rate, next week I will share photos of whatever I have completed.