We have 5 inches of fresh snow and no matter how hard I click my heels, I won't be getting out of here today. But I thought we could use a bit of time-travel back to the days of traveling in style and back to auction house l'Hotel Drouot.
One of their exhibition rooms was filled with travel memorabilia from the 20's.
Including your own tea set for afternoons in the Sahara...
Unless you insist on a slug of whiskey from your silver travel flask...
Pith helmet? Travel blanket? Camp bed? Souvenirs anyone?
Or course no decent traveler went without his or her sketchbook to make quick doodles in the land of many contrasts.
If you missed Hotel Drouots travel exhibition you can catch another at musee Carnavalet 23, rue de Sevigne 75003
Metro:St Paul
Louis Vuitton/ 100 Legendary Trunks exhibit is on until February 27th. '100 Legendary Trunks' is filled with over 800 photos which highlight some of LV's most exceptional travel gear - a perfect traveler's souvenir.
Naturally I felt duty-bound to steal a few shots for you.
My rolling travel bag is mere a thimble next to these monstres.
But then I don't require dozens of shoes on an Atlantic crossing.
Nor would my toiletries amount to a hill of beans.
Ah for the days when you could travel with liquids, especially Chanel-made liquids etc.
I leave my tea set safely at home too.
Dommage.
What an elegant camp bed! Louis Vuitton made luggage for only la creme de la creme - les tres riche et toute les stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Jeanne Lanvin, Ernest Hemingway, Leopold Stokowski
And they still do: for Madonna, Catherine Deneuve, Karl Lagerfeld and this special butterfly trunk for Brit artist Damien Hirst.
BEAR is waiting for his custom model to arrive. may take a few years but be patient BEAR! BONJOUR TRAVELING IN STYLE!
What an elegant camp bed! Louis Vuitton made luggage for only la creme de la creme - les tres riche et toute les stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Jeanne Lanvin, Ernest Hemingway, Leopold Stokowski
And they still do: for Madonna, Catherine Deneuve, Karl Lagerfeld and this special butterfly trunk for Brit artist Damien Hirst.BEAR is waiting for his custom model to arrive. may take a few years but be patient BEAR! BONJOUR TRAVELING IN STYLE!
There are times, as a Pleine Air painter, when I feel like an over-loaded Gypsy, with all my painting gear and "stuff."
ReplyDeleteI'm always trying to winnow it down, but to no avail.
Didn't these fancy folk have "porters" to carry all those trunks, and set everything up, upon arrival?
I think I need someone to do that for me: Find the painting site, lug all my gear there, and then train them to ALSO do the PAINTING!
Kinda' like Jeff Koons.
... one can only dream about how wonderful "travel" used to be. I scan pictures of Grace Kelly crossing the Atlantic for her wedding, and marvel at the way it must have been. Good post, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love the camp bed! I also love the tea set for the Sahara. My grandparents drove across the Sahara with my Mum when she was little, and they used to stop for tea, too. Sometimes cocktails... I wonder if they had tea sets like that?
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William's right--I need some fancy folks to help schlep my stuff on the road--life would be so much easier if that were the case. Likin' some of those bags and some of that paraphernalia, though!
ReplyDeleteSome of those reminded me of Karin Blixen (Isak Dinesen) and all the stuff she toted to Africa with her...lovely!
Even though we rarely travelled, I still remember my mother's highly coveted train case! How I wanted to play with the jars and potions! I have my own now, given for "free" with some cosmetics purchase...but the contents no longer hold their mystery for me.
ReplyDeleteI say, CG, so that's where I left my pith helmet!!
ReplyDeleteTraveling today is such a bother without a trunk! I don't know how you do it.
I love that opening poster shot - I'm a sucker for vintage :)
Buy Bear a box for gawd's sake!
Oh Sue said it before me. I was thinking of Karin Blixin in Out of Africa too. There was something romantic about travel luggage like that.
ReplyDeleteI love that poster of the luggage placed like the Eiffel Tower. Fun post.
That was truly lovely - makes me feel like I get a daily short vacation in Paris (when you show Paris). You pick just the right things to show us.
ReplyDeleteCarole-I love this post! And wonder how Karin Blixen would travel today? I miss the days when traveling had more romance to it. I went to London when I graduated from high school, and I remember my mother and I shopping for a little suit for me to wear on the plane. I bought a blue and white houndstooth "chanel" jacket and had a pair of navy "city shorts" (it was the 80's after all) But I remember, stepping off the train at Victoria Station to see my aunt waiting for me. I felt like such a grown up. I wonder if I would have had the same feeling if I had schlepped across the Atlantic by todays standards?
ReplyDeletewhat a great post, I think the LV windows had a similar Eiffel type/trunk display or maybe that was towards the end of last year??
ReplyDeleteI've had many daydreams about owning a traveling trunk and visiting countries all around the world. I would never be homesick, because all of my most important treasures would be with me in my trunk. I never figured out how I had become so rich that I could do such a thing, but it sure sounded good!
ReplyDeleteYou are SOO speaking my language this week on your blog! Love this post!
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I dream of the day when I will travel with Louis vuitton Luggage *sigh* unfortunately I will then only ever be able to travel coach as I would have spent my life savings on the luggage!
ReplyDeleteMethinks I must find myself a tres riche sugar daddy to buy luggage and ensure I only travel first class ;)...a girl can dream
I think I had one of those monstrous trunks in a former life...which is why I am such an over-packer these days.
ReplyDeleteWhich is dumb, because once I get to my destination, I usually wear the same thing over and over anyway.
This is very cute. I am going to use this idea for Easter! Thank you for your time to make this article!
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