What Bag to Wear in Paris

 American celebrities like to carry whatever Parisian IT $$$$$ bag is IN.

According to Vogue, ‘There’s a certain cool girl look’ Parisians have down pat. From perfect Breton stripe shirt to classic cigarette pants, Fr girls claim some of the chicest staples in a working wardrobe. 

Vogue Fashion Night Out 2014 Paris

A petite taste of 2014 Vogue Fashion Night Out and my first time attending.

I wish 2015 VFNO was just around the corner now that I've got the hang of it.

There are tons of 'limited editions' for this special night like this T-shirt. The deal is you buy September Vogue (5€). Pay an extra 10€ for the T-shirt IF the new stand has any left, which most of them didn't by the time I got there. Lucky for me I found one at the news relay at Gare Montparnasse on the way to the Loire. Unlucky for me I do not look quite like this young thing in it. C'est la ve.

Fauchon had a limited edition éclair for last night's event along with their other 36 flavors out this week.

These girls snagged one and were eating it OUT IN THE STREET! What?<

Loads of fashion houses stayed open from 6 to 10 for the night. Champagne flowed like water.

Deluxe mustard maison Maille was pouring Champers too.

Plus their head chef Didier Heyl was happy to mix up a personalized jar of mustard for you on the spot. Heaven no? I went home with caramelized onion mustard. Yum

Maille has a new winter collection based on old 17th century recipes from the house. How about verjus/grape with a touch of honey. Or champignon mustard. Or cocoa with framboise (raspberry). I must go back and make a great study of all their many flavors. Could mustard displace vanilla in my life ?

White orchids everywhere along with Champagne on VFNO.

Inside Dior on rue Royal white orchids spill out of tall glass vases.

Balloons too. You got signature balloons to carry around at breauty house Carita and everywhere else.11 rue du Faubourg St.Honoré

Picture taking was rampant.

A major player  Frédérique Verley, rédactrice en chef beauté de Vogue poses with Carita's artistic director, Tom Marcireau. Love the green tie and watch...

Lovedthe stairway at Carita, but I didn't get on line to get my makeup done. Too many places to visit.

The streets were buzzing last night.

Buzzz...

A fashion show took place in the middle of rue St. Honoré. No indication of the name of the designer.

More picture taking with the essential balloon floating overhead.

Girls getting their picture taken while holding other pictures they'd had taken. Does the one with the most pictures win?

At Polo you could wait on line for for a red carpet free photo holding a Champagne glass bien sur.

Love the stairway at Polo. Paris has some terrific stairways.

Colette has changed their picture taking policy. You can take all you want! There's even a sign on the door. Will the rest of Paris shops follow suit? Wouldn't that be nice.

The 3 authors of hot  book, How To Be A Parisian were the main attraction at Colette and signing like crazy.

Popcorn, believe it or not, has become the NEW hot snack food in Paris especially in weird flavors I've found so far to be terrible. Popcorn was all over last week's Maison et Objet. Last night it was served in signature cups bearing the name of fashion houses. Go figure. Get out your poppers everyone.

Pierre Marcolini has a divine chocolate shop on rue St. Honoré.

Charming and gracious beau mec Pierre himself was out front greeting and inviting in each guest inside.

For luscious tastes of his chocolate-covered orange peel. Such hospitalité!

I was invited for an 'It' cocktail at Hotel Mandarin Oriental's Bar 8, but when I got there I was told it was completely booked, shown the closed door inside (why ever bother?) and then told it was all young people anyway. Hmmm. Not nice. Never mind. The rest of the evening was loads of fun and everyone else could not have been nicer. Nice to come home to my bridge too. 

Thank You Vogue Fashion Night Out !

Grace & The Catwalk Cats

 If you saw 'The September Issue' two years ago I'll bet you fell in love with US Vogue magazine Creative Director, Grace Coddington like I did.

 I went looking for other things she'd done and found her whimsical The Catwalk Cats (which you can find reasonably on Amazon used).

 It's loaded with drawings of Grace's cats, made on hotel writing paper tripping round the world and then faxed off to her partner Didier Malige recounting her adventures in the fashion race.

 Sometimes Grace draws herself sitting by the catwalk (with Puff and 'Anna').

 I was busy drawing cats yesterday so didn't get to post - please forgive.

 Included in Catwalk are Didier's photos of their adorable kits...

 When I heard Grace had a memoir out I was thrilled. Enfin

 Starting from the getgo it tells of Grace's early days growing up on a small island off Wales, Anglesey.

There were sand dunes in the distance and rugged monochrome cliffs strung out along the coast. And Druid circles. And hardly any trees. And bleakness. Although it was bleak, I saw beauty in its bleakness. There was a little sailboat called Argo that I used to drift about in for hours in grand seclusion when it was not tethered to a small rock...I was fifteen then, my head filled with romantic fantasies, some feuled by the mystic spirit of Anglesey.

There are Grace's drawings here too along with many fashion shots...

On Growing UP

In which the winds howl,

the waves crash, 

the rains pours down,

and our lonely heroine dreams of being Audrey Hepburn.

Is it any wonder that Grace Coddington's pages in Vogue are wildly romantic?

 At age eighteen Grace goes off to 60's Swinging London to attend modeling school and win a modeling contest and the rest...

 Well Paris waits, Karl and his cats and the haute couture. Many, many intriguing adventures later, including a couple of husbands etc. Grace has the gift of being in the right place at the right time as well as landing on her feet, like any good cat does when she encounters adversity.

 Is there a single fabulous fashion photographer Grace hasn't worked with? I doubt it. Yet she remains humble throughout the book to both her creative gifts and open to experiencing everything to the fullest that comes her way.

Her family had a crest, a dragon breathing flames, and a motto:
"Nil Desperandum" (Never Despair).

 Grace - A Memoir is an inspiring, adventurous book. You'll be enthralled.

MERCI GRACE!