Yesterday I received an email from Sophie’s sister, otherwise known as Sister. She informed me that she was in Paris and asked if I might need some insight for Fashion Friday.
Naturally, I seized the opportunity to live vicariously through her fashion experiences since I haven’t been to Paris in like…well, never. I’ve been way to busy going on field trips to the local pumpkin patch, although I do try to eat French fries at least a few times a week because I believe it is important to embrace other cultures.
Anyway, here is the report from Sister.
Live from Paris: No joke – black is the color in all the windows; solid black, black with gray, black with purple, black & white, black & cream, black, gray & purple plaid. Animal prints: black/white cheetah(!) with purple design – black/white animal prints paired with black/gray. When gray is showcased, it is with black, lavender, or purple. There are lots of purple/grape/wine colored scarves…with black or gray outfits. I’ve also seen purple/grape jackets.
The only colors I’ve noticed in windows have been used as an accent – there’s a wonderful rusty orange (not tu longhorn) {Note from me: Do you see why I love Sister? She knows me. She really knows me.} that has a hint of melon in it, that’s been in a few displays. Hermes has a FABULOUS window with a “parakeet/asparagus” (France has robbed me of my adjectives) green that made me stop in my tracks. They had it with the rusty melon orange, & I’ve yet to see anybody wearing those colors.
Another shop in Marais today had a gorgeous green paired with, you guessed it, black. Good looking combo, though. Parisian women really have a sense of style – rarely do you see one without a wrap and/or scarf of some sort. There are NO bare legs here. All legs have either dark hose, opaque tights, leggings, or patterned hose/tights with their boots or shoes. The only toes I have seen have been mine own, especially on the day of my arrival, when I was the only person in all 20+ arrondisements of Paris with open-toed shoes on their feet. I was, however, wearing a black ensemble with both a scarf & a wrap, so I wasn’t a total fashion faux pas.
Oh Sister. I do love you and your on the street fashion report from Paris. Muchas gracias or whatever it is they say in France.
Now for a few quick questions.
1. Lori asks: “Where can I find LONG tee shirts. I know Old Navy has long tank tops and they are divine. I need some long, long-sleeved tees to go under sweaters and such this winter. Any thoughts?”
Today is your lucky day!
Old Navy has these long-sleeve crewneck tees in longer lengths in a bunch of different colors. Best of all, if you buy two or more they’re only $10.00 each.
And my personal favorite is the Timeless Tee from Banana Republic. They are a little pricier, but they last forever and don’t shrink or fade. Plus, they are unbelievably soft.
2. Musings of a Housewife asks: “What the heck does ‘dressy casual’ mean?”
I’ll tell you what it means. It means that people like to send out invitations with arbitrary dress codes, such as “dressy casual”, “cowboy formal”, or “breakdance chic”. And then you spend a sweet forever trying to figure out what on earth “breakdance chic” means and you finally end up wearing some parachute pants and Vans, only to realize that everyone else knew to bring their own piece of cardboard to help them perform their breakdance moves.
But it’s the world we live in, so I will share some examples of what I believe to be “dressy casual”.
You could go with something like a sweater dress with tights and boots or maybe a velvet blazer with a great pair of jeans and heels. Another good choice would be a silk blouse and nice pair of pants.
The key is to make sure you have on a dressy shoe and a dressy top or jacket. If you have those key pieces, then you can pair them with a skirt, pants, or some good jeans. And by good jeans I mean that they need to be a darker wash in a stylish fit.
No faded mom jeans allowed in the dressy casual world.
Or in the breakdance chic world.
And definitely not on the streets of Paris.
One last personal note, I want to wish my daddy a happy birthday. Everything I know about style I learned from him. It is a rare man that can wear the same rust-colored velour jogging suit for the better part of two decades and keep it looking fresh. Dad, you are a fashion maven. I love you.
Y’all have a great Friday!