042: PARIS IN COLOR

In early March I got on a flight from New York to Paris. The timeframe for my trip was squishy and imprecise, 3 weeks stretched to 7, as was my reason for taking it. Some motivating cocktail of heartbreak, restless determination, and instinct. Following my big, scary breakup in August, my life’s tilt has trended towards the poetic fuck it, why not? So, here I landed. 

Two of my first Paris purchases- a yellow tee from Benetton (mine’s thrifted but this one is similar) and vintage Levi’s from a shop in the 11th called The Vintage (go for well-priced jeans if you’re in town). Chanel bag and Adidas shoes.

I can’t be in Paris without thinking about fashion. The city is dominated by the giants of industry, LVMH, Kering, Chanel, and the residents are undoubtedly well dressed (I will spare you the “french girl chic” story though, I’ve written too many of those in my career). I see so much elegance and flare seeped into every corner here, painted doorways, manicured gardens, old school tabacs, restaurant tables, mismatched seats in the metro, my cute (but wholly unusable) kitchen with red, plexi cabinets. Recently I realized that what I’m seeing everywhere is color, and I’ve been wearing it too. 

The painting on the left is from Galerie Parisienne, a spot I was thrilled to discover with the most stunning vintage jewelry. I am wearing a Vince leather jacket, Arket tee, and a vintage shirt I picked up at Preclothed. Pants are MNZ (sold out in black but there are a few pairs in navy here) and shoes are Margiela.

Vince jacket again, this time with a J.Crew tee (similar here), vintage Levis, and the same Margiela shoes. The scarf is just a brown cardigan wrapped around and my bag is the usual Prada nylon. On the right, my less usual vintage Prada bag on the table at Fugazi. This one is really cute, and so is this.

Maybe it’s natural, or even cliché, to think about color at the onset of Spring. I’m a minimalist and a New Yorker, loyal to The Row and the color black (or sometimes brown), so a pull towards color feels like a big change. It started with a pop of red, the ubiquitous fashion-girl signifier, which is still a favorite of mine. After watching Kill Bill too many times, and seeing Lara in Beatrix Kiddo’s Onitsuka Tiger shoes, I became obsessed with yellow (suddenly these shoes are everywhere). Purple crept off the Lemaire spring runway and into my mind, so did green after Ferragamo.

My sneakers again! And Tyler’s purple ones (I copied him). A few are left here and here. Purple socks. On the right a green sweater from Vince worn as a scarf, vintage Prada trench (I like this, this, and this), MNZ pants, Adidas shoes.

I incorporate color as an accent, adding one or two items - a sweater wrapped around my neck, bright socks, or a t-shirt - and otherwise don’t stray from my basics. The Parisians seem to agree. Around me, even on little old ladies, I see a lot of good, chic, simple clothes punctuated by a bright pair of Sambas, a scrunchie, a scarf, or a red lip.

My leather jacket is vintage Prada (I like this Jil Sander one), J.Crew men’s blue sweater (this one is similar), vintage Levi’s and the same Prada bag.

So, it’s Spring, the flowers are blooming, and I’m starting to feel like myself again. I’m walking around Paris ogling the colors of everyday objects and wearing them too. I’ve still spent ninety percent of my time here in the same, simple outfit formula - jeans or black pants, sneakers, and a leather jacket or a trench. But it feels a little different, and I feel a little different. And maybe that’s the point of this whole dang trip anyways?

Well, that’s all from me this week. I’m off to enjoy my last French weekend. Shop below and see you next time. xxx

Colorful Standard socks $11, Lemaire sweater $1035, JW Anderson bag $730, Arket tee $49

Alex Mill shirt $185, Onitsuka Tiger sneakers $240, Benetton tee $38, Lemaire bag $1495

Margiela sneakers $595, Jil Sander jacket $475 $380, By Far bag $480, Dries Van Noten trench $675 $540

Toteme sweater $680, Jil Sander bag $810, Adidas sneakers $110, Vince sweater $427

Frankie Shop shirt $185, Comme Si socks $25, Slvrlake jeans $290, Maryam Nassir Zadeh shoes $405

Repetto shoes $375, Mango sweater $40, Etsy scruchie $10, The Row bag $1450

Vince jacket $1395 $1046, Prada bag $500, Adidas sneakers $100