Paris Dreams? No Honey: Reality

March 29, 2013

Paris Dreams? No Honey: Reality

To say today was the best day I've had in Paris so far is an understatement, there are no words to describe today. My internship was finally over and I was ready to begin living the Paris dream, I just had to figure out what it was.

My good friend, who I met at a fashion show during Paris Fashion Week, Asha and I decided to finally go to the Paris Haute Couture exhibit we had been dying to go to, just never had the time. We met up outside the exhibit and waited in line for a short amount of time before entering the land of all things Couture. It didn't hurt that the first two designs were that of our idol (and slight obsession) Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld. Yes, we entered the fashion heaven of all heavens! We took our time examining each gown (through the glass) as though we were scientists expecting new life. It was beyond our imagination how these gowns made from all periods of the century were creatively thought up when they didn't have the technology we do now to make these pieces of art come to life as they had. We wanted to know so desperately what went through their minds when they decided on the embroidery design or the crystals to use. We drew sketches of our favorite looks and wrote down the years so we could Google search later and relive the excitement.

After leaving heaven we decided to check out a vintage shop I had been told about that was very cheap and accessible Within 5 minutes of being in the store I spotted a vintage black Pierre Carvin jacket with 4 pockets on the front and 4 buttons down it. I think I died a little inside. Not more than 2 minutes after I found a blush pink Pierre Balmain jacket that had 3 buttons down it and was 3/4 length in sleeves. My heart was going into cardiac shock as I paid for both jackets: 20 euro.

With my new jackets in hand we realized we had worked up an appetite from all the excitement and got on the train. A teacher of mine had told me that Etienne Marcel was a great place to find little restaurants so we agreed to venture that way. We found ourselves in a whole different part of Paris we hadn't seen before. Vintage shops, cheap shops, shoe shops, intimate shops, etc. It was a lot to take in and we were still hungry and decided when in doubt McDonald's will do (especially since they had wifi). On our way to a McDonald's we spotted a Pizza Hut and couldn't pass up the chance for pizza! We went inside and felt like we were in a French Restaurant, despite the 90's CD playing over us! It was either our hunger or it was actually the best pizza we'd had ever! Either way we were still on a high from our day and completely shocked at how amazing it was going and we didn't want it to end! I had remembered while reading the autobiography of Christian Dior that he opened his first shop on Avenue Montaigne we chose to continue our adventure there!

We made our way to the metro and proceeded to go down Avenue Montaigne and we were immediately transported to the "Upper East Side" of Paris. Don't believe me? Houndstooth print on the cross walk. Insane. I had died and entered fashion heaven's sister: Avenue Montaigne. Across the street stood the great and powerful Dior flagship talking up half the block. We held our breath and pretended to own half of New York as we strutted into the world of Dior. After being at the Harrods Dior exhibit I had an amazing respect for the man who coined the "New Look". It was time I took a new look at fashion and broadened my interest in things other than, and I'm sorry, Chanel. Despite her disapproval for Dior's New Look (which spiked her decision to return to her house in 1956) I had to hand it to the man, he knew how to make a woman a Lady. Being in his store reminded me of exactly why I wanted to become a fashion designer. I wanted to give girls like me the hope and inspiration they needed to accomplish their dreams.

We made our way out onto the street and passed all the incredible brands of the day: Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Venenta, Prada, and Valentino across the street. The only thing that made this more perfect was the fact that we were mere blocks away from the Eiffel Tower, or in my opinion, the North Star of Paris. The Eiffel Tower represented a symbol of reality to me. On my worst days just being feet or even miles away from it made me stop and realize, "You're in Paris". That's not something everyone can say for 3 months straight. The Eiffel Tower is a reminder that my dreams came true and this day has further intensified my love for the city of Paris. We walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower just as the sun was setting and it was beautiful. Every picture I took would serve as a reminder of what I had accomplished.

The sun was setting and we had one last adventure before we called it a night. We walked back down the Champs-Elysees and walked right into a random dance performance. Since the hole day had been successful on our, "Why not" outlook we decided to stick around and watch the show. Of course we were placed right in the front and there was a hat on the ground and I had told Asha to watch out for the hat to turn over. Soon enough the hat turned over and we ran away booking it into the nearest store and hearing a loud "HEY!" calling out from behind us. We were not planning on giving money to them when they had decided to do a spontaneous skit right in front of us! The highlight of the situation was when she and I walked into the store next to the one we hid out in and she asked, "What is this place?" and I replied in a slightly childish voice, "Naf Naf!" Whether it was my tone or the fact that the store was actually named Naf Naf we both busted out laughing and enjoying the incredible day we were having together in Paris. We made our way to the Metro and still could not believe that we had actually spent the day at a Haute Couture exhibit, then vintage shopping, then at Christian Dior's store, near the Eiffel Tower, as the sun set.

It was the making for the perfect day. Truly nothing has caused me so much happiness than this day in Paris. I felt so at home and so blessed to be a part of the Parisian culture. Although I now have my heart set on finding vintage Chanel. Let the games begin!

My new vintage Pierre Balmain jacket!