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Sunday, August 19, 2012

Parisian Chic - Part I

First, I will start off by announcing: I will be traveling to Paris in the middle of November.  ^_^

This is definitely a huge dream of mine.  I once traveled to London in a month long study abroad course, and we had a week off from studying where my friends and I decided to go to Paris together.  However, as the fates would have it, I got incredibly sick, and I was bed-ridden for that whole week (plus an extra couple of days).

Fast forward years later, and I am finally going to get to go.  Of course, one of the first things that entered my mind was: What am I going to wear?  I definitely didn't want to look like a tourist, so I've been looking around at some advice that other bloggers and youtubers had posted about their trip.  When I typed in "parisian chic" on the Google search engine, this book also kept popping up, and I knew I had to have it.

Parisian Chic A Style Guide by Inges de la Fressange with Sophie Gachet

Ines de la Fressange was once the muse of Karl Lagerfeld, the current head designer and creative director of the haute couture fashion house, Chanel.  If that wasn't enough, at the age of 51, she walked the runway for the Spring/Summer 2009 collection at the Paris Haute Coutre Fashion Week for the Jean-Paul Gaultier collection.  Did I also mention that she is the daughter of a marquis, which makes her an aristocrat?


No, this is not Ines, but a picture of her eldest daughter, Nine, posing for a series of pictures in this book.  I saw this picture months ago, and I've always wondered who the model was.  It makes me think: Can someone without an inch of Parisian blood in her ever get that kind of style?  According to Ines, apparently you can.


This book also offers some places that Ines recommends to shop while in Paris (clothes, furniture, etc.), where to stay, things to see, etc., so it's not a bad guide for someone who's going to Paris.  Ines only dedicates one section of the book to Parisian apparel, so I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who wants to read it for a full workup of how to dress like a Parisian.  None the less, the advice the Ines gives make it sound amazingly simple.

With that said, I've decided to put the Magnificent Seven (a man's blazer, a trench coat, a navy sweater, a tank top, a little black dress, jeans, and a leather jacket) to the test in the next few months before my trip.  Let's see how it turns out!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Rockin' Weekend

Rayban Aviator sunglasses, H&M military blazer (old), Loft short sleeved black button up shirt (old), True Religion jeans, PS1 bag in Saddle, Banana Republic skinny belt, Love Culture bracelet (worn as choker)

I recently bought this stretchy skinny belt from Banana Republic.  When I saw it on the mannequin at the store, I fell in love with it at first sight, but it was almost $40, so I patiently waited until they had a sale.  My wait paid off, and I basically began pairing this belt with everything I was wearing.  I have yet to find something that doesn't go with this belt, and I'm thinking about getting another one in black.

I bought the medium size in Oxblood (kinda scary name isn't it?), or brown.  I had to go to two different Banana Republic stores in order to score one since they seemed to be going fast.  The reason why I bought the medium was because I wanted the belt to go around my hips.  If I wanted the belt to go around my waist, I would have needed the small.

After putting on my button up black shirt, jeans, and belt, I thought I looked a little too casual Friday office ready (and hey, it's the weekend!), so I grabbed my bracelet and used it as a choker.  It was a little bit chilly today too, so I grabbed this military style jacket that has just been sitting in my closet.  Et voila!  My rocker chic look is born!

I highly recommend this belt, plus there's a 30% discount currently going on at Banana Republic.  Check it out in stores!  ^_^