Color Me Paris

Portraits in Color 

 Big cream puffs in the window of Pierre Hermé. I didn't eat any.
 Good Carol.

 A lemon cake. Yellow and Green.

 Pastry Symphony in Citron.

Je regardais simplement. 

 Raspberry Rhapsody.

Orange mini. My kind of car.

 Primary raincoats.

 I love the horse and carriage silhouette at the top of the window.

 Lacy red boot with black ribbon.

Rainbow pumps.

The Famous Hermès Orange

A big, bad, orange Hermès box!

Hermès boxes await their turn to be used as vessels for luxurious objects.

We were walking on the Rue de Sèvres and passed an incredible store -- Hermès.

 I said the dangerous words. "Let's go in!"

 The interior of this store is amazing. 

It's full of strips of blond wood in incredible configurations.

Hermès was founded in 1837 as a harness workshop. They made saddles for noblemen and the carriage trade. Back then, that was the main means of transportation -- a carriage -- so business was good.

They still make saddles. Perhaps this one was custom-made
 for Ann Romney.

Today, Hermès makes all manner of luxury goods.
You undoubtedly have heard of their Kelly bag, named after Grace Kelly.
They are also known for their scarves.

Their signature style is strong color and unusual pictorial elements. 

 Some very beautiful men's fedoras in soft felt.

No self-respecting French banker goes without an Hermès tie.

 All the young men and women who work at Hermès are good-looking.

I did not leave the store unscathed. I purchased a scarf.

Here some lovely ladies are only too happy

 to relieve me of my euros (which will translate into even more dollars)

 and box my scarf.

 Richard and I in the lobby of the Hôtel de l'Abbaye.

 I am wearing my new Hermès scarf.

It's silk and cashmere.

 That evening we dined at Le Buisson Ardent in the Latin Quarter.

 Buisson Ardent means burning bush.

Come to think of it, fire is orange too.

I loved this restaurant. It's small and charming. All the murals are original from the 1920s. And it was an almost exclusively French crowd. Love when that happens. The food was delicious. We sat in the perfect corner banquette. We started with a fig and mozzarella appetizer. Richard followed with baby duck (ahhh) breast with whipped sweet potatoes (dreamy). I had dorade (fish). For desert, Froid et Chaud (cold and hot). A molten chocolate cake with Bourbon vanilla ice cream. This place gets an A+.

 I wore my scarf, here casually draped over my handbag.

You can see that it's got feathers on it.

Richard and I dining at Le Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice.

Yes, that is my Hermès scarf!

Souvenirs. 

More is never enough, so we went to London.

It just so happened that while we were abroad the Victoria and Albert Museum, my favorite museum in London, , had an exhibition called, "British Ballgowns of the 1950s." I got it in my head to go to London for a day. So we took the Eurostar train from Paris to London. It was all sunny and happy in England and we saw the most marvelous ball gowns, and the new permanent fashion galleries at the Vic and Al.

 A collection of Ossie Clark designs with prints by Celia Birtwell.

 One could not take photos in the ballgowns exhibit,

 so all of these photos are from

the new permanent fashion gallery.

Don't you love the miniature dress?

 Dior's New Look came in after World War II -- cinched waist and all.

 Some rather severe looking suits from the 40s.

 1930s evening gown with purple sash and ruffles.

 Fashions of the 20s, Dianna Vreeland's heyday.

 Have you see the documentary on

Dianna, "The Eye Must Travel"?

 You must do.

A few Paul Poiret-era things.

A gown from Queen Victoria's day.

Fashion dolls are used to great effect.

 I wish I could have purchased this fan for my sister Susan in
 the museum shop.

 The shallow wading pool in the courtyard of the Vic and Al is irresistible...

to twenty somethings

 and tots.

Such a great museum on a picture-perfect day.

The V&A has a wonderful gift shop, and I bought a book of
postcards featuring highlights from their exhibition,
Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton:
A Diamond Jubilee Celebration. 

 Princess Elizabeth, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
A more lovely Colonel you never saw.

 Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret

 Cecil himself.

 Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

 Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,
Prince Charles, Princess Anne and
baby Prince Andrew.

A quite glamorous Queen Elizabeth II

I hope you are enjoying our trip to Paris.

See you next week.

À bientôt!