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From February 8th to the 15th I was fortunate enough to spend some time vacationing in Paris.
First I wanted to share some observations about the City. Flusser makes mention of it in Style and the Man but it bears worth repeating. The eye for display is unmatched anywhere in the world. Simple pleasures like chocolate, cheese, and mustard are displayed with such care and grace that you can’t help but taste. Clothing is displayed with such hypnotic elegance that it takes several moments to register. That being said men in general dressed as good or slightly better than there metro counterparts in New York and notches below their brethren in several Italian cities I’ve visited including Rome and Milan. Women were another matter; I’ve never seen so many average looking people catapult themselves into sexiness than in Paris. Billowed coats, skinny jeans and patent leather flats was the look of choice with each woman pulling it off with their own twist, it’s a shame so many have to waste themselves to smoking.
The food, as expected was excellent, though towards the end of my trip I was growing tired of traditional French cuisine. Now that I’m back I wish I had taken the time to try a couple of the Chinese places I past while walking near the Rodin museum or the nice Moroccan place down from my hotel on the right bank. Le Comptior near Odeon was a highlight as was Taillevent, though lunch was somewhat spoiled by the rude behavior by the German couple sitting next to us. Ice cream or sorbet at Berthillon should be mandatory for any American; you’ll never look at Breyers or any other dominant ice cream player in the states the same. Maison Du Chocolat was also a worthy experience.
Clothing was a mixed bag. Obviously you’ve got the major fashion houses but outside of Kiton and Cifonelli off Rue Marbuef only Arny’s carried RTW clothing that many would find stylish, I can’t say much about Old England only because I found the staff so obnoxious and pushy that I left after checking out the selection of EGs. Cifonelli was outrageously expensive, Arny’s was having a sale at 50%. More on that to follow. French luxury clothing provider Zilli looked as if it had exclusive rights to adorn Arab oil tycoons and Russian gangstas, they have an adjoining shoe store that is above average but nothing to write home about. I also checked out a street style forum favorite APC, which was a lot smaller than I imagined. I picked up a pair of new standards 110EU and was on my way.
Shoes ran the gambit and overall the variety was extraordinary though John Lobb’s decision to blonde wood all of its stores (as RJ had mentioned in an earlier post) was a complete let down, I snubbed the bastards from purchasing Vales because of it though they almost got my wallet out of my back pocket for their selection of belts priced in the 300EU’s. I’ll save the Vales for my local NM salesman. Aubercy was sort of a let down; the shoes were more delicate than Berluti and also somewhat effeminate. I passed on a pair of gorgeous suede captoes at 750EU. Carmina was great and Miguel was nice to deal with, prices ranged from 500EU to 280EU with a custom patina service for 50EU extra, turnaround time can be as quick as three days. I picked up a pair of burgundy full brogues on the Philadelphia last for a great price of 316EU. He was fascinated that I had learned about his store via the men’s clothing forums. G Sene next to JL on George V was strange, a very varied collection of shoes ranging from clownish to semi-clownish. The entire store was on sale for 350EU. I was actually impressed by fashion house Fratelli Rossetti, whose modern take on many classics was a nice change of pace. The quality is not at the Carmina level but would be a nice alternative to many brands in the US. More on Berluti and Corthay later. I never made it to Cape Cod or Altan.
Pictures to follow over the weekend.
First I wanted to share some observations about the City. Flusser makes mention of it in Style and the Man but it bears worth repeating. The eye for display is unmatched anywhere in the world. Simple pleasures like chocolate, cheese, and mustard are displayed with such care and grace that you can’t help but taste. Clothing is displayed with such hypnotic elegance that it takes several moments to register. That being said men in general dressed as good or slightly better than there metro counterparts in New York and notches below their brethren in several Italian cities I’ve visited including Rome and Milan. Women were another matter; I’ve never seen so many average looking people catapult themselves into sexiness than in Paris. Billowed coats, skinny jeans and patent leather flats was the look of choice with each woman pulling it off with their own twist, it’s a shame so many have to waste themselves to smoking.
The food, as expected was excellent, though towards the end of my trip I was growing tired of traditional French cuisine. Now that I’m back I wish I had taken the time to try a couple of the Chinese places I past while walking near the Rodin museum or the nice Moroccan place down from my hotel on the right bank. Le Comptior near Odeon was a highlight as was Taillevent, though lunch was somewhat spoiled by the rude behavior by the German couple sitting next to us. Ice cream or sorbet at Berthillon should be mandatory for any American; you’ll never look at Breyers or any other dominant ice cream player in the states the same. Maison Du Chocolat was also a worthy experience.
Clothing was a mixed bag. Obviously you’ve got the major fashion houses but outside of Kiton and Cifonelli off Rue Marbuef only Arny’s carried RTW clothing that many would find stylish, I can’t say much about Old England only because I found the staff so obnoxious and pushy that I left after checking out the selection of EGs. Cifonelli was outrageously expensive, Arny’s was having a sale at 50%. More on that to follow. French luxury clothing provider Zilli looked as if it had exclusive rights to adorn Arab oil tycoons and Russian gangstas, they have an adjoining shoe store that is above average but nothing to write home about. I also checked out a street style forum favorite APC, which was a lot smaller than I imagined. I picked up a pair of new standards 110EU and was on my way.
Shoes ran the gambit and overall the variety was extraordinary though John Lobb’s decision to blonde wood all of its stores (as RJ had mentioned in an earlier post) was a complete let down, I snubbed the bastards from purchasing Vales because of it though they almost got my wallet out of my back pocket for their selection of belts priced in the 300EU’s. I’ll save the Vales for my local NM salesman. Aubercy was sort of a let down; the shoes were more delicate than Berluti and also somewhat effeminate. I passed on a pair of gorgeous suede captoes at 750EU. Carmina was great and Miguel was nice to deal with, prices ranged from 500EU to 280EU with a custom patina service for 50EU extra, turnaround time can be as quick as three days. I picked up a pair of burgundy full brogues on the Philadelphia last for a great price of 316EU. He was fascinated that I had learned about his store via the men’s clothing forums. G Sene next to JL on George V was strange, a very varied collection of shoes ranging from clownish to semi-clownish. The entire store was on sale for 350EU. I was actually impressed by fashion house Fratelli Rossetti, whose modern take on many classics was a nice change of pace. The quality is not at the Carmina level but would be a nice alternative to many brands in the US. More on Berluti and Corthay later. I never made it to Cape Cod or Altan.
Pictures to follow over the weekend.