I took the metro to meet up with Jacqueline. It was actually pretty easy to navigate the metro system here. All you need to know is what line to take and where it is heading and what stop to get off at. As I was sitting in the train, we went by the Eiffel tower! I was so excited! It was such a beautiful day too. I was a little early, so I sat at a bench and did some people watching while I waited for Jacqueline. I saw a glimpse of the Eiffel tower again and took my first pic of it on this trip.
Today was the first day, I really felt like I was in Paris! You see the exchange of kisses on both cheeks as greetings, people walking their dogs, public displays of affection, people carrying baguettes with them, and of course skinny cigarettes. And as far as fashion, skinny jeans on both men and women. They were paired with loose tops or blouses. You'll also see, jeans that were folded up slightly and girls wearing dresses with sneakers. Lots of blazers. And I liked seeing this fashion trend of women wearing their cute suits with espadrilles. Their suit pants were ankle length. I like this girl's outfit of a black dress with a long dress shirt over it. Men wore tight jeans and casual shirts or a dress shirt. I saw a lot of them wearing pink too. You'll see some pretty cleaned up French people, but there were also those that looked like they didn't shower for a few days. I wish I took pictures of all these trends to show you, but I thought I could easily google them. Maybe next time I'm on the street I'll take some pics and edit this post with pictures to show.
I finally met Jacqueline and she is such a sweet, lovely, classy woman! She is the typical Parisian fashion woman I think of. She is tall and slender and very put together. She had short hair and wore a black top with grey skirt and a pearl necklace, along with some fashionable flats and Bulgari sunglasses. She introduced me to her Chinese intern Qing Xia. Jacqueline works at La mode-le club where she organizes fashion programs. Check out her stylish-news website too! She was showing me and Qing Xia the Swiss district where there are some fashion antiques. We went into her friend's store where she carries 18th century Antiques! I immediately thought of my friend Kathleen who would love this store! Jacqueline proceeded to fill me in on the 18th century period, which is the most popular period for French Fashion, where Madame de Pompadou was most influential. (I remember learning all about this in my Fashion and Art History class with Kathleen!) The owner of the store gave me a catalog that looked really nice and expensive to keep and to also show any clientele I may have to introduce them to her store. Jacqueline continued to say I should let my friends and whoever is interested in this type of work know about it too. Of course I will spread the word, but unfortunately I don't really roll with people who can afford this type of luxury! But we can still appreciate it I'm sure!
We walked by the Eiffel Tower again and took a few pics. It is even more beautiful than I remember!
Then we ended up at a cafe to meet one of Jacqueline's friends, a Brazilian designer looking for work in Paris. Her name is Carol and she reminded me of my friend Marlon! She was so sweet as well! We were all talking about how hard it is in Paris to look for opportunities, especially in fashion. Jacqueline was saying that the French here are very closed minded and not helpful to foreigners, but as Carol and I agreed...we were both very lucky to have met Jacqueline who is definitely one of a kind here! Carol was telling me about her friend who worked for Dior and about all the changes that were going on because of John Galliano being forced to leave because of his anti-Semitic tirade at a Parisian cafe. It's unfortunate, because he is so talented! You should definitely check out Carol's work too, JHOVE.
I am really blessed to be meeting all the right people to make this an incredible experience. Jacqueline is being so helpful in introducing me to Parisian fashion contacts. I'm meeting all types of people and getting confused with my languages because depending on who I am being introduced to..I'm either speaking Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, English, or a bit of French! I guess it'll be good practice for me! She said she will introduce me to Ana Quasoar, who I was originally supposed to apprentice with. She will be showing her collection at the haute couture fashion week in Paris in July. I'm hoping I'll be able to go with Jacqueline's help! Also, she is going to try to help me get into a workshop at L'Esage, which is an Atelier for couture embroidery techniques. I definitely want to try to take a class if I can!
After the cafe, we went to the Fashion Conference at ESLSCA where there was a presentation for Azzaro. It was all in French, so I tried to pick up as much as I could. But basically it's a luxury brand with a glamourous heritage. They are focusing on luxury, quality and exclusivity. It's brand is at the same level as Hermes, Chanel and Dior..right on top! They carry women's RTW and Accessories, as well as Men's RTW. They also have licenses and parfume too. Their line is Couture - made to measure for the VIP exclusive service. They have a cocktail/evening collection and bridal line. Their biggest sales are in Europe, Middle East and then the Eastern Countries. They aren't as popular in the US and Asia. But in the US, you can find their collections at Bergdorf, Nieman Marcus and Net-a-porter.
I was starving so after the conference, I went to go eat at a cafe. It was such a beautiful night and it doesn't get dark here until after 10pm! So I went to Cafe Le Tourville and ordered a crostini of mozzarella, tomato, basil and prosciutto. It was delicious!
It was really nice just sitting outside taking everything in. Like Carol said, tonight I should count my blessings before I go to bed and I definitely intend to do that! Bonne nuit! Bisous Bisous! oxox
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