Fashion Week Diary
American Girls In Paris, Part Un: Rubbing shoulders with Nina Garcia & KatyPerry and the search for cheap Wi-Fi
Katy Perry outside Viktor and Rolf at the Tuleries JardinPhoto by Annina Stefanelli
Lindley Arnoldy being interviewed outside of the Chanel show, Paris Fashion WeekPhoto by Annina Stefanelli
Coffee and invitationsPhoto by Annina Stefanelli
Annina Stefanelli, left, and Lindley Arnoldy at the Chloe show during ParisFashion WeekCourtesy Photo
Nina Garcia at the Couvent des Cordeliers in ParisPhoto by Annina Stefanelli
Anna dello Russo at the front row of ChloePhoto by Lindley Arnoldy
Collage of our Instagram images taken via iPhonePhotos by Lindley Arnoldy & Annina Stefanelli
Lindley Arnoldy in ParisPhoto by Wilfrid Azencoth/Photographer in the City
Lindley Arnoldy shot in front of the Westin HotelPhoto by Wilfrid Azencoth/Photographer in the City
PARIS — It is many a girl's dream to travel to the French capital for fashion week and we recently had the opportunity to live out our dream. After spending a thrilling week in New York chock full of fashion shows, we decided on a bit of a whim to take a quick jaunt to France to see how the Parisians do fashion week. And we were not let down.
Our adventure was everything one would expect from a week in Paris filled with non-stop fashion shows, including everything from sipping martinis at the Ritz Bar Vendome next to Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour and André Leon Talley to walking into shows next to the likes of Nina Garcia, Anna dello Rosso, Grace Coddington and Katy Perry.
In New York, most of the show entrances are administered by computer systems with electronic RSVP’s while in Paris, publicists stick to the classic snail mail with exclusive, non-transferable invites arriving via traditional mail.
Oh and how could we forget Lindley getting snapped up by Parisian street style photographers and Annina getting photographed by the one and only Bill Cunningham? Paris was a dream and oh so much more. J’adore! Or should we say, nous aimons!
Paris and New York are two totally different fashion week experiences. In New York, most of the show entrances are administered by computer systems with electronic RSVP’s while in Paris, publicists stick to the classic snail mail with exclusive, non-transferable invites arriving via traditional mail. Photographer Tommy-Ton has become known for his shots of editors and fashionistas holding their beautiful clutches with their equally elegant show invites.
(With our fashion blogger street cred, we wangled some invitations; at other shows, we stopped by the venue to see if there was room and got squeezed in.)
The other spectacular thing about Paris is the beauty of the slight disorganization; attendees are all coming through the same entrance at relatively the same time, so we were constantly star struck, rubbing shoulders with the chicest editors and contributors in the industry.
Street style photo bloggers such as Scott Schuman and his adorable beaux Garance Dore, Caroline of Caroline’s Mode and the famous Parisian blogger Kamel Lahnadi of Style and the City (who shot us ouside of Barbara Bui) all swarm outside of shows, creating the famous "concrete catwalk" that has become so popular.
Search for Wee-fee
As with any travel experience, particularly when overseas, there are things that are inevitably out of your control and a bit of a learning curve. In the case of Paris fashion week for us, this was the constant search for free Wi-Fi (which we now know is pronounced wee-fee in French).
Most of the time we ended up coughing up between 12 and 20 euros for a mere hour of Wi-Fi, usually in the bar of our hotel, The Westin in Place Vendome until we discovered the chicest lunch spot in town, L’Avenue.
After the Viktor & Rolf show, we ended up at a table next to Katy Perry and her entire entourage. Monsieur, one more glass, s'il vous plait…
L’Avenue is located on the corner of “Fashion Avenue” or Avenue Montaigne and is filled to the brim during fashion week with the chicest, Celine and Chanel-clad Parisienne’s in town. With free Wi-Fi and reasonably priced glasses of Chablis, this quickly became our new favorite post-show spot for tweeting, email and Instagram. After the Viktor & Rolf show, we ended up at a table next to Katy Perry and her entire entourage. Monsieur, one more glass, s'il vous plait…
In addition to days filled with back-to-back shows, glamorous lunches, time with our adorable new friend Hillary, the Chanel brand ambassador, and après dinner cocktails at one of our various spots in Place Vendome, we saw some serious street style. Parisian women and men are chic to the next level! New York Street style is glamourous but defined by a personal and quirky character.
The street style during Paris is very high fashion, fully equipped with exquisite coats, hats and outrageous looks straight from the runway. Some of our favorite sightings included Russian style icons Uliana Sergienko outside of Viktor & Rolf and again at Valentino, and the unbelievably adorable and stylish Miroslava Duma at the Valentin Yudashkin show. These taste makers serve as a preview to what is expected of the collection about to debut.
Our Parisian fashion week adventure included 13 fabulous shows, with highlights at Isabel Marant, Carven, Balmain, Tsumori Chisato and Chloe. Next week, check in with "American Girls in Paris Part Deux" for our take on the shows…Au revoir!
Lindley Arnoldy writes the fashion and style blog The Flip Side, and Annina Stefanelli writes the blog Cinched at the Waist.
