Chez Derrière Pour Mon Anniversaire

Posted on July 1st, 2010 in Decor, Fashion, Holidays, Les Bons Plans

I have been wanting to share one of my favorite places to go in Paris with you for a while. Derrière is a fun and delicious restaurant for lunch or dinner located in the Marais. Knowing how much I love it there, my friend Nora surprised me with lunch reservations for my birthday for us and our dear friend Lauren. There couldn’t have been a better way to spend the special afternoon! Now press play and sing it with me…I got hugs for you if you were born in the 80’s…the 80’s!

We kicked things off with some pink champagne…

Which quickly put everyone in a great mood…

…exhibit A….Nora!

The concept behind Derrière is that you are meant to feel as if you are dining over at someone’s (very cool) house rather than a restaurant. So nothing is concerned with matching or a clear design approach.

Upstairs you will find this magical armoire. Open up its doors and pass through to arrive inside…

The fumoir!

Cluttered with curiosities that looks much like a trip down the rabbit hole.

In one of the upstairs dining rooms instead of a bench you are sat on a king size bed with a rather kinky mirror hanging above.

Even the toilette room is special as a bathtub replaces a normal sink when it comes time to wash your hands.

After our main course we moved outside to the sunny patio…

…and moved on to a second bottle of champagne!

…and of coarse dessert!

Want to know what I wished for?

Lauren’s awesome cowboy boots from the 70’s passed down to her from her mom.

Candy surprises!

And thoughtful and funny gifts

These shoes were my birthday gift to myself!

They are made by No Collection.

I wore them with a Manoush silk dress, Les Canotiers du Marais bowler hat, and vintage Emanuelle Kahn sunglasses.

After two bottles of champagne and lots of food we were exhausted, hehe.

Derrière

69 rue des Gravilliers

Paris 3ème

P.S. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for all of your sweet birthday wishes. Your kind thoughtful words never cease to bring a smile to my face

Window Shopper

Posted on April 19th, 2010 in Boutique, Fashion, Shopping

My forward to this post is a warning for what you are about to see. My intention is not to torture with eye candy of luxury goods, rather just to give you some insight on the perks of living in Paris. Luckily, I know most of you are too far away from Paris to come here and do some serious shopping damage, and for those of you who would after reading this post then this volcanic cloud wreaking havoc on flight schedules will have to keep you away. One of my favorite things about day to day life here is the copious amounts of ever changing window displays lining the street with vitrines filled to the brim displaying luxury, sparkle, and beauty. Fortunately, my duties between school, work, and blogging keep me and my credit cards locked up safe inside during regular store hours. While occasionally I let these enticements draw me in, I love that I can “shop” my favorite stores from the street without ever stepping foot inside. When French-Kissed is here I know she loves to take night time walks and just enjoy store windows after hours, and I often do the same. Perfectly staged already they make for great photographs. Right now I am loving the array of amazing shoes, bright colors, and glittery costume jewels I pass by and admire. Here are some of my favorite shots I have taken lately of the many goods I would love to get my hands on! Press play for some tunes during your window shopping…

I know I have shared my Miu Miu shoe obsession with you all several times. I can never get enough of these!

Sometimes I wish I could just reach through the glass and pluck out everything I wanted.

I also love all the Miu Miu prints this season. I think they were inspired by vintage 70’s Cacharel.

This was a bank holiday, so the store was closed when I walked by…thank goodness!

How do you feel about the clog trend this season? I love these ones…

With so much competition, Parisian stores are always coming up with exciting and whimsical window displays to stand out.

Louis Vuitton never disappoints. Right now the windows of the Champs Elysees store are filled with Vuitton balloons.

Not sure about these ones for wearing out but they sure are fun to look at. Wonder what inspired Marc Jacobs when he was designing these?

I love love love this Louis duffel bag and the bird cages Vuitton is using in their displays.

Manoush always does a great job as well. Here you can see their Spring Summer safari windows next to last season’s polar themed windows.

I am loving all things Sonia Rykiel this season. The retro color palette and all the jewels are totally chic, as their mannequin in the window announces.

She always makes amazing fashion forward glasses. Unfortunately they cost quite a bit more than the average designer pair as they come bejeweled and pearled.

And her shoes are equally as fabulous…

More vintage jewelry and fauna influences.

I would love to have either one of these platforms! They look cute and comfortable and the lips are so fun!

Watering at the mouth? Reaching for your credit card? Crying out in desire? Well if you have the urge to shop now would be a good time to tell you that the Bardot Boutique is finally launched! There is a good inventory to get started in there and new items will be arriving every week. In my Etsy at the moment there is hand crafted jewelry and carefully selected vintage items (home items arriving soon!) all coming from Paris and ready to travel to a new home anywhere in the world at the click of the buy it button! Be sure to stop by and check it out!

Shop the Bardot Boutique

On Safari With Manoush

Posted on March 5th, 2010 in Fashion, Shopping

I finally received my anxiously awaited Spring Summer 2010 look book from Manoush. Each season in the lookbook, the designer whisks you away to an enchanted place, where magic is real and fabulous Manoush fashion is abundant. This season the spring collection is curated through a safari like you have never seen before. I can’t wait to sit down with some tea and a tart and look through it. Anyone up for a safari from the comfort of your computer?

Cupcakes and candy canes in the middle of the Sahara!

Rainbows and lollipop trees!

Technicolor zebras and rainboots without a cloud in sight!

Watch out! This lion has got a real sweet tooth…and what adorable ruffled floral shorts!

Cotton candy trees and hamsa adorned wild life…

Cupcake carrying elephants…

Cotton candy clouds hovering above this adorable floral print they are using this season. If I could take home only one Manoush item this season it would be this floral blouse.

Sugary rays of sunshine!

Now that’s more suitable for the weather.

All done! Don’t worry I saved some tarte framboise for you too.

This season’s vitrine…difficult to photograph but very cute in person. I guess that means you will just have to come visit to see for yourselves!

www.Manoush.com

It was lovely having your company on this safari! As usual I am collecting buttons and banners for my side bar blog roll so if you would like to be added let me know in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by! P.S. Thank you to Trouvais for my first ever Kreative Blogger Award that I have framed to hang on my cyber wall!

Moulin Rouge

Posted on February 14th, 2010 in Les Bons Plans, Travel

Last weekend my sweetheart and I had the pleasure of being invited to a grande soirée in Brussels. It was one fabulous night at the Moulin Rouge to celebrate the hostess’ birthday. I had some trouble tracking down a french cancan to go with the requested dress code so I got a bit creative and came up with something I ended up loving much more. My hairdresser friend in the 7th did my hair Friday just before I got on the train, and thanks to quite a bit of hairspray the look lasted through the night.

I wore none other than a Manoush dress I purchased for the occasion. Worn With: Hussein Chalayan blazer, Tabio tights, my aunt’s 1970’s vintage gloves, miniature top hat purchased at a costume shop in California, grandmother’s vintage costume jewelry, and Samantha’s mary-janes.

The event was held at a small palace outside of Brussels.

Throughout the night there were dance spectacles accompanied by some jaw dropping from the guys.

The birthday girl wore an authentic vintage french cancan given to her by her grandmother for the event.

The party was a black tie event and everyone put on the ritz. It was the men I thought looked best of all though. It’s a rare occasion to see them all o sharply dressed in this day and age in tuxedos, top hat, and all.

The ladies didn’t look bad either though.

I loved her head-dress. It matched the feather trim on her deep blue satin dress.

After dinner and a second spectacle, dessert was served up. Ice cream cones were just a small part of it though as we were offered chocolat soufflé, crème brûlée, and more.

After dinner the great room was converted to a bar and dance floor.

Worn with: Betsey Johnson coat, Miu Miu bag, and a feather boa I adopted somewhere along the way during the night.

The night was like a dream; everything I expected and more and definitely worth the trip to Belgium. I have so many amazing pictures from the night it was hard to choose which ones to post. I hope I am lucky enough to be invited back next year! You can also check out the professional photographer’s pictures here.

Manoush Fait la Fête!

Posted on February 5th, 2010 in Fashion, Les Bons Plans, Shopping

Manoush’s window displays are always a site to see. I loved this winter’s polar bears, who even got special outfits just for last night’s occasion. Manoush is one of my favorite stores and designers in Paris. In fact, I have so much that every time I buy something new the first question everyone asks is “Is it Manoush?” Manoush means gypsy in french, which shows in the brands bohemian aesthetic. Last fall for Fashion’s Night Out on Avenue Montaigne in Paris I stopped by the Manoush party. Champagne flowed freely, candy and pastries abundant, and there was even cotton candy being spun up. Not to mention adorable clothes and an excellent DJ. They stole the show on Avenue Montaigne, even from top designers like Dior, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton also located on Paris’ most ritzy stretch of shopping. So when I received an invitation for their latest soirée I knew better than to pass it up.

I wore one of my own Manoush pieces for the evening. I bought this dress for my birthday dress last summer. The cotton top is so soft and is printed with a lace corset design. Worn With: LF boots, American Apparel leggings, Betsey Johnson coat, and vintage fur.

La Creatrice herself graced us with her presence at the party to celebrate the special collection of vintage inspired wedding dresses she dreamed up. She was so fun, dancing and smiling and greeting everyone. Her and her guests donned her own lacy and drapey designs mixed with leather jackets, thick belts, and chunky boots. It was such a cute mix. Visit their site for a wonderful bio on the Parisian designer.

All the dresses were done in blues, pinks, and white of coarse.

There was a giant wedding cake for the occasion as well, although no one could bring themselves to cut into the beautiful design adorned with the Manoush hamsa emblem.

I can’t wait for the next Manoush cocktail party. In the mean time I will have to settle for my excitement over the soon to arrive Spring / Summer 2010 collection. If you’re in Paris, you are never too far from one of Manoush’s many boutiques. However, if you’re in the U.S. you can find it at Anthropologie and some department stores. Otherwise shop it on ebay or online by visiting their website to see more of the designs. www.Manoush.com