Le Déjeuner des Canotiers

Posted on April 14th, 2010 in Fashion, Paris

It seems like trends always come back around, it’s just a matter of time. The straw boater hat as it is called in English is one of my favorite trends from the past right now. This shallow style straw hat was first in fashion in the late 19th century for young ladies making a subtle statement of independence through incorporating more masculine elements into their outfits. Last summer Marc Jacobs revived the boater hat in his collection and since then I have been spotting this typically french hat on the most stylish of ladies. Click play to enjoy some “Moi Je Joue” by none other than B.B.!

Auguste Renoir often depicted this classic hat on ladies and gentlemen alike in his lively scenes of French cafe culture. In French the straw boater is called a canotier.

Here is one of Renoir’s most famous paintings Le Déjeuner des Canotiers, or the lunch of canotiers. I knew this painting well but in fact never knew the title until my french beau enlightened me last weekend.

I bought my canotier at Les Canotiers Du Marais on my street in the Marais. I wore it out for the first time this weekend to lunch with at Le Café Marly at the Louvre.

On our way there we walked through the Tuileries to enjoy the sun.

Le Café Marly is located in the arcades of the Louvre overlooking the entrance to the museum at the glass pyramid.

From your table you can watch the many tourists and admire the ornate facades of the former palace.

Here I am relaxing and enjoying my déjeuner des canotiers.

The grass in the Tuileries is green, the flowers are planted and blooming, and all the trees have their leaves again. When paris parks come back alive after the winter it completely changes the energy of the city.

People compete to grab the famous green lawn chairs supplied by the city to sit around the lakes and enjoy some people watching.  When I came to France I was completely amazed by the quality of the parks. Here the park is a pristine space always cleaned and well tended to where people off all types mingle, where everyone respects the shared beauty.

The dusty ground of the Tuileries has become infamous to me from street fashion photography like The Sartorialist, Garance Doré, and many others that frequently snap fashion’s elite crossing the park here after fashion week shows.

Hat – Les Canotiers du Marais / Sunglasses – Chloé / Jacket – vintage Pendleton / Dress – Louis Vuitton / Tights – American Apparel /Booties – Chie Mahara / Purse – Miu Miu

I created a new section of the blog I wanted to lastly share with you in this post here! There are so many books, films, and more that inspire me but I don’t always have space to talk about them in my posts. So I created Bardot’s Library where you can all browse and shop my suggestions! As always there are new images in the Inspiration Gallery. Be sure to stop by and have a browse in both of them.

P.S. Make sure to follow Bardot in Blue on BlogLovin’!

Playing at Palais Royal

Posted on April 7th, 2010 in Fashion, Paris

After seven days of rain on Monday the sun finally came out in Paris! Even though I still had homework to finish, Samantha and I decided it was just too pretty to keep ourselves cooped up inside. We thought it would be fun to take some pics for the blog at the Palais Royal and Sam impressed with me her photography skills. She took to my SLR like a natural and is now considering purchasing the same one. Don’t forget to press play…

Here is my BEAUTIFUL photographer! We actually went to the Palais Royal to take pictures of her for my upcoming Bardot Boutique as she is my official model. You can see why! No photoshopping required! I can’t wait to share all the adorable pictures I took of her for the launch of the online shop soon!

It was one of the first warmer days but Parisians haven’t realized yet so we were one of the two only people wearing spring time attire! I find many Parisians don’t remove their black wool coats until June 1st despite the temperature.

Sitting was the easy part…

Standing up on the pillars in these shoes without falling was a bit more difficult. I also debuted some new Tabio tights I have been saving for spring. They have little blue and coral polka dots.

This is another wardrobe item that stays inside all winter as the light color doesn’t work well with winter soot and moisture. I saved up and took the plunge last year and bought this bag. It is the most expensive thing I have ever bought yet completely free of buyers remorse as I know it is a classic I will care for so I can wear it for years. I knew that the usual black Chanel bag was just not for me, nor some fun but hard to wear color, so the season they released this beautiful pinky nude I knew my time had come.

I matched my platforms to my purse.

These are made by Cosmo, one of my favorite shoe brands and sections in Printemps shoes as I know I can always find something trendy but affordable and good quality from them.

I bought this little one-sie last year in the West Village of New York with my sister. The label is Fremont. I almost walked away and didn’t get it but I am so glad I did!

These Max Mara over the knee socks kept my legs warm all winter but now they get a bit more fashion forward look for spring.

Some people were staring at us the whole time wondering what we were doing…clearly they don’t understand blogging.

I always want to share more outfit posts with my readers but being such a busy girl it’s hard to find the time to pin down someone to take some pictures for me! Sam is so nice though and has offered to lend her skills to the blogging cause in the future so I suspect you will be seeing some more of what I am wearing around Paris. That’s all for today but before I go I want to say a special thank you to one of my favorite blogging fashionistas Silje for the Beautiful Blogger Award she gave me over on her incredibly stylish blog! Silje travels the world working in fashion and her style is a must see. À bientôt mes cheries!

P.S. Make sure to follow Bardot in Blue on BlogLovin’!

Gourmandise des Yeux

Posted on March 24th, 2010 in Gourmandise

In French gourmandise is defined as “un désir d’aliments jugés particulièrement agréables, que certains moralistes et certaines doctrines religieuses peuvent considérer comme un défaut ou une faute.” For those of you that don’t speak french that means something along the lines of a desire to eat particularly agreeable treats that certain doctrines consider sinful. Whoever decided that back in the church was on to something, because I do feel a little possessed when I look at all the beautiful desserts before in let’s say Laduree for example. However when they are so delicately crafted and pretty its hard to bite in and ruin it all.

My mom bought me this little Laduree cakelette when she was in town as a late valentine. It is appropriately named The Marie Antoinette.

As hard as it was to resist eating it right away, we decided it would be fun to take some pictures of it. Most people would think we were crazy for taking pictures of this silly little thing, but then again if you didn’t understand at least a bit you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog right now.

Of coarse Laduree does not just make fabulous little cakelettes. Inside this beautiful green gold lined box are six delicious macarons.

The perfect to go box for carrying around during a day walking around Paris. You could stop to sit on the banks of the Seine and eat a few just like I did the first time I visited Paris with my sister.

These cute little macarons beg for some photo staging as well. This citron flavor one is sitting inside one of my most prized possessions, an antique brass and glass jewelry casket with a blue satin cushion. I found it at an antique store I worked in. I stared at it for months in its case and then finally one day a woman came and put it on hold. I realized I just couldn’t let it go. I sneakily bought it before she could decide to come back and get it! It is one of my favorite things in the world.

Mouth watering yet?

Finally we gave in and cut into the little cakes. My mom asked for one but with her poor french the server conveniently thought she wanted two! So we each had our own.

If your wondering what flavor this little cake is, it was actually not cake at all! Inside its filled with raspberry meringue, lots of rose flavored cream, raspberry jam, and lychees for a surprise ingredient. The outside is covered in fondant icing.

We thought they looked perfect in front of my Fifi Flowers painting I got from French-Kissed for Christmas.

I am so sorry to torture your taste buds with pictures of all these wonderful treats but I just couldn’t resist sharing pictures of how cute they are! Of coarse Laduree is just one of my many favorite places in with delicious treats in Paris that you can read about in My Paris guide. What are your favorite spots to indulge in such delightful desserts? Share in the comments section! Also make sure to check in on the Inspiration Gallery from time to time as I am always adding beautiful images I stumble across that I find inspiring.

Between the Seasons

Posted on March 1st, 2010 in Travel

I find myself feeling a bit in limbo this time of year. Holiday spirit is long gone but the winter chill still holding on. While warmer weather seems to be on the horizon, weekly forecasts leave me wondering if there will be a couple last snow days.

One of the many reasons I love Paris. Even when buried in snow in the grey of winter, the colors manage to come out…

When snow falls, the city becomes the most beautiful ghost town in the world.

But after months of cold, my coats begin to dirty, my boots begin to wear, and hot chocolate no longer tastes as good. I long for the hot days of summer out of the city…

…the sweeping views and the open skies of the Luberon…

…barefoot afternoons in the gardens of Provence…

…happy hour in quaint squares in Aix…

…beach days in Deauville hiding from the hot sun in the shadow of candy colored cabanas…

…and warm summer nights that feel a bit more magical than their colder counterparts.

My upcoming week long spring break left me eager to begin enjoying the warmer seasons. I decided to go without a ski-trip to the Alps and instead I’ll be heading to the south of France with French-Kissed. Don’t worry, my camera will be coming along for the journey. You didn’t think I would leave you behind did you?

Alice in Printemps Wonderland ~ Part I

Posted on February 23rd, 2010 in Fashion, Gourmandise, Shopping

One of my favorite things about working in the 9th arrondissement is my close proximity to Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, also known as Les Grands Magasins. However this can also be quite a dangerous neighborhood as I often find myself spending my lunch break browsing the beautiful goods of these two famous department stores, and from what I can see during my lunch time shopping I’m not the only working gal with this bad habit. When I can resist the temptation to go inside, I still enjoy Printemps’ stunning vitrines. To celebrate the expansion of the Printemps Laduree and the release of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Printemps‘ window design has fallen down the rabbit hole. In this first part of this two part post, fashion meets fine patisserie and furry friends…

I was so tempted to share all the photos of the vitrines with you in this post, but decided you will have to wait for part 2. The other half of this vitrine series features the designer’s windows, in which different fashion houses were invited to give their interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. I won’t keep you waiting too long though…check back later this week!