football and female

Last Sunday I took loads of photos of the Lyon women's professional team, Olympique de Lyon, playing against another team,

mainly because I had watched the women's world cup last summer and had been very impressed by their physical prowess, their beauty and their ... body types. Finally, women could watch women whose bodies were not tall and very skinny, and whose faces were not airbrushed. These women have legs, strong legs, thighs, buttocks, a modern day Rubens might have a grand time painting them as they really are.

To the match, I wore a recently acquired pair of orange pants...from a depot/vente of course. I paired the pants with the dress I had bought last year at "Des Habits et Vous"this morning on my way out the door. I think those soccer women would approve.

Les soldes

That would be the French word for "the sales" or "sales." France still has strict regulations about when stores can mark down their prices, unlike the anarchy I experienced in the US back in December: Boston's Newbury Street was pretty much marked down the week before Christmas, and New York's Soho was marked down the week after.

Here in France, "les soldes" begin mid-January. There is a mad shopping frenzy that takes over major metropolitan areas during the first week. I remember a mom who dropped off her kids at school here in Lyon in the morning, jumped on the TGV to Paris for the day, and came back in time to pick up her kids at school at the end of the day. She had shopping bags hanging from both arms like a victorious bargain warrior showing off her booty.

When you go to a consignment shop during the "soldes," and they are having a solde themselves, you are really in bargain heaven. Hence, the acquisition of a Zadig et Voltaire blouse, normally a color I would not have chosen, but bargain

warriors can't be too choosy. Besides, sometimes you have to let the color choose the person, which more often than not, happens in consignment shops.

clothes exchange

I am back in France for another program with students, and have returned to my old Sunday habits of stopping by the news store on the way back from the market and curling up with a magazine. "Marie-Claire" my old stand bye informs me of a web site devoted to swapping clothes for free. Naturally I am am curious to see what that's all about. "Prêt à changer" means both to be ready to change yourself, but also your clothes.