A very quick trip to London spawned no visits to consignment shops, but much delight in finding splashes of botanical and sartorial color in and around Kew Gardens.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Spring color in London suburbs
A very quick trip to London spawned no visits to consignment shops, but much delight in finding splashes of botanical and sartorial color in and around Kew Gardens.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Thrifting in the Marais in early March
This past weekend I met up in Paris with my old school friend Carla. We agreed to meet in the Marais neighborhood, near the Place des Vosges. On a Saturday afternoon, the ambience was reminiscent of Soho in New York: the sidewalks filled with people shopping. 
We stumbled upon a vintage market which was packed with stuff and people. Overall it was a bit difficult to browse, but Carla managed to spot a dress that was reminiscent of a 1970s career woman like Mary Tyler Moore, who remains one of her idols. It also felt sort of White House in the 1960s -- something that Jackie might have worn.
Nothing was jumping out at me, probably because too much was jumping out at me at the same time. We did wander into a bead shop that sold mostly semi-precious stones. I asked the crew of Chinese salespeople whether they could put a clasp on three strings of very small smokey quartz beads, which they did for a mere five euros.
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The next day I visited friends who live just south of Paris, near Melun. They drove me to Milly la Forêt where we visited the house of Jean Cocteau, the artist, author and filmmaker known for his imaginative adaptation of "The Beauty and the Beast." Cocteau himself was quite the dandy.
In the town of Milly la Forêt there was also a "brâderie" or antiques market in an old grain hall.
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Back in Lyon, it's spring, and I'm starting to pack my bags. I stopped by "Des Habits et Vous," the consignment shop I have mentioned before, where I found a silk skirt that I could wear into the next season without having it add much weight to my suitcase. I wish I could have captured on tape the ambiance in the shop. A woman with a very short hair cut and Doc Martensesque boots was trying to decide between a bright pink knit dress and a black one. She opted for the pink one. She looked great in both. While trying on jackets, another woman shared her weight fluctuations caused by pregnancy and quitting smoking. I love the way we all end up sharing the same mirror and a little bit about ourselves.
Each time I walk into "Des Habits et Vous" the radio is playing "France Culture," the French equivalent of NPR. Yesterday, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Algerian independence from France, the theme was the "Harki" or Algerian native who fought alongside the French during the war of Independence. Let's just say that having people analyzing the problematic identity of the Harki as background sound to looking at clothes alters the experience. From self-indulgent to what, it's difficult to say. After the program on the Harki there was a historical analysis of hypnosis. That one I completed blocked out as I was trying on clothes. I realize that the owner of the shop wants to listen to something while she sits in her shop all day long. Perhaps she could alternate between France Culture and France Musique, just to have a little bit less talk, and a little more music?
Next stop: Toulouse! What consignment shops are awaiting me there? And what sounds have they chosen as background noise?
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Overall, this winter I wore the same clothes, the same shoes, the same coat or jacket, day after day, without that feeling of weariness I had experienced in previous years. Maybe some wisdom comes with age, like putting in the suitcase clothes that are well made and so comfortable that they become "classics" on my body. I feel like I am carving out a "look"that fits my personality and makes me feel confident. I'm not sure that I could reduce this look to a "Mary Tyler Moore/White House in the '60s" aura, I'm not sure that my look even has an aura. Comfort comes first, funky comes second, fitting in comes last. I stay safely within the earth tones and the greys. Purple means I'm going out on a limb. I do wish I weren't so afraid of color...
We stumbled upon a vintage market which was packed with stuff and people. Overall it was a bit difficult to browse, but Carla managed to spot a dress that was reminiscent of a 1970s career woman like Mary Tyler Moore, who remains one of her idols. It also felt sort of White House in the 1960s -- something that Jackie might have worn.
Nothing was jumping out at me, probably because too much was jumping out at me at the same time. We did wander into a bead shop that sold mostly semi-precious stones. I asked the crew of Chinese salespeople whether they could put a clasp on three strings of very small smokey quartz beads, which they did for a mere five euros.
************************************
The next day I visited friends who live just south of Paris, near Melun. They drove me to Milly la Forêt where we visited the house of Jean Cocteau, the artist, author and filmmaker known for his imaginative adaptation of "The Beauty and the Beast." Cocteau himself was quite the dandy.
In the town of Milly la Forêt there was also a "brâderie" or antiques market in an old grain hall.
********************
Back in Lyon, it's spring, and I'm starting to pack my bags. I stopped by "Des Habits et Vous," the consignment shop I have mentioned before, where I found a silk skirt that I could wear into the next season without having it add much weight to my suitcase. I wish I could have captured on tape the ambiance in the shop. A woman with a very short hair cut and Doc Martensesque boots was trying to decide between a bright pink knit dress and a black one. She opted for the pink one. She looked great in both. While trying on jackets, another woman shared her weight fluctuations caused by pregnancy and quitting smoking. I love the way we all end up sharing the same mirror and a little bit about ourselves.
Each time I walk into "Des Habits et Vous" the radio is playing "France Culture," the French equivalent of NPR. Yesterday, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Algerian independence from France, the theme was the "Harki" or Algerian native who fought alongside the French during the war of Independence. Let's just say that having people analyzing the problematic identity of the Harki as background sound to looking at clothes alters the experience. From self-indulgent to what, it's difficult to say. After the program on the Harki there was a historical analysis of hypnosis. That one I completed blocked out as I was trying on clothes. I realize that the owner of the shop wants to listen to something while she sits in her shop all day long. Perhaps she could alternate between France Culture and France Musique, just to have a little bit less talk, and a little more music?
Next stop: Toulouse! What consignment shops are awaiting me there? And what sounds have they chosen as background noise?
**************************
Overall, this winter I wore the same clothes, the same shoes, the same coat or jacket, day after day, without that feeling of weariness I had experienced in previous years. Maybe some wisdom comes with age, like putting in the suitcase clothes that are well made and so comfortable that they become "classics" on my body. I feel like I am carving out a "look"that fits my personality and makes me feel confident. I'm not sure that I could reduce this look to a "Mary Tyler Moore/White House in the '60s" aura, I'm not sure that my look even has an aura. Comfort comes first, funky comes second, fitting in comes last. I stay safely within the earth tones and the greys. Purple means I'm going out on a limb. I do wish I weren't so afraid of color...
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