Nina Ricci at Tuileries

My experience was a lot different at the Nina Ricci show than at Balmain. The show took place in a tent right in the middle of Jardin des Tuileries and a white carpet was laid out from the far end of the Garden,to the entrance of the tent. What this meant was that all of us common folk could watch as the select few invited guests made their way to the fashion show. Among the guests was Emmanuelle Alt, Editor in Chief of French Vogue. Also hanging out was Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist!

Top photo - Emmanuelle Alt (Left); Bottom photo - Scott Schuman

This is just a handful of the fashion show attendees. You can see the full SS 2014 Nina Ricci collection here.

Balmy at Balmain

It was an excellent day to experience my very first high end fashion show scene. I say 'scene' because I never actually went to the Balmain show but instead hung around outside and took in all the action. The day started out a bit rocky as I led DJB and I to Le Grand Palais instead of the Le Grand Hotel...oops. We arrived nonetheless and observed the following. 

There were a few dozen photographers hanging around outside and from time to time would swarm together to take pictures of the fashionable people that were going into the show (or the fashionable people who were lingering outside, dressed in their Sunday best, to have their picture taken outside of the show). 

The photogs went crazy over a waify older women in a floral dress who I later found out was Anna Dello Russo, editor-at-large of the Japanese fashion bible, Vogue Japan. 

Jason Statham of The Tranporter movies, arriving at the show to watch his lady love Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, close the show. 

The highlight of the show was seeing Bill Cunningham, fashion photographer for the New York Times. I happened to catch his documentary "Bill Cunningham New York" a few months ago on tv and would recommend it to anyone who is fascinated by fashion, art and photography. He has made a living for the past 50 years taking unexpected photographs of everyday people, socialites and fashion personalities. Who knew I would fan-girl over an 84 year old man?

Oh, and Anna Wintour was there. Front row. As usual.

Overall, it was a very cool experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the fashion and chaos of it all! If you want to see the full Balmain SS 2014 collection, you can find it here.

Models Georgia May Jagger and Joan Smalls

Galeries Lafayette Fashion Show

I had the chance to attend a fashion show put on by the mothership of all department stores, Galeries Lafayette here in Paris. This gorgeous 10 story building is located on bd Haussman in the 9th and has the distribution rights to hundreds of different brands ranging from Haute couture (think top designers like Dior, Prada and Marc Jacobs) to casual wear and Pret a Porter. It also has an amazing terrace and view to boot!

Skirt - Robert Rodriguez; Blouse - Jacob; Shoes - Zara; Purse - Z Spoke by Zac Posen; Watch - Michael Kors; Bracelets - The Bay

As registration was mandatory and all spots had already been filled, I was put on the cancellation list and told to come to the 7th floor of this gorgeous store before the start of the show. If there was a cancellation, I would be able to attend. So I went...alone. I waited patiently in line (more like a large jumble of pushy people) and once I reached the entrance was told to 'wait here' until it was certain that there was a seat available. A few minutes later I was seated, in the very back row. Not ideal for pictures but this girl was not complaining. I got in! I was perfectly content with my seat and was pleasantly surprised when the nice french door man came to get me and re-assign me to a lone seat in the front row! Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I went alone after all. The show featured several of the brands sold at the store. Here are some of my favorite looks.

You Can Stand Under My Parapluie

You literally could all stand under my massive umbrella, which came in quite handy at the start of the evening. Thankfully the rain tapered off, which made Paris' Fashion Night Out that much better. 

Blazer - Zara; Blouse - BCBG; Pants - Jacob; Pumps - Nine West; Belt - J Crew; Purse - Z Spoke by Zac Posen; Umbrella - Borrowed; Earrings - Unknown

I decided on a pretty conservative look for the night including a black blazer and collared lace blouse, but mixed things up a bit with a nice printed pant and zebra print belt. I'm also debuting this gorgeous Z Spoke by Zac Posen purse that I snagged in New York, for a bargain! Although it got a bit wet that night, it completed the outfit nicely.

Styling a Casual Tee

As mentioned in an earlier post, I purchased the official t-shirt for VOGUE fashion night out 2013. The big decision around this was how I was going to present it. After all, it is just a t-shirt. 

Skirt - Urban outfitters; Blazer - Jacob; Booties - Aldo; Clutch - Nine West; Ring - Silpada; Earrings - Unknown; Sunnies - Ray Ban; Watch - Bulova

I quickly realized that all it would take was some fake leather pleats and a pop of colour. I decided on a short pleated pleather skirt to balance out the bagginess of the tee and the pops of colour resided with some blue suede booties and a clutch. For an additional touch of sophistication, I added a tuxedo blazer.