Brit Chic

If you're not new to this blog, you might have noticed my love for most things British. This doesn't include crazy drinking habits and young girls puking into dustbins in the Tube. It's more about London, beautiful countryside, weather and ever changing light, green lawns, grazing sheep, rain boots, cool artists, cream tea and fashion.

We're lucky here in Paris, London came to us for a whole month. In the Printemps department store, a month long "London Mania" takes place right now. 

British designers, the Cambridge Satchel Company and Burberry, of course, with a special pop-up store. Quite nice. I kind of fancy Christopher Bailey, his sense of beauty, the models he picks (he had Cara Delevigne before anybode else noticed her!), the shows (the A/W 2012 with the rain, incredible...), his cute accent, his sense of music and the fact he has a house in Yorkshire (big plus points).

We're lucky once more here in Paris, and that's because we have the Printemps' top floor terrace with an amazing view from an unexpected place. It's for free, it doesn't end in a month and you don't have to queue for 2 hours to get up there, like at the Eiffel tower...

 

Here Comes the Sun

According to what I see on Facebook, road tripping in the USA has become a very popular summer holiday among my friends. Seeing all those beautiful pictures reminds me of that beautiful honeymoon we went on three years ago. I would go again. Anytime. Even though I am on honeymoon every day...

I don't know about you, but for me the greatest souvenirs I can bring home from a trip are things I can wear. It works a bit like my husband's scarf. If I wear them, I get to spend my day a bit where I bought them. Unfortunatelly, my amazing jeans from San Francisco are long dead, maybe because I wore them every other day... (where can I find great jeans again??). My earrings, a souvenir from Grand Teton National Park, a wonderful place in Wyoming, are still going strong. They made their way into my closet all the way from Grand Teton's Indian Arts Museum. That summer (and I hope this tradition continues), every week for several months, a different Indian know how and art was presented at the museum. I watched the lovely lady work her beads and loved it. I am ashamed to say I don't remeber if she was Hopi or Navajo, but I knew immediately, this was a souvenir that would have a special place in my heart. I had hard time choosing the right pair, they were all so beautiful.

I guess I picked the right one, for the moment and even though the golden colour is a bit faded, these are still one of the statement earrings I wear the most. 

They bring back memories of a warm summer day, of a skilled kraftswoman, of a long hike around the lake, of a huge ospray sitting on a tree, of a thundering waterfall and of sweet corn grilled on our campsite fire. 

Here came the sun, all the way from the lovely Indian lady, to make my day brighter.

August's Photoshoot

Something Borrowed

I don't know about you, but I love borrowing little things to wear from my husband. Mostly t-shirts to sleep in (I am not showing you these) and scarves. We actually even have two scarves that we bought in Yorkshire and that were meant to be "scarves to be shared" from the very start. 

These are nice, but I really like the feeling of spending my day with something borrowed from my other half. It makes my sentimental and romantic self feel like we are a bit together all day even if we're each at our respective works on different sides of Paris. 

Scarves keep me warm, they keep me stylish and the borrowed ones make me feel loved and glad for my marriage. They are my secret weapons that give me self-confidence and all kinds of warmth and kindness I might need at any given moment. 

Everyone shall sometimes borrow something, to feel you have somebody with you wherever you go. It works the other way, too. Borrow and lend, lend and borrow. A scarf, a t-shirt, trousers... No limits.

PS.: My favourite jeans shorts used to be my husband's jeans (not shorts, obviously).

Rain and Underwear

This past Sunday, we got a little preview of Autumn. It rained most of the day and the temperature peaked somewhere around 14'C. I loved it. I love walking around in the rain (with a big umbrella and a hot cup of tea when I get back home).

 

Seeing the weather, we headed out to see an exhibition in the Musée des Arts décoratifs. It's probably my favourite museum in Paris, the permanent collections are great and all the exhibits we've seen there were extremely interesting, well done and lovely. 

In the past few years we've seen Hussein Chalayan, Louis Vuitton & Marc Jacobs and Fashioning Fashion. All great.

The one currently on (and till the beginning of November) is called "La mécanique des dessous, une histoire indiscrète de la silhouette". If you ever had questions about underwear in Europe from the Renaissance up to today, this is where you might find most of your answers. Oh, and you can even try some of the torture devices on.

Starry Nights

There is something refreshing about the end of August, about late summer. The nights and mornings get cooler, in a very pleasant way and the days are still warm and very sunny. This weather reminds me of my childhood / early teenage summer camps when we'd melt like ice creams running around during the hot days then freeze our little butts off during the cold nights. 

How we loved the roaring fire and the warmth of our sleeping bags and hated to walk around in the silent and cold camp when it was our turn to be "on guard". Even though I am still scared as hell when I think about it, these were the moments I learned to appreciate the pure beauty of a sparkling, star dusted sky. So many stars it was impossible to take them all in. Everytime now, when I see a really beautiful starry sky, when the night is so black you can even see the Milky Way, those childhood memories get back to me and I stand again on the cold damp soil, surrounded by nothing but deep forests and a canopy so beautiful it takes my breath away.

I might have replaced the stars by flowers in today's outfit, but it made my day anyway. Oh, and the stars landed in millions on my shoes.

 

 

In my early teenage years, I watched those starry canopies from forests my grandparents and parents couldn't set their feet in for over 40 years, just because they were too close to "the capitalist West". I am so glad we can go there, and further around for over 20 years now. Don't forget history, don't forget that 45 years ago Czechoslovakia was invaded by Soviet tanks, but look forward and enjoy every day, that's what our ancestors asked for but couldn't really do. Let's enjoy starry nights and the immensity of the universe, let's dream every day!

Across the Border

First of all, sorry for this huge vacuum since my last post. I didn't really have access to the Internet last week. But I had access to family, nature, long walks and mountain air. 

Living in Europe, it feels great to travel around, forgetting there once (not so long ago!) were borders. Living, working, traveling where you want within this one big, beautiful and diverse place that is Europe. 

Last week, we went for two hikes on the Czech-Polish "border" in the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše). Up there, with the birds signing, the clouds and fog rolling from the valleys and the pure, fresh mountain air, I was happy. And quite importantly, my always dry eyes were happy in the mountaint air, too!

It's a great feeling when your legs hurt, because you spent your day hiking in a beautiful landscape.

Krkonoše <3 p="">