Five Style Lessons I learned from the Women of Paris

Guys. Guess what.

Paris was   E V E R Y T H I N G   I dreamed.

Everything and more.

The four days I was there filled me to the absolute edge with inspiration. The grey roofs, the impeccable pastries, the falling leaves, the cracked stone facades, the moody skies, the contrast of bizarre modern art hanging on walls from the 18th century, the crowded chimneys, the police sirens always sounding in perfect fifths, the aggressive *pop* of a Metro door flying open, the ubiquitos monuments, the presence of untamed wildflowers in perfectly kept royal gardens. And of course, the fashion...

Holy lord, the fashion. Our trip happened to coincide with Fashion Week so let me tell you....all of Paris was on POINT. But I got the feeling that they would have been even if it wasn't fashion week - the style I saw in Paris was timeless, off the cuff, completely natural. As if these people woke up with darkened, angular brows and silk scarves jauntily peeking out of their aged leather crocodile bags. 

The women of Paris were straight up impeccable. I have no other words.

Of course I don't speak french, and couldn't even if I tried, so there was no way I could have talked to any of them. I tried to absorb as much as I could through osmosis, and a few clear lessons have stuck out to me since I've been back in California. All of the below images were found on Pinterest - some are actually French women, some aren't, but they're all totally inspirational.

Lesson #1: Makeup-free face + dark brows +/- bright lip = perfection

I saw this look everywhere. Powerful eyebrows, all unique in shape & composition, all darkened to the max. Some ladies peppered on a bright, saturated lip, some didn't. But all of them looked flawless. Notably, most of the women I saw in Paris had almost no makeup on their skin (no bronzer, foundation, cover-up, blush, highlighters...nada). It's insane to say this but I was impressed - it was completely refreshing to see crowds of women walking around with dark circles and uneven freckles and marks on their skin, out and proud, not only beautiful in their honesty but ACTUALLY beautiful. For real. I came back home and admired the greyish brown lines underneath my own eyes, for the first time in my life.

Lesson #2: Always Something Masculine

The ladies of Paris seem to have always had a knack for nabbing things from the men's side of the store and making them entirely their own. (I'm remembering Brigitte Bardot in an oversized blue men's button down.) I have some tomboy swag in me as well, but the women I encountered in Paris took it to the next level. A flash of tweed. Double monkstrap leather shoes. Oversized blazers. Stiff hats. Houndstooth. Baggy pants. All decidedly masculine, but all made utterly feminine and fascinating by the wearers.

Lesson #3: Air dried, imperfect, verrrrrry shiny hair

Gorgeous, clean, slightly messy, brilliant tresses. And a lot more wet-ish hair out in the wild than I expected. Inspiration for sleeping in a few extra minutes and leaving the hair dryer under the sink.

Lesson 4: All-red monochrome = FIRE.

A couple of months back I wore an all-red ensemble inspired heavily by my all time style icon, Solange. I felt a bit "out there", more ostentatious than normal, but also 100% like myself. I was delighted to see a ridiculous number all of head-to-toe red get ups on the streets of Paris. Red is such a statement color that even small accents of it have become classics: red nails, or a red lip. A full outfit of red feels assertive, confident, and considered - the ultimate sartorial power play.

Lesson #5, the most important of all: CONFIDENCE.

The level of confidence that I felt emanating from the stylish women I encountered was thiiiiick. Like a protective bubble surrounded them. Like they looked flawless for themselves only, and didn't give two shits what anybody else thought. Like they didn't even know if they were wearing stilettos or sneakers, like they forgot if they were wearing makeup, like they forgot they got dressed at all that day. It was utterly inspiring, to be reminded so visually that...

...You get dressed for you. For your own joy, necessity, & comfort.

It's just for you. And if you feel fierce/cool/comfortable/firey/confident, then guess what, YOU ARE.

It was 100% the best lesson I picked up in Paris.

More notes from France (including a play-by-play of my favorite things we did) coming soon!

Bisous,

-M

Color your world: 36 interior inspirations

I've always been a color addict, and it used to primarily come through in my clothes. I was a master pattern mixer, never found two colors I couldn't stick together somehow, never met a floral pairing I didn't love.  My clothes these days are far more neutral, but my interior design tastes are getting brighter every day. Our house now is mostly white with a few colors splashed throughout (aqua and navy blue in the bedroom, millennial pink & grey in the living room, red and blues in the kitchen), but I've been loving looking at spaces that use color in a big way.

Whether it's through dark saturation, bright injections of light, or strange & unexpected pops of color, here are 36 interiors that aren't afraid to use color for added impact, interest, and memorability.
 

The Darks

Image via The Socialite Family

I love the moody, dark effect of using large swaths of saturated paint. As long as a space gets enough natural light, using dark paint makes everything feel notable and historic, which in turn makes everything in the room have an art gallery-like prominence. The only caveat here is that it seems like dark spaces need to be impeccably maintained - dust will show immediately, and disorder or mess can quickly make the space seem tiny.

The Brights

Image via Design Meet Style

Bright pastels used liberally in interiors invite airiness. They feel calm & relaxed, and though pastels in clothing invoke precious-ness, they don't have the same effect in interiors. On the contrary I feel like pastel-heavy rooms invite a bit more messiness and disorganization. Rumpled sheets, a pile of magazines in a corner, or a stray cup of coffee somewhere.

The Delightfully Bizarre

Image via Apartment Therapy

A shot of the unexpected, in high-brow spaces or simple kitchens, goes a long long way. Pairing colors that might not instantly "go" (like the olive green and lavender in the first picture below) is a quick way to create intrigue. A splash of color on cabinets or doors, or a full blown stripe down the middle of a room - these offbeat choices make the rooms completely unique. It seems to work best when other elements in the room are pretty classic.

All of these images are from my Pinterest.

Come say hi!

xoxo,

-Marie

Current Obsession: Dancing Dreams

If I could have any career, no restrictions, no limits, regardless of whether or not I have any talent, I would dance. Maybe not ballet (hip hop & jazz are more my vibe), but as a kid I dreamed of being a dancer. I had three long, lean, tall sisters, and I was squat with stocky legs - my mom occasionally referred to me as her "little football player" (hey, she was seeing signs - I can throw the hell out of a football to this day). My body wasn't built for ballet, and at the end of the day I guess my soul needs a little more messiness and imperfection than ballet allows. That being said, the wardrobe of a ballerina onstage (sequins, feathers, shine) and off (leotards, sheer tights, flats, tied back hair) gives me endless inspiration. Maybe its my impending 30th birthday but lately I want to feel lithe, springy, ready to pounce - as light as a ballerina. Anyway, here's a few images that are inspiring me lately.

All of them are on my Pinterest page - come say hey! 

Sheer Genius

I love the effect of a sheer panel. One layer gives you sexy, and the more layers you add the more floaty & romantic the vibe becomes. I've also been wearing a lot of thin white tees and tanks with black or red bras - sort of bizzare, but I love the effect.

Feminine Athleisure

Gorgeous sweatpants, basically. Soft, tight, simple. Athleisure I can get behind.

Dresses, Dresses, Dresses

Ballerina tutus are obviously magical, but they feel too young. These days I'm more into slinky, pale slip dresses in silk & velvet.

Buns on Top

I'm falling back in love with very high top knots - the bigger, the fluffier, the messier, the better. 

xoxo,

-Marie 

Hi again! + A few current obsessions.

Hey guys!

Man it's been a while. No posts for 5 months is for sure blogger suicide, but the good news is I've always had a healthy amount of perspective about what this blog is, who its meant for, and why I write it. To spell it out: This blog is a space for me, a place to record thoughts & inspirations, a place to return to for comfort & recharging & musing. It's meant for me, and for anybody who is curious about the same things I am. I write it because it's an outlet, it's a log, and it's fun. I don't do this for anyone but myself, which is why I take breaks when I need to. It's the only way I know how to keep writing.

I also haven't written in a while because good lord, my interests are truly so tiny & unimportant in the context of the daily political shitshow we're all living through. On bad days things feel tasteless, dull, doomed- like I'm so deadened by the news that everything loses meaning. Then, some days every flower springing from the ground seems like a goddamn tear-inducing miracle, and I remind myself to STFU with the despair and KEEP FIGHTING. It's a rollercoaster and it takes a lot of energy to stay engaged, which takes away from my ability to care about what me & other folks are wearing. Honestly, who cares in the grand scheme?

The thing is, I still do. In a smaller scale, with a heavy dose of awareness about the insignificance of fashion*. (*As a distraction, not as an industry. The fashion industry actually has an absolutely ENORMOUS worldwide significance & corresponding responsibility that I'm working to understand better, more on that later!) I still care, I'm still fascinated, I'm still engaged, I still believe the clothes we choose are reflections of the people we are, or were, or aspire to be, or are afraid to become. Even in the chaos, we still pick out armor every day and go out into the world. And the persistence of that choice, through troubled times & smooth sailing alike, is fascinating to me.

So maybe I'll step back into writing this little blog. Dip a toe in and see if I can challenge myself to stay engaged in my silly passions, if for no other reason than I refuse to lose. I refuse to lose my silly passions. I won't.

So!

All that's to say, hey again guys. I don't have outfit photos to share (it's been literally months since I've taken any), but I do have some recent obsessions I can tell you all about.

Books, & finding the time to read again

I used to read every single night before bed. I loved letting my mind wander, and I enjoyed the feeling of my eyelids getting heavy and the slow blur of words on a page as I'd slip into dreams. Over the past year, though, I've gotten out of the habit and have found myself more often than not falling asleep to nothing but my own exhaustion. I've been trying to fix this over the last few months - as a result I have a few obsessions to share: 

1) Salt Fat Acid Heat - I've only had this book for a few days, and I'm already addicted. I'm fascinated by every paragraph, and Samin Nosrat makes me as excited about the chemistry of cooking as when I first saw a science fair volcano erupt in 2nd grade. Haven't actually made any of the recipes yet, but I've learned more about salt than I ever thought possible (including the proper way to measure and distribute a "palmful" of kosher salt). I'm making it sound boring because I'm not as effective a writer as she is, but I swear, this book rules.

2) Sweetbitter - Give me a sweaty, visceral book about city life and it's vices any day of the week. I read this over two weeks and would look forward to it every single night. Basic synopsis: a girl raised in Midwestern-blandness moves to New York City and lands an entry-job at one of the most storied, famous, respected restos in the city. The book is dark & bright, full of flavor & texture, painfully romantic. I loved it.

3) Between the World and Me - I'm not normally a nonfiction reader, but non-fiction with the artful grace of Ta-Nehisi Coates warrants a major exception. Friends told me I'd finish it in a few days, but it is dense. And necessary. It's wrong to rush it. I find myself reading every sentence three or four times, because every single word is jam packed with truth, pain, and a relentlessly honest perspective.

4) Beautiful Ruins - this book jumps back and forth through time, and feels as expansive as an epic MGM musical from the 50s. Sooo, of course I loved it. Jess Walter takes us from 1960s Amalfi coast to modern day Los Angeles to rainy 80s Edinburgh to Lake Tahoe & the Donner Party in the 19th century. As disparate as these places may seem, it all serves to tell a lovely story about love, fame, and the living in the wake of our choices. I highly recommend.

Podcasts

There are podcasts that bring consistent joy & laughs every time they're released (Switched on Pop, The Read), podcasts that make me feel a little less insane in an insane world (Pod Save America, Strangers, Revisionist History). They're fantastic commute company, and I love listening to them while I put together dinner at the end of a long day.

Ballerina off-duty style

All I want to wear these days is soft, soft, comfortable, slinky things. Think slip dresses, soft pants, boyfriend jeans, bare-looking silk camisoles, cashmere sweaters. Side braids & top buns. These ballet flats (I have them in three colors). A touch of some over-the-top costume jewelry in the form of huge vintage clip on earrings. Essentially, I want to look like I just walked out of a dress rehearsal for the Nutcracker. This is a crazy departure from the norm for me - for years I've been all colors, patterns, florals and lace. I still love all that, but there's something about dressing simply that feels right these days.

Spritzes & alcohol-light cocktails

Unfortunately for my liver, I am about to turn 30, and this body can't always handle the long nights like she used to. I am a firm believer in nightly cocktail hour, but I've been needing to scale back on potency. This has lead to an obsession with spritzes, in all of their various forms. My good friend actually picked this book up for me in a bottle shop south of SF and I have loved flipping through it - it's a lovely combination of geography, history, recipes & technique, and overall reverence for the hours between work & sleep, when a few bubbles, a bitter liqueur, and the light of sunset invite us all to start dreaming a little early. (My favorite version of a homemade spritz so far is Campari, champagne, Gerolsteiner mineral water, and a grapefruit peel twist for oil & scent.)

Anyway, more soon.

To love, to the fight, and to the fight to stay inspired.

xoxo,

-Marie