Morning in Montmartre

Perhaps the party had indeed run a bit long they thought, finally wandering back out onto the streets bathed in clear crisp morning light. The early risers already loitering looked upon their eveningwear with warranted suspicion, no doubt picturing a night of absinthe fueled debauchery that couldn't have been farther from the truth. Discussion was the activity, fervent debates over the merits of art, of abstraction, or the modern validity of operetta. The bakers and parishioners of the morning light couldn't understand. Sacre-Coeur loomed, seeming to pass the largest judgement of all. Velvet in the morning, metallic shoes teetering on cobblestones, and a headache only a long nap would resolve. 

Vague nostalgic musing on Montmartre in the twenties, but who now could say what it was really like then?  Here are the very last photos from my trip to Paris in the spring. I had been saving them for a more velvet appropriate season, and as fall is approaching it finally seemed I may be in the clear to share them. I made this dress especially to wear in Paris, one simply must have fun with 1920s looks in Paris after all.

The dress is another 1 hour, of course, as is my custom! I really need to branch out, but this most simple of deco shapes is just so easy to create. The subtle Celtic patterned rings were embossed into the velvet using a hot iron, a spray bottle of water, and a carved wooden stamp I found at Michaels crafts store. Hemming velvet like this is super irritating, so I cheated and used a length of metallic ribbon at the hem since the dress was pretty medieval inspired already. I used the left over bits of velvet to try and make a wrap/jacket over blouse thing, the geometric pattern of which was very inspired by Japanese haori, but I wasn't perfectly happy with how that came out as I didn't have enough fabric to make the sleeves wide enough for a true haori look. As for accessorizing, I couldn't bring too many pairs of shoes with me to Paris so I just have my old beaten-up t-straps in gold and black, and then I wore a long gold and black beaded necklace to match. I purchased the tiny golden handbag (more akin to a piece of jewelry than a purse really) just  to go with this dress, and it's too small for anything besides a lipstick and an ID/credit card for perhaps a cell phone free night out. 

I'm sure I looked a bit out of place amongst the other tourists, but I didn't mind. It was a chilly morning so we stopped for a warm crepe with nuttella before heading back down from Montmartre back into the heart of Paris for a museum visit and then yet another trip to Laduree for tea. It was our last full day in Paris, and we hopped all over the city before ending the night with a touristy river cruise to see Paris lit up at night. So dreamy right? Anyone want to pay for me to fly back to Europe again is welcome to get in touch ;)

Dress & cardigan(?), Necklace & Earrings: Made by me
Shoes: Urban Outfitters (over a decade ago...)
Handbag: Vintage