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

A Peculiar Place in Paris

Sometimes you get to visit strange and interesting places, and sometimes you manage to get nice outfit photos, and sometimes you visit strange and interesting places and yet don't get very nice outfit photos. Perhaps the lighting is not ideal, perhaps the person taking the photos is tired from sight seeing all day, perhaps you there in front of the camera are also quite obviously tired and jetlagged, no one can really say where things went wrong. What we can say is this: the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (museum of hunting and nature) is a rather odd little museum in Paris and well worth looking into even if you are running on too little sleep.

As you all probably realize by now from my other Paris posts, I like taxidermy and natural history displays, so when I heard about this smaller museum further off the well worn tourist path, I knew I had to add it to our itinerary. Mixing historical artworks, furnishings, hunting tools, and taxidermy with contemporary artwork inspired by hunting and the natural world, the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature is a very unique place indeed. Some of the modern artworks on display are downright creepy, such as the white human head sculptures with animal (think goats or lizard) glass eyes instead of human ones. The 18th century furnishings and oil paintings are beautiful, the taxidermy mounts are almost dusty but still morbidly serene, and the pretty inlaid antique muskets serve as a reminder that while guns are made to end and destroy life, they can also be beautiful thanks to artisans who's unique skills have since vanished into time.

I myself am a very anti gun, and in turn anti hunting, and quite a liberal modern person, which is why it is hard for me to understand why hundreds of years ago (and also now) people took pleasure in terrorizing and killing animals on a monumental scale. The museum's website states their goal as "It strives to construct a calm dialogue between all nature users, hunters and non-hunters. It aims to distribute the values of a humanist ecology within society and act with sincerity – respecting human dignity – for the long-lasting use of natural resources." Which is probably not the best translation from the French version of the statement, but is an interesting goal nonetheless. To present the history of hunting as fact, and the beauty and wonder of nature as fact too, alongside one another, without judging either to be more morally correct, the museum invites you to cast aside your position upon entry and also to make your own conclusion again in the end. It was a weird place to be honest, but what greater joy is there than traveling around discovering the world's odd places?

I actually still have one more outfit from Paris, but I'll save it for autumn when velvet seems more appropriate. Until then, stay curious travelers ;)

Black Linen Suit: Made by me
Blouse: Thrifted
Shoes: Amazon
Handbag, Brooch, Earrings, & Belt: Vintage
Bracelet: Made by me

Cadmium, Chrome, Cobalt, and Viridian Green

The print of this fabric does look a bit like impressionist brushwork doesn't it? I love all the shades of green with the dabs of black, tan, and grey mixed in, it makes styling this dress easy when there are so may options for colors of accessories. Still, I was limited in how many accessory sets I could bring on my trip, so here the dress is styled just with basic black. At least I got to wear a beret in Paris without it looking too cliche (I hope!).

I always love visiting the Musée d'Orsay, but I have to admit, this time I was a little too worn out to properly enjoy it. Traveling across the Atlantic and the resulting messy sleep schedule and endless walking does tend to catch up with me rather quickly. It could also be because, though I love the museum's galleries of painting in the more realism based styles like symbolism and naturalism (and all of the Art Nouveau goodness), I am oddly not the biggest fan of impressionist painting. I mean, impressionism is nice, but I often find it just doesn't wow me. I am a rococo girl, give me Fragonard, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Gainsborough. So when faced with gallery upon gallery of impressionist master works, I have something terrible to admit...I sat out much of them on a bench in favor of resting my screamingly sore feet. Yes, yes, I know, I'm a terrible uncultured human, but in my defense I had visited all these painting several times before! What a crazy position to be in, #privilege much? Sitting out the impressionists, what heresy!

So if you can find it in your heart to forgive me I would be much obliged. I wanted to save my strength for admiring all of the Art Nouveau, because art nouveau is much more my speed. I have this funny relationship with the d'Orsay too because I feel like every time I visit I discover new galleries that I somehow missed the time before. I should clarify that I stayed in Paris for five weeks or so in the summer of 2012 while taking some classes at the chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne and so I visited the d'Orsay first with my parents, then with my friend who came to visit with me, then again with another friend and her parents, again one last time by myself... all within those few weeks. So I always think I am rather familiar with the museum having visited several times, but every time I discover another room! This time it was the rooms beyond the grand white and gold salle des fêtes (the ballroom of the Hôtel d'Orsay part of the train station (the Orsay museum building was once a train station)) between the ballroom and the restaurant. I had no idea these galleries (salle 52 for those curious) existed and since they were full of more decorative arts I was super please to discover them! A surprise was a good way to wake up this weary traveler, but really what I needed was a restorative tea...

So it was good thing Laduree was our next stop. The Laduree on Run Bonaparte is just a 15 minute walk from the museum, so we headed over and had tea and pastries in their gorgeous little deep blue velvet tea room. Just the thing to restore me before we tried to find Deyrolle nearby, which was a most magical experience as I have detailed already. A busy day indeed and another great one, but goodness was I happy to spend the rest of the evening relaxing back at the air bnb!

It's strange how this trip already feels like it was so long ago and yet it has only been a month! Where does the time go? I've got a couple more Paris outfits to show you sometime, but I think for now we'll jump up to the present. I have been finishing up some new sewing projects I wish to share, and have tons more planned for the months ahead. I do wonder how I'll keep up with my sewing, making videos, the new pattern drafting series, and working at my new job, but right now it seems like an exciting challenge!

Dress: Made by me
Belt, Handbag, & Jewelry: Vintage
Hat: Target
Shoes: Royal Vintage Shoes