I am finally sitting down to write some posts after 5 very inspirational weeks in Europe. As I mentioned before, my love of food sometimes won out over my love of clothing, but now I am ready to write about what I observed people wearing and other sartorial thoughts. I write with an awareness that I'll be making some generalizations, and that I could not possibly have gleaned a complete understanding of European style in one summer vacation. Still. . .
The first month of our vacation was spent in France, starting off with a week in Paris. Yes, this was heaven! Right around the corner from our apartment were a couple of consignment stores--really! I checked them out more than once, and found them to be a lot like our more disorganized thrift stores.
I also went into a number of very chic, pricey boutiques in our neighborhood. The salespeople were friendly, and, unlike in years past, customers were allowed to touch the clothing. (I was also able to fondle the fruit in Provence, but that is another story. See? I cannot resist mentioning food!) The clothing was organized by color and most of the items were in neutral tones though there were some florals as well. In terms of style, I saw a lot of loose fitting, drapy clothing, including those terrible harem pants. One of my very favorite stores, in Herford, Germany, is pictured above. I know this sounds hard to believe, but it was too hot there for me to try anything on. Really!
Something I liked about the window displays is the little cards below which tell the prices of the clothing. That way there is no mystery about the price point of a certain boutique when one enters.
The big department stores in Paris are magnificent. They are lavishly designed and decorated and carry a dizzying number of labels. However, after 2 hours in Galeries Lafayette I could not see straight and longed for a small, intimate boutique.
Of course there were some chain stores which could have been in any city. My oldest daughter got reprimanded for taking a photo in a Zara store.
It was interesting to think about the European approach to dressing in light of the wide array of clothing stores and vast opportunities to shop. If French women really buy just a few pieces each year, why are the stores so full of merchandise? And who is buying all of the cheaper, trendier pieces? From what I observed, even the young, 20-something women wore classic, well-made pieces. I suppose they may buy some fun accessories to spice up their wardrobe once in awhile. The teens dressed a lot like teens here, in Converse sneakers, skinny jeans, and T-shirts.
Still, there was a certain panache to how men and women dressed in France that makes their style enviable and unique. I'll address this in a future post.
