journey chic

just wanted to give a quick 'merci' to the femmes at journeychic, who recently blogged about the CSP book and tours....check out their other clever posts about chic ways to travel and inspirations to do so...

cheeky chocolates

designer Lolita Lempkia has partnered up with organic brand Bonneterre to produce some lovely gourmet goodies.....check out "sous le choc," a chocolate/almond bar, "sublime fondant," a chocolate/hazlenut spread, "the merveille,"a rare white tea blend, and "grands petits beurre," classic french butter cookies. the sweet treats are availble only at la grand epicerie at the moment, but at the end of next month, they will be widely available at gourmet groceries and even at duty free.

elle passions

the french version of elle magazine comes out on a weekly basis-- i'm always impressed that the mag is full of fun, fresh angles on fashion every week....and i'm also always intrigued by the little elle passions section they have, which features an outfit for sale at a reduced price, usually by a fairly well known french brand. you can check out the entire catalog of offerings by elle passions online, with everything from a classic trench to a trendy cashmere maxi sweater-- and the best part is that they ship internationally! [although for the US, you have to send them your order to get a quote first....]

en vacances....

chic shopping paris heads south.....to the south of france, to be exact. stay tuned for more updates from paris upon my return....bonne vacances!

zadig heads for the zenith

zadig & voltaire, a french label known for its rock-n-roll vibe, will launch its luxe line in the fall...be on the lookout for a 30-piece collection with items such as long cashmere dresses and little satin numbers too.

the chicest library

this one may be slightly out of the price range of us mere mortals, but its uber-chicness compelled me to blog about it....what happens when you take goyard, the luxury french leather goods brand dating to 1853, and marry it with visonnaire, the exclusive avant guard magazine, published only 3 times a year? if you are very fortunate, you'll get this limited edition trunk, with canary yellow lining which holds the first 50 editions of the magazine. calling all collectors...

this weekend in paris

• famous illustrator kiraz, who started designing his famous long-legged figures in the 50s, is on display at the musee carnavalet until 21 september. original gouaches, paintings, and publicity work are on display.
  
  
  
• karl lagerfeld's photos are quickly becoming as well known as his fashion design. check out his latest expo, versailles a l'ombre du soleil, at the chateau de versailles [until 7 september]
  
  
• and if you haven't yet given it a whirl, try out a velib, one of paris' new bikes-- pick it up one place, and drop it off at another, with pick up points every 300 meters throughout most of the city
  

back to school in style

the stores around paris have already begun to move out the sand shovels and pile in the backpacks and notebooks, ready for those coming back from vacation later this month....and just in time for back-to-school-- a cute line of backpacks, bags, and accessories such as snack bags, marble bags, and smocks, with retro cute imagery on them. available from new brand miniseri, at various sales points in paris and around france.

rebecca on france 24 tv

Here is my homemade video of my interview on France 24 this morning--less that professional quality, I know....but you can also check it out LIVE on France 24's website-- click on LIVE FEED. The show will be rebroadcast via the France 24 site today at 5pm [Paris time], and again tomorrow at 9.30pm, and Friday at 11.30pm.

colette x gap

while infamous concept store colette takes august off to do some renovations, they will set up a temporary shop in the big apple, in gap's flagship store on 54th and 5th avenue from september 5th to october 6th. what's in store? cool, limited edition products, naturally, such as a little marc jacobs bowling bag, and a steiff bear, designed by karl lagerfeld. plan to be in paris, not in nyc? not to worry, the same items will be available in the city of light when colette reopens, august 25th.

c'est chic, c'est bic

if you are like me, you probably never thought much about bic, other than the fact that they make pens and razors...well, the french company has gone and made your life as a tourist in france just a little easier...starting this fall, the company has partnered with french cell phone company orange to provide a prepaid bic phone for 49 euros....already charged up, sim card & 60 minutes of call time in place, and widely available at newstands, train stations, airports, etc. so now you have no more excuses when shoe shopping takes just a little more time than planned, and your cheri is waiting patiently at the cafe.....

hermes limited edition

the latest from hermes? 6 new scarves, designed by german bauhaus artist josef albers, in hommage to the square. using alber's innovative color techniques, which aim to show the interaction between colors, the eye-popping scarves are in limited edition-- only 200 of each. the box set runs 2000 euros, available at hermes, 24 rue du faubourg st. honore.