week 2

Hi everyone!

So like last week, I'm still walking around Paris trying to absorb the culture. No matter how many hours I spend strolling through the crowds, I still can't get over how many people there are! And I love to watch the constant stream of persons walk by while sitting at a café with a hot chocolate. I hear so many different languages and see so many different races everywhere I go; it's just so amazing and so different from Tucson. And because there is such a blend of different cultures, the fashion I see everyday on each person is never the same. Now I can spot a group of tourist anywhere with their berets and sweaters from the tourist shops.

My advisor is currently working on a new project this week, which means I haven't been able to spend much time with her. She just finished a project focused on the era of Marie Antoinette. She was the assistant to a known (well not known to me) French stylist who was working with an American stylist for the Harper's Bazaar magazine. My advisor was in charge of collecting a variety of shoes, jewelry, hats, gloves, shoe buckles, hand mirrors, fans etc resembling that time period for her boss to pick from: that is to say, she had a lot of things to gather for the photo shoot. That brought her to the Flee Market of Paris, the biggest flee market in Europe.

This market is HUGE!
Just aisle after aisle, store after store of anything you can think of: beads, jars, statues, eyes, art, eighteenth century fans, toys, furniture, paintings, chandeliers, clothes (tons of clothes!), clocks. The list goes on! I went to the flee market to help my advisor return all the items she borrowed from a vintage store. On our way, I passed a number of stands all with something different; I even passed this life sized pure white crocodile which I thought about buying, but then decided against it.
When we arrived to the shop, I got a chance to look around and it completely blew my mind. I wanted to live there! Everything was original products from known fashion figures like Coco Chanel. The dresses, shoes, shirts, pants etc there were so elegant or disturbing to the eye; the combination of colored fabrics clashed with each other but somehow worked. And behind each woolen purse and green tuxedo was a rich history of a time I'd only ever glanced over in history class.  It was just another example showing me there really isn't any one ideal French look of the Paris people.

I am sketching outfits here and there with clothing that catch my eye but I'm still waiting for my inspiration. Other than that, I'm truly enjoying my time here.