Manolo Blahnik - Unknown

Even as someone who isn't a much of a Manolophile (the heels are too skinny for me), I still can't resist looking at his creations. If you're like me, and you love hearing artists talk about their work (even if it's not work you, yourself, necessarily respond to), check out this video interview he did for Neiman Marcus. After watching it I am now considering putting him on my "Ten People You'd Invite to a Dinner Party" list. I love that he calls the island culture he grew up in "twisted" and attributes his creativity to growing up that way. (Having grown up on a nutty little island myself I can appreciate where he's coming from.) I also love that he says, "The ideas come at night--obviously." As an insomniac who started a blog to have something to do during long, sleepless hours, I get that, too. Come to think of it, maybe I'll have a go at those heels again. 

Scalamandre - Unknown

While I love this bag, to be honest, I'm more of a Brunschwig & Fils kind of gal, but if Scalamandre was good enough for Jackie, it's good enough for me. 

agnes b. - Paris, 1992

When I was 15 I bought a copy of Elle magazine (the French one--there was no American version at the time) and there was an article in it about the designer agnes b. who was quickly becoming her country's one-woman Gap. It took about five minutes for me to become a full-blown agnes b. addict and her boutiques are still some of my favorite places to check out when I'm over there (mostly for the people-watching--I always feel as if I'm watching the French versions of myself). After all this time, her simple logo still really holds up.

Au Vrai Chic Parisien - Paris, 1992

When I arrived in Paris in the summer of '92, virtually every shop was going through some sort of 1950s/rockabilly/American Graffiti-type phase and this store led the pack. As I remember, even the mannequins looked like the cast of Happy Days. Like penny loafers and poodle skirts, this fun little store is no longer.

Matins Calmes

This bag is rather unextraordinary except for the fact that it was the bag that started this whole thing for me. I had ducked into this store when it started to pour and asked for a business card. They were out and instead, gave me this.  Needless to say, a whole new chapter of my life opened up in that moment (as it would for anyone, really). If you go to about 6:29 on this, you'll get an idea of how I felt when I realized the turn my dumb little life was about to take. 

Sartore - Paris, 1992

 

No real story on this one--just thought it was cute.  It's from a shoe store in Paris that I vaguely remember having chamois-colored suede chairs for customers and I remember thinking "How on earth do they keep that suede clean?"

Victoire - Paris, 1992

It's hard to see it in the picture, but this bag from Victoire is a beautiful sea-green color and I remember that after I got it, sales clerks were all over me when I entered other stores. The stock is really, really heavy on this one; more like cardboard than paper. It's so sturdy you could probably turn it over, put some kind of top on it, and use it as an end table. 

Chantal Thomass - Paris, 1992

I love this bag, not just for the design (which is fantastic), but for what it represented to me at the time. I'd become a full-on nuisance at the now non-existent* Chantal Thomass boutique that first summer--treating it like a public museum at which one could spend hours and would not be expected to purchase anything. It was the most incredible place--giant Marie-Antionette-style ship chandeliers and pink as far as the eye could see. It was the only store in which I ever actually made any kind of "big" purchase--a $35 gold barette with little green ivy glued to it. Not only did I snag this incredible bag, but as it turned out, the barette was packaged in this beautiful little box which sits on my dresser to this day.

*That particular Chantal Thomass boutique closed many years ago, but the new one on rue St. Honoré is spectacular. Not quite the same feeling of grandeur as the old one, but still unapologetically hyper-feminine. 

Talbot's Christmas 2002

You've got to give Talbot's props for incorporating this awesome tartan into their 2002 Christmas bag. Want to look up your clan's pattern? Have a search through this site. You can even design your own with their cool "interactive weaver," whatever that is.