Let's Get Together!

In one of our last posts on summer's street style, here is one of the oddest, yet cutest (yes, gentlemen, I said "cute") trends: moving in groups, preferably with the same exact dress codes.

Though I always thought pulling a David and Victoria was kind of silly, I'm now wondering if I wasn't just being a French snob ;)

She's Got The Funk

This is to show you that a little really goes a long way sometimes ... Remember your Playmobil? Then I guess it's time to get them out of the basement and play.

Here, Funky Lady is playing with the pirate theme, though you can of course also be a nurse, a police officer, a construction worker... Gotta LOVE this!

By the way, and as a side note, you'll probably have to enlarge the pictures in the last posts to view them clearly. Don't ask me why, can't figure it out (yet ;)

Marinière

After a long period of working on my other business (you know, the serious internet one... actually, no, you don't know, but that's quite ok ;), I'm back with pictures from this summer in Paris.

I spent some time there on and off, amazed, again, at how Parisians constantly redefine femininity. Why? How? I'm still trying to nail it down myself. In the meantime, I'm just grateful to be able to watch. And share with you...

This week, you'll find a glimpse of the overwhelming number of sailors in town?? *

* Tried to take a picture of myself, but it just ended up silly ;)

The Good Thing

Click to enlarge*

While most of us would be hard pressed to find g-reeeaaat things about life in an economic crisis, style wise there definitely are some advantages. This year's fashion focuses a lot on accessories, of which you can find from the cheapest to the most ridiculously expensive.

It's time...

To look in your closet... and seek...

All the hats you can dig out :) MUHAHAHAHA!

* Dress: Swildens, Eur. 250 + Hats: Gant Eur. 96; A.P.C. Eur. 60.

Courtesy of the Sartorialist

Click to enlarge

Oh my... Here is Giovanna Battaglia, editor of Vogue Italia.

Picture after picture that I watch of her, I see an understanding of styles, timing, colors that shows real intelligence and a capacity to dream, simply.

Also, the shoes (since everybody asks on The Sartorialist!) are from Pierre Hardy SS '10 collection. It's the second time we mention him in this blog ;) Pieeeeerrrree, visit our page!

Tout Est Bleu

Click to enlarge

Looks like Paris has a case of baby blue shoes lately?

With special thanks to graceful Kenza, who also has a fashion blog in Paris :)

Rockabilly

After a few years attempting to win the hearts and minds of Parisian ladies, the cowboy look has finally made it to the streets... and nowadays, you see it everywhere.

And in the manner of designers Dolce & Gabbana's S/S '10 collection, you'll see even more of these around, as brands will flood the market with this easy to use style that is also affordable - a major scoring point for fashion CEOs these days ;)

So here are two looks, one in a variation of blue, (cowboy) brown, black and dark red and the other in blue, off white, black and grey. Note the use of the silver detail in the third picture, and her actual choice of belt, the leather breads reminding both of a rope and the 'interlacing' of her shirt colors.

If you want to make this look your own, you can also pair a plaid shirt with ruffles, a la Dolce & Gabbana mentioned earlier, or go for the kill, indulge in a vintage cowboy shirt, leather pants and some ridiculously obvious ankle boots... Not for me, although I love the idea of Rockabilly in France ;0

We're Launching!

After the blog, 31 Million - the business, which rests on the idea that:

If 31 Million women have the French Touch, so can you,

is launching shortly!

We offer several services, including fashion & nutrition classes, wardrobe consultations, shopping trips to Paris and soon, a rental platform for French-styled clothes & accessories.

Since returning from the holidays, we've been busy finalizing our website and getting ready to meet with the women of Amsterdam (and later those of London :) This is why we will disappear from your screens until the end of March... when we will be back with a bang and a smile, just like our Parisian Mammas would want us to!

See you back soon, and drop us line in the meantime if you want to contact us at nicky@31million.net or info@31million.net

Introducing Maxime

Since the beginning of the year, Natasha, 31 Million's new intern and I have been reviewing a list of about 25 new designers that we'd possibly like to share with you. We'll post them at some point, but while she and I could debate many of these hopeful's takes, there was one, unique, individual that just moved us.

He's touched by grace. His name is Maxime Simoens, and he reminds many of Yves Saint Laurent.

Not much is known about this mystery, apart that he's 25 years old, a previous apprentice of Jean-Paul Gaultier's and some of his micro dresses took as much as 15 meters of fabric to sow. Oh, and this man's got serious humor and marketing skills, as his first collection's theme shows... That would be "Michael Jackson's dead".

Please watch the work of a man who truly loves women: introducing Maxime Simoens (the first series is picked by Natasha, the second by yours truly).

Click to enlarge

A Nous Les Petites Anglaises*

Click to enlarge

Whenever I see two wildly differing interpretations of any style - here the English - within 5 meters of each other, I know I'm in Paris... namely Place Saint-Sulpice

Featured here, 1) the old money aristocrat (meets E. Hemingway) who knows she's impossibly stylish but mends her kids' socks and generally thinks lowly of anything new, and 2) for the lady in the background, the "let me teleport to Edinburgh 2025" look.

These are impersonations of course, both these women look awesome simply because they are playing with codes. And that's très Français...

* "A nous les petites Anglaises": 70's French cult movie, with an even culter soundtrack by Mort Shuman. yep.

Rethinking Darwin

Click to enlarge*

Sheep... Wool... Without it, we'd be extinct.

Nuff said.

*actually, the dress is See by Chloe and prices at Eur. 196 and the sweater is Zadig & Voltaire and prices at... Eur. *cough*

Picture Jungle

Click to enlarge

Back in Paris I am, after a fun and chilly trip to Canada. Ze problem? Paris is equally chilly and as I stepped out to take pictures today, we all looked like Bibendum ('Bibenda'?). So as a sacrificial offering to the Goddess of Sun, I decided to post my fall-time pictures here. You will find the rest of this series on our "Making of" page that you should, most definitely, check.

What's next now? I think I'll find my amateur models in the Paris Metro where a warm breeze blows :) In the meantime, enjoy these and thanks again Aslon - the other deity - for being such a terrific photographer.

The Magazine Pictures That Followed Me This Season

Click to enlarge

To close off 2009 in style, here is a collection of some pictures that most inspired me this season.

From the French magazines, give thanks for these moments of beauty to the designers of: Sonia Rykiel, Georges Rech, Christian Lacroix, Balmain, Versace, Lanvin, Balenciaga, Karl Lagerfeld, Barbara Bui, Sandro, Jean-Claude Jitrois, Paule Ka, Dolce & Gabbana, Cos, Isabel Marant, Guy Laroche, Valentino, Kenzo, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Dior, DSquared, Emporio Armani, Eric Bompard, Naf Naf, Acne, Dimension, Dries van Noten, Escada Sport.

Hasta la Vista to next year... now off you girls go to celebrate!

On Length

If you've ever wondered what length to wear your pants, I found the perfect model as I couldn't explain to you better.

Now, this is gospel: we are talking about two different kinds of lengths... that of the front side and that of the back side.

The front side has to fall such that the pants mark a slight break (I know, it sounds like a math exercise ;) Slight break though, otherwise you'll look like a teen. As for the back side hem, it needs to be slightly longer than the front and about 3/4th down from the top of your high heel. Actually, it's precisely 3/8th down (between 1/2 and 3/4 - yes, math).

Ok you may say, but how about the lady below? Isn't she utterly fashionable?

If I were her, here's what I would have said to myself while dressing up that morning:

- I know my shoes are this awesome blue, and I want to watch them all day - as I am now by the way. So I'll roll my jeans up...

- Of course, I don't want to look silly rolled up, so I think I'll wear large jeans :)

- Because I'm playing with length, I'll need to coordinate this short bottom with a short top (mixing instead of matching silhouette lengths would make the look too complicated, as already blue shoes can be: no long coats or trench coats here pls).

- Because I'm playing with colors, I'll need to match these baby blue shoes with another childlike color. A pink cartoon print tee, while highly unlikely in every closet, is just what I need... Otherwise I would have gone for something white or grey.

- Because I'm looking like a kid with these colors and these round toes with a strap, I made the right decision by wearing my boyfriend's rolled-up jeans ;)

CQFD*

As a standard though, please follow the lead of the main protagonist here, who's decidedly got all her lengths right (hair, sleeves, sweater, heels)...

*CQFD: Ce qu'il fallait démontrer. Literally means "what needed to be proven" or "case made". This widely used expression is originally applied when solving math problems...

Pure Beauty

If I was a man, I'd ask her to quit smoking and marry me.

Profiled: Emmanuelle Seigner

Emmanuelle Seigner is a French actress/singer/model, married to cult film director Roman Polanski (a little Rosemary’s Baby for you?), sister of another famous actress and granddaughter of Louis Seigner, a monument of French theater. This is for introductions…

Now - and apart from her famous associations - I’ve always been fascinated by this woman.

First, because of her evident beauty and raw sexuality. Second, because she’s proof that the most potent beauty ingredient is love. Third, because she has a style of her own, yet is unafraid to be versatile: here the icy blonde à la Grace Kelly and the diaphanous Californian babe, à la Sharon Tate of course…

Style-wise, this lady is typically Parisian, wearing extremely simple garments and in her case, an almost absence of accessories. It’s very smart, because while the goal is to downplay her strong presence, the result is to enhance her mirroring abilities as she is, definitely, a mirror to our fantasies*.

For more pictures, click on our making of page.

* as seen above, the “fantasizer” group strongly and universally including men from 13 to about 75 years old ;)

That Generation

A bit of Patti Smith rock, a little Sonia Rykiel frivolity and an unapologetic dose of practicality with her sneakers and, wait a minute, waist bag? This lady’s telling us that, in the end, it’s all about freedom.

Veeeery generational :)

So, in order to honor this woman - just as she'd expect - on this early Monday morning, ladies and ladies, please find our Etsy picks (of the week?)

Click to enlarge

Treasure Hunt

Click to enlarge

♫♫♪ La la laaaaaa ♫♪♫♪♪♪. Every time I come across these boots, I start singing like a child who's just discovered a treasure. Unlike Tavi, the genius 13 year-old who rapped for Comme des Garçons' collaboration with H&M, my singing's more solemn and in line with my age (and Castafiore readings as a kid ;)

Anywayyyy, why you may ask? Because mythic shoe designer Pierre Hardy has waved his magic wand over these pairs, designed for GAP... and priced at Eur. 114 in Europe (by the way, watch for increasing numbers of US companies looking into serving European markets - and making you ladies happy - thanks to their currency exchange benefits... :)

The heels and straight angles make these shoes serious and bossy, while the colors and texture make them very bohemian. This unlikely combination is what did it for me, how about you?