Can't Stop. Won't Stop. Paris Fashion Week Continues…

Paris in the springtime? Merveilleux. Paris in the springtime during Fashion Week? Intéressant. On any given day in Paris, Parisians step out with their A game. No one in Paris would be caught dead in sweats. During fashion week, it is even more evident that everyone is trying to bring their best. Sometimes even a wee bit too much but c’est la vie. This is fashion week for God sake, by all means bring out your fashion freak.

I finally went out on Sunday afternoon into the beautiful 70° Parisian weather. It seems as if the rest of Paris was outside as well. We took a five hour walk around the city from the Right Bank to the Left Bank. It was a feast for the eyes. I saw everything from a gaggle of nuns in their grey habits, adorable children riding dressed up donkeys in the Champ de Mars park with a background of the Eiffel tower, playful French young girls in their blue version of French Girl Scouts uniforms, Kanye West leaving L’ Avenue restaurant in a black “murdered out” Porsche, the Chloé fashion show venue at the Grand Palais, my old apartment in the 7^th arrondissement, and a city full of Parisians enjoying the much needed sunshine. Never ever a dull day in Paris. Ever.

 Arriving back to my apartment in the early evening, my caregivers pealed me out of my skinny jeans (that’s not embarrassing at all) and cozied me into my J.Crew pajamas. My husband and I enjoyed our super fattening homemade macaroni and cheese with pancetta. The mac & cheese had three different types of cream! After I “came to” from my food coma, I watched all of Saturday and Sunday’s Paris Fashion Week fashion shows. I watched 22 fashion shows and was only impressed with three… Emanuele Ungaro, Chloé, and Givenchy. The Vivienne Westwood show was so disturbing I nearly had an epileptic stroke. As much as I wanted to like the Galliano show, I just couldn’t and not just because he is a racist. His show was quite frankly ridiculous. My usual favorite, Elie Saab, was not particularly impressive either. Haider Ackermann was like “whatever.” But it doesn’t matter because Ungaro, Chloé and Givenchy made up for what the others lacked. So, let’s get started…

Emanuele Ungaro. I have always loved Ungaro because it reminds me of my mother and my friend Ursula. They are definitely Ungaro women. Flowy and ladylike. Perfect for “end of season polo match party.” Don’t hate me, it’s true. Click HERE to see all of the looks, but first, here are some of my favorites…

 

 

 

 

Next up we have Chloé. I never get tired of the Boho chic look. Never, and Chloé did not disappoint. First let’s start with the front row celebrities. Poppy Delevingne, the sister of supermodel Cara Delevingne, was front and center along with one of my favorite “It Girls” Olivia Palermo. I love Olivia for the simple fact that she always looks super chic and she happens to be an alumni of my daughter’s school, American University of Paris. Now, on to the looks… I nearly love every single one. And that black scarf thing! I also loved the looks of the long flowy dresses with the strings. It reminded me of the Hasidic Jewish Tzitzit look. Do you want to know a secret? My cousin and I have always had huge crushes on the entire Hasidic Jewish population of boys. Anyway, back to fashion, this is a wearable collection… Definitely a Gypset look. All of the models had the Chloé girl look, hair parted in the middle, subtle dewy makeup. Check out my favorites below and then view the show HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now, Givenchy. I had to watch the show twice because the first go around I couldn’t stop looking at the models and thinking, “What the fuck is on their face?” It was totally distracting and I honestly did not see one outfit the first go around. Watching it for a second time, I was floored. You know when you see a gorgeous dress and you want it so bad you can actually feel it? That’s how I felt about the Givenchy collection. As Rachel Zoe would say, “It was everything.” You definitely have to watch the whole show HERE but first, let’s drool over my favorites…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Something you don’t know about me? One of the designers that showed on Saturday was Haider Ackermann. I first heard about Haider Ackermann when I saw him backstage at the Janet Jackson concert in Paris. You may be wondering what I was doing at a Janet Jackson concert in Paris of all places and what was I doing backstage? So, all of you know that I have two best girlfriends, Yolanda and Jenny. But, what you may not know is that I have a best guy friend as well and he happens to be Janet Jackson’s brother, Randy. We have been friends since I was 18 years and I love him with all of my heart and he loves me with all of his heart. We have a special endearing game that we like to play on the telephone. It’s called, “Who’s Family Is More Fucked up This Week.” It’s a really fun game to play. We usually tie. I was the first person Randy called after his brother, Michael, died and Randy was the first person I called after my brother, Matt died. We have a very special bond and we tell each other everything and we sometimes laugh and laugh and laugh and sometimes cry and cry and cry. Randy and I have a mutual love for food. We have been going out to dinner together since the 80s. Sometimes we order one of everything on the menu and totally pig out and couldn’t care less who is watching. Randy is definitely a kid at heart and one of my funniest memories of him is when we were staying at a hotel in New York and I went downstairs to join him in the gym. I walked into the gym and there was Randy on the treadmill watching Dora the Explorer cartoon without a care in the world.

 Randy and I in New York 2011. Yes, I know I look ugly.

 

 

Randy at The Ritz-Carlton Bar New York

 

Randy on the treadmill watching Dora the Explorer

Randy is also Gracie’s godfather and he always lets her do anything she wants. She always gets to pick the restaurants, he always lets her drive his fancy cars, and he always takes her out for dessert and tells her to stand up straight. Randy refuses to believe that I am dying of ALS. He would do anything to keep me alive. After my diagnosis, Randy was hell-bent on finding a cure for me anyway and anywhere he could. My sweet Randy told me one day to get ready because we were going on a trip. He told me to meet him at his parent’s house with David and prepare for a two day trip. When we got to his parent’s house, yes, the famous house that the Jackson 5 grew up in, there was Randy waiting for me next to a huge RV. At first, I just started laughing and said, “Oh My God, where are we going and who is driving that thing?” Randy said that we were going to Arizona because he wanted me to see a doctor there and yes, he was going to drive the RV. That my friends, is called love.

So, back to the Janet Jackson concert. Randy always invites me to his sister’s concerts and I think he gets a kick out of how excited I am because it’s Janet Jackson for God’s sake! Randy usually sleeps through them. I usually sing-along through the entire concert. Randy couldn’t go with me to the concert in Paris so he said I could take my friends and David, which I did. Christian Louboutin sat in front of us and after the concert, we were invited backstage. There was Janet, (Miss Jackson if you’re nasty) hugging and talking up a storm to some chic looking guy. It turns out it was Haider Ackermann! Apparently she is a big fan and wears a lot of his collections. So that, my friends, is how I know about Haider Ackermann.

 

My friends Ann-Lise, Christophe and me at the Janet Jackson concert in Paris 2011.

 



 Gracie and Randy in New York

 

Randy asleep at his own sister's concert in New York.