Paris Haute Couture for the Birds
Is haute couture for the birds? Absolutely, says fashion follower Corinne LaBalme, who joined the flock at Paris Fashion Week to report on the Spring/Summer 2013 collections. With stylists pushing the envelope, haute couture has always functioned as the canary in the fashion mineshaft.
A Whiff of Napoleon in Victory and in Defeat
June 18, 2015—Two hundred years ago today Napoleon I (Bonaparte) was defeated at Waterloo. For much of the world (except perhaps for the British) Waterloo speaks far more about the fall of Napoleon and of France’s ambitions in Europe under his leadership than it does of the victory of the forces allied against him and against France.
Sylvie Deschamps, France’s Master Artist of Gold Embroidery
An interview with Sylvie Deschamps, France's Master Artist of gold embroidery and director of the Bégonia d'Or workshop in Rochefort, an upriver port town in western France. Includes demonstration video.
Stephane Jaspert’s Cobblestone Art: From the Streets of Paris to a Garret in Montmartre
Stephane Jaspert picks the cobblestone up from his desk and says, “Tourists often see Paris as a light and romantic city, but it’s a tough city, hard as rock.” We are high above the cobbled streets of Montmartre in Mr. Jaspert’s garret.
Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Freak Show at the Folies Bergère
Jean Paul Gaultier has always been the offbeat enfant terrible of French fashion culture, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that his life and work are presented in a Barnum & Bailey version of Gay Pride in Las Vegas. His Fashion Freak Show plays at the Folies Bergère until April 21, 2019.
Statue of Liberty Given Place of Honor in the Orsay Museum
Joining Whistler’s Mother, Van Gogh’s Self-portrait, Degas’s ballerinas, and many more, the Musée d’Orsay took on another familiar face this month when Liberty was given place of honor on a pedestal near the entrance to the museum’s great nave. The Orsay Museum had long claimed that Liberty rightfully belonged within its walls rather than in the Luxembourg Garden, where it previously stood.
Must-Tastes of the Normandy Landing Zone: 4 Norman Cheeses
It’s the greenery of inland Normandy that first grabs your attention when arriving from Paris—that and the hedgerows, the apple orchards, the traditional half-timbered homes and barns, the horses, and, most importantly for lovers of French soft cheeses, the cows.
Two Sisters in Aquitaine Recreate Historical Wines
Isabelle and Catherine Orliac, two sisters in Aquitaine, are heirs to a property in southwest France that supplied wine to Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and the Court of France in the 1780s.
Cute, Kitsch and Tacky Gifts from France’s National Museums
You can’t take the art from the Louvre, the Orsay or Versailles home with you, but you can take home a Venus de Milo tchotchke, a Marie-Antoinette manicure set, a Mona Lisa serving tray, and an I Louvre You teddy bear.