Parisian Grunge

My dear readers, today I'll be communicating from my bed because I'm as sick as a dog. There could be many attributions for my current state of health; the manic (but exciting) phase at work, the long days and travel, the long albeit stressful weekend in Paris (which included a few hours at Hotel de Police reporting the theft of Ed's brand new phone) and my recent familiarity with raw beef mince. Over the weekend, I ticked two items off a rather long bucket list. One was to visit Paris again (I've been a couple of times before but want it to be an annual thing) and the other was to brave steak tartare! Last year, I ticked sea urchins off the list at the very same place.

As I'm relatively familiar with Paris and as its beautiful streets constantly beckon me to walk more and more, I had to dress practically. Despite being warmer than London, the air was distinctly autumnal. Our itinerary for the first day in Paris included a walk around the Louvre, a stroll down Rue De Rivoli  and Jardin Tuileries  before crossing the Seine to St. Germain for a bit of art and window shopping. It also included braving the most congested pharmacy in the world, City Phrama at St Germain. I've commuted in both Mumbai and London rush-hour traffic and yet this came just as close to claustrophobia.

 

In my world, occasions like this call for a style that is both comfortable and personal (ergo quirky). I was aiming for a polished grunge look, if there is such a thing at all. And if there is anywhere you want to make some effort, its in Paris! So I layered with my American Apparel tube dress ( a fabulous sale purchase from ASOS a couple of years ago and I bought three!), a transitional knit top, silk scarves to keep the chill off and my Zara 'urchin' coat ( as Ed describes it). I even got to wear my sparkly up-cycled Keds which were ultra-comfortable for long hours of walking.

Given that we'd spent the wee hours of the previous night at an under-resourced police station, (and were knackered and quite upset by the whole turn of events), we had a rather productive day. The weather was kind and so walked for miles, stopped for snack breaks ( quite an exciting event in Paris), gave up on the Pierre Herme queue, doused ourselves in strong scents at L'Artisan Parfumeur, admired the views across the Seine before settling down for a lovely meal at a brasserie near Odeon. It was a pleasant day in Paris and my feet didn't kill me which was a bonus.

What would you do if you had a day in Paris? Ann x

Wearing H&M top, American Apparel skirt, Vintage Silk Scarf, O.M.O. earrings, Mulberry Alexa Satchel, DIY sparkly Keds

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Photography by Edward Chandler

Parisian Grunge
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