Today begins the most important period in the fiscal calendar, at least to me, fashion week is upon us. Galliano, Lagerfeld, and Elbaz, will be out in full force for the Spring 2010 collections, and we will be stalking the vogettes outside of the Louvre like it’s our job.
Lunch at Dave, drinks at the Costes, school can wait....
Jardin Luxembourg .
Eat warm flaky croissants from the boulangerie.
Navigate cobblestone streets in high heels
Learn the difference between sauvignon blanc and chardonnay
Spend a lazy Sunday reading in Jardin de Luxembourg
Party with J.U.S.T.I.C.E at Social
Thrift shop in the Marais
Take in a reading at Shakespeare & Co.
Have philosophical discussions that last until sunrise
Attend Friday night nocturnes at the Louvre
Take part in the Birkin bag invasion
Turn off your crackberry
Watch amazing foreign films
Dance in electro street parties on St. Germain
Walk everywhere and anywhere
Buy organic produce at the street markets
Hang out in mammoth mansions and charming student studios
Fall in love, at least once.
Having already partaken in a lengthily school orientation my first year at McGill, I thought I knew what lay in store for me when I arrived at Sciences Po. Clearly, a blatant miscalculation. Gone are the pub-crawls and lewd t-shirts. Instead, Sciences Po provides its incoming students with methodology classes and dignified picnics in the park, not a beer tent in sight. I have spent the last two weeks correcting my past-tense conjugation and learning how to write an essay the “French way”. Call me crazy but in my mind Frosh should come with a plastic mug full of warm Boreal beer, not a ten minute researched oral presentation on the social and political culture of France’s 5th republic.
Having left my beloved McGill behind, my yearly academic torture will now be administered by Institut d'études politiques de Paris (also colloquially referred to as Sciences Po). Sciences Po is a French Grande école, meaning that unlike a university it is a private institution that is separate from the state. It specializes in training the political elite and is considered one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in Europe. There is a hierarchy not just within the Grandes écoles but also within the schools themselves. Sciences Po operates 5 regional campuses in Nancy, Dijon, Menton, etc.. Paris is considered the most desirable, as it is the epicenter of French political culture. Many former presidents such as Jacques Chirac and Sarkozy attended Sciences Po. Upon graduation many students apply to the École Nationale d'Administration and train to become high-ranking civil servants. So essentially it’s just me and about 700 French kids all vying to be the next President of the French Republic. I’m in for an interesting year.
Now you may wonder how you might identify these individuals from all the other culturally devoid youth of my generation. They won’t sneak up on you, don’t worry; you’ll see their multi colored neon Nike high tops coming from a mile away.
God save us all.
The European hipster may hail from Berlin instead of Brooklyn, but the fetishization of acid wash and overpriced poly-blend V-necks remains. It appears I’m destined to spend my formative years surrounded by boys wearing pants so tight blood circulation is not even a faint hope let alone a probable possibility.
I may just move to Antarctica……
One of the reasons I first became interested in blogging was my discovery of several fascinating fashion blogs: Jak and Jil, Sea of Shoes, Fashion Toast, Garance Dore, and of course the Sartorialist. The Sartorialist is the digital rendering by Scott Schuman an ex fashion industry insider who entered the online world over 4 years ago. Since then, the Sartorialist has received international acclaim as one of the most influential design blogs and has developing a cult-like following among international fashionistas. Scott shoots a combination of regular people and fashion elite. He is as interested in capturing the old and abnormal as he is in shooting the young and beautiful. What sets Scott’s photographs apart is that he attempts to convey not just outward style but also the personality and inner essence of the human spirit in all its complexities. The expressive and candid nature of his photographs created an exquisite compilation for his first self-titled book.
When I conducted my daily log-on to the Sartorialist last week I noticed that Scott would be conducting a series of book signings starting with, can you believe it? Paris. On Saturday I trooped across the river to Colette, a chic Parisian store on St. Honore, and after waiting for what seemed like eternity I came face to face with the master himself. After getting my book signed I skipped over to the Tuileries gardens to lie in the sunshine and devour my new purchase.
Paris like many other major cities is composed of many different neighborhoods all with their own distinct personality. The area where my school is situated, la rive gauche, was traditionally associated with a more bohemian lifestyle, but has since been transformed into a breeding ground for the white upper-middle class. Regardless, the 5th through 7th arrondisements are considered to be the birthplace of modern post-war existentialism. Some of the greatest French philosophers have made their home in this particular area including Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir who used to meet regularly at the famed Café Flore. Right across the street is les Deux Magots, another famous café that has counted Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, and Pablo Picasso among its most loyal patrons. While I’ll admit I feel like a pretentious tourist sipping espresso and reading The Stranger, I cannot help but feel inspired by the profound scope of intellectual discourse that this street has seen. Some of the 20th centuries’ greatest academics and artists have sat in these very chairs. I suppose that’s what gives the café license to charge 18 euros for a salade. Merde.
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