Packing for Paris...The Magnificent Obsession

Have I mentioned that I'm going to Paris in just a little less than 2 weeks???? I can't begin to express how excited I am about his trip! I'm so looking forward to the art, the architecture, the history, the Really Good Cheese.

We've been starting to seriously plan some activities and make some reservations. Sunday brunch at the Salon de César at the Ritz, a jazz concert featuring Ben Sidran, day trips to Giverny (Monet's home and garden where he painted the Water Lilies) and the Loire Valley Chateau's, the Musée D'Orsay, a Batobus ride or two on the Seine, lots and lots of walking and exploring, and I've also got some plans for some serious shopping (from flea market to high end) and café sqatting while sipping an afternoon noisette. And Doug announced this afternoon that he plans to try a glass of Absinthe.

But of course the Big Dilemma right now is What to Pack. Everything I've been reading and advice from seasoned travellers says to keep it simple, and that you can't go wrong with black separates. So here's my travel wardrobe so far (8 days in Paris):

• Two pairs nice jeans, one black, one dark indigo




• Black pencil skirt




• One pair black cotton twill slacks (or lightweight wool, depending on weather)




• Grey 3/4 sleeve cotton scoopneck sweater




• Black turtleneck or long sleeve cotton t-shirt (depending on weather)




• Black woven silk short sleeve sweater




• Black jacket (cropped, 3/4 sleeve, can be dressed up or down)




• Cashmere cardigan (will come in handy on the plane as well)




• Two short-sleeve t-shirts (one black, one white)




• Packable raincoat




• Two pair flat walking shoes (one loafer, one ballet flat)




• One pair black patent pumps (to wear with skirt)




• Black light cashmere pashmina
  

Some of this is going to depend on the weather forecast as we get closer. Last week was quite warm there, this week much cooler. I'm planning to take maybe one or two scarves and buy some there (apparently you can find nice silk scarves fairly reasonably at some of the less hoity-toity stores). I always tend to overpack, though nearly not as much as my Beloved Spouse, and am trying to exercise some discipline here, but is there anything that stands out that I'm forgetting clothing-wise?

Also to be filed under "Cliché vs. Classique"

If there's anyone whose style I could copy, it would be Audrey Hepburn. (Or at least AH as dressed by Edith Head.) I know just about every woman over 20 out there in the blogosphere claims Audrey as their "style icon," but I've felt that way ever since I was 15 and watched her in Sabrina. * If I could pick one look to live in the rest of my life, this (on the right) would be it.

Trouble is, Audrey was built like the proverbial willow tree, and I'm built more like the proverbial barrel cactus. Or to be a bit more complimentary, I'm built like a young and more slender Shirley Winters. (I'd say a young Elizabeth Taylor, but I've never had that wasp waist that Liz flaunted in "Butterfield 8.") Every time I've tried to copy this look, I end up looking like a bag of balloons atop a couple of toothpicks. But as of today, I've found the Holy Grail of slim black pants, that actually fit and flatter, and look fabulous with my black patent ballet flats. These "Audrey Twill Slim Pants" from the company "Not Your Daughter's Jeans" are, as the kids say, The Bomb. They actually seem to be cut longer and slimmer in the leg than they appear in the picture, and fit like a dream. They are cut to hit just below the waist as opposed to just above the pudenda as so many pants are these days, and are just perfect for an old broad like me who was actually an adult while Audrey Hepburn was still alive and doing her wonderful work for UNICEF. Not Your Daughter's Jeans also makes fabulous boot cut jeans, which I have in several colors (gray, black, brown and blue denim). What can I say, when I find something that works I buy it in multiple colors.

*The original version. As much as I adore Julia Ormond she can't touch Audrey in this role (remake, 1995), though I've never understood the "sex appeal" of William Holden; he always seemed to me to be too old for the characters, (another example is "Picnic") and think Greg Kinnear was a much better and more believable David Larrabee.

You say "Cliché," I say "Classique"

Maude help me, but I love roses. Absolutely love them. It probably dates back from when I was a kid and we visited Butchart Gardens in British Columbia. I walked, entranced, through row after row after row of every type and color of rose imaginable. One of the reasons I always wanted to live in a house was to have a rose garden. And now I have one, a small one. Most of our yard is far too shady to be optimal for growing roses, but a patch alongside the driveway on the side of the house is perfect. When we were having the landscaping redone, the landscaper planted these for me. I'd asked him to put in a wide variety of colors, but he stuck with pinks, reds and lavenders. Oh well, they're lovely anyway and blooming like crazy right now so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!