Greetings bloglets – sincerest apologies for my lengthy
absence! I have now officially left La France and am back in Blighty for good
(or for bad – you decide!) I said goodbye to Paris in a rather special way that
I plan on sharing with you all in due course, but first I thought I’d do my
second “Dressing up on Holiday (in France)” post.
As you may recall, I escaped the city a couple of weeks ago
to go join my family for a mini-holiday near Paris. On my last day with them we
visited one of the most splendid places ever to be produced by this (or rather,
that) glorious country: the Palace of Versailles.
The town of Versailles acts as a wealthy suburb of Paris,
about 20 km from the capital. The palace there was the centre of power from
1682 until the French Revolution in 1789 and is seen as the ultimate symbol of
the ancien regime and the French
absolute monarchy. The building itself began life as a hunting lodge for Louis
III, but was expanded into one of the largest palaces in the world by Louis XIV.
This was where the royal family and court lived until 1789 when they were moved
to the Palais de Tuileries (which no longer exists) in Paris.
After this, all of the furniture from Versailles was sold (I
know, it breaks my heart too!) and the palace itself only survived because the
Convention decided to keep it for the “public good”. The building then became a
museum for all of the artworks the Revolutionaries had taken from princely
homes and churches.
In its heyday, however, courtiers were forever vying for
rooms in the palace for themselves and their families. Indeed, some historians
have said it was more like a giant apartment block than a palace, perhaps even
a hotel – since keys to each room had to be left when the lodging was vacated.
Not a very good hotel though- they didn't even have toilets until 1768! The
glitz and glamour of the 18th century, eh?
One of the most famous rooms in the palace – and perhaps in
the world – is the Hall of Mirrors, construction on which was started in 1678. In
a century where mirrors were extortionately expensive, this room acted as an
indisputable reflection (heh) of the grandeur and magnificence of the Sun
King’s reign. It was in this room that Louis XV met Madame de Pompadour – at a
masked ball celebrating his son’s marriage. She was dressed as the hunting
goddess Diana, he was dressed as a Yew Tree. Not an option that ever occurred
to me at Halloween but one I will very much consider this year. Even I
would dress like a tree if I could meet Mme de P – quelle babe.
One of the other two palaces on the grounds at Versailles –
the Petit Trianon – was built for Madame de Pompadour, though sadly she died
before it was finished. Instead it became the safe pseudo-rural haven of
Marie-Antoinette who would come to escape the pressures of court or to play in
the fake hamlet she had built nearby. The Grand Trianon (the second Palace on
the grounds) provided another escape from court, this time for Louis XIV and
his mistress. Parts of it were also used in the
promotional video for Dior’s latest campaign.
For this shoot, I took inspiration from
Chanel’s 2013 Resortcollection – which was also Versailles-inspired. I stuck to a similar colour scheme of red, white and purple and used my beloved
net petticoat to form faux panniers (or, at least, I tried to). I went with BIG
jewellery and trainers to give it a bit of an edge – though obviously, Chanel’s
gold flatforms would have been better...
 |
Dress - H+M
Petticoat - Lindy Bop
Fake Vans - New Look
Necklace and Earrings - H+M
Sunglasses - H+M |
As a tourist attraction, Versailles is stunning and, once
you’ve gotten in, really rather well-maintained. But therein lies the rub...
When we arrived, the first thing we saw was almost enough to put us off
completely: the entire front courtyard was full of a HUGE snaking queue which
some were saying they’d been standing in for upwards of two hours. Super. In
fact, this was just the queue to get in, after you’d gone through the whole
queue for tickets! SO – advice: 1) palace is closed on Monday, we went on a
Tuesday and it was extra-busy – go later in the week; 2) book tickets in advance
to avoid at least one queue; 3) get there early. Like, EARLY early. We arrived
at about 11 and the queues were already insane. Otherwise, would highly
recommend this gem. See you soon!
