Monday, 29 April 2013

Week 14: Petit Palais


Petit Palais Paris

Well, would you believe it, a whole two days of summer last week before it was back to the old 12-degrees-and-raining trick. Yes indeed, temperatures have plummeted and all of my shoes are damp again but the white skies worked a treat with this week’s outfit, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

To begin, let me share a fun fact with you that I just learnt: until the end of the 19th century (1880, to be more precise) the City of Paris did not have a single museum. Not one! All national collections were either stored in the Louvre – which was open to the public 3 days a week – or was displayed in museums in other major French towns.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise Pearl Hoops

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

This week, we headed to the third museum to be opened in Paris: the Petit Palais (Little Palace). The Petit Palais was built in 1900 in order to host the Universal Exhibition, which was a world fair celebrating the mechanical, architectural, and electrical achievements of the previous century. (Things on show included the Eiffel Tower, Ferris Wheels and talking films). It became the Paris Museum of Fine Art in 1902 and now houses collections ranging from the Classical Era to the Renaissance and from precious manuscripts to Impressionist masterpieces.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

My favourite item was Houdon’s plaster sculpture of Voltaire’s head. My favourite philosophe has the most blissful smile on his face. As, indeed, you would if you lived somewhere as beautiful as the Petit Palais.

Petit Palais Steps Paris White Broderie Anglaise


I wanted this week’s look to chime with the simple yet ornate aesthetic of the building. Covered with delicate ironwork, sculptures and murals, it still manages to feel clean and uncluttered and I would put that largely down to the colour. White is everywhere this season and plays a huge part in the collections of Louis Vuitton, ChloĆ©, Valentino, Stella McCartney, ElieSaab, Giambattista Valli, Carven, Rochas and Roberto Cavalli, among many many others.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise
EDITED

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise
EDITED

Such a simple colour leaves so much room for adornment whilst remaining chic so whites on the catwalk were covered in sequins or feathers, laser cut, embellished, and embroidered. As for myself – I decided to take inspiration from ChloĆ©, Valentino and Stella specifically and  go with broderie anglaise. One of my favourite materials for summer, the broderie anglaise of this New Look top means that it looks both innocent and sexy, it is both revealing and demure.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise
Top - New Look
Skirt - Asos
Belt - New Look
Heels -H+M
Jacket - Vintage
Bracelet and Ring - My own
Earrings  - H+M
I kept the lines of the outfit as simple as possible by pairing the top with a linen pencil skirt and holding back on the accessories. To liven up an otherwise very simple, elegant look, I added the earrings to carry on the street/chic look (pearls AND hoops, you have to love it). The black of the belt and the shoes helps to toughen up the look slightly and strengthen the sex appeal (sorry Mum), but the simple styles of both mean that they don’t detract from the uncluttered approach. The leather jacket was added in a couple of photos because joy of a roommate mentioned that the outfit was a bit 80s. Also I was really cold. Like, really cold. This look may say summer to you but I’m sure my goose-pimpled flesh would have suggested something else.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise
EDITED

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise
EDITED

Another exciting thing to mention this week is that, along with the usual happy-go-lucky-go-amateur photos that you expect from this blog, I am including some which have been edited by my lovely friend Jonny. The ones that have been edited are marked as such, and I have decided to put them all next to the unedited ones because I think it is important that fashion blogs are as accessible as possible.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise
EDITED

An overwhelming emotion I have when looking through some of my favourite blogs is a mixture of admiration, jealousy and despair, because they look so professional. This is, of course, wonderful – and the results are certainly to be aspired to – but I wanted this blog to be as much me as possible. Therefore I am trying to showcase only those skills which I personally possess. And I’m rubbish with software in general. The photos you see will be of my face, in all its occasionally-patchy glory, but just to show how darn fabulous I could look, I’ll let you look at the edited versions and compare.

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise
EDITED

Petit Palais Paris White Broderie Anglaise

Hope you all have a lovely week and I’ll see you next weekend, somewhere else in this crazy city. As ever, all comments MUCH appreciated, so do leave some below and if you really want to show me the love, follow me on Twitter here. I’m desperately seeking online validation of self.

Petit Palais Paris

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