Well it turned out to be “Dressing up in Normandy”, rather
than “Dressing up in Paris” this week, but we were only 50 miles out of the
capital so I’m sure you’ll forgive me. Also we stayed nicely thematic, moving
from an indoor garden to an outdoor one – which was just as well, since the
weather was nigh on perfect this weekend. I’d also like to take this
opportunity to say that I will to endeavour to stop telling you the weather
every week (unless there’s a freak hailstorm again), as I suspect it’s
getting a little dull. If this is your
main source for the Ile de France’s forecast, I will do you the kindness of
re-directing you here, in the hope that you will still
come back for my fashion pizzazz and sagacity.
SO, this week we
headed to the beautiful town of Giverny, nestled in the Normandy countryside,
and best-known for housing one of the most famous artists of the last couple of
centuries. Claude Monet noticed this charming little town whilst staring out of
a train window and promptly decided he had to move there. This he duly did and
lived there happily from 1883 until his death in 1926 and he is buried in the
cemetery there, alongside several family members.
Drawn by both the beautiful landscape and the Monet’s
presence, several American Impressionists (including Willard Metcalf, Louis
Ritter, and Theodore Earl Butler – who later married Monet’s stepdaughter) came
to Giverny in the late 19th century and formed a productive little
art colony until the beginning of the First World War. Nowadays there is a new wave
of artists in Giverny, with a range of workshops and art classes for tourists
and locals.
As the years went by, Monet developed a passion for botany,
constantly searching for rare plants and exchanging them with his good friends
Clemenceau and Caillebotte. He often said that most of his money went straight
into his garden and many of his best paintings were of it. It has been said that Monet created his
works twice
– first he created his garden and then he painted it.
The garden at Giverny has two parts; Clos Normand and the
Japanese water garden. Clos Normand was originally a walled orchard of about a
hectare inside, which Monet opened up and filled with flowers. He didn’t like
gardens to be too organised or cultivated, so he would just pick flowers which
matched in colour and then let them grow freely. In 1893 he bought a
neighbouring piece of land and turned it into a water garden, inspired by the
Japanese prints he collected, and complete with lily pond. Although the current
version of the famous green bridge is a reproduction, the wisteria growing over
it were planted by Monet himself.
Monet’s son left the house and gardens to the Académie des
Beaux-Arts in 1966 and it became a public museum in 1980. Now it attracts an
average of 500 000 visitors a year – and it’s well worth a visit! Leaving from
St. Lazare station in Paris, it is a mere 45-minute hop, skip and jump to
Vernon and from there it’s a 5-10 minute taxi or bus-ride to Monet’s house. As
well as strolling round the gardens you can tour the house itself which has
been restored to its former glory. There is also a Museum of Impressionism just
next door.
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| Dress - H&M Shoes - Marks&Spencer Shawl - present Necklaces and bracelets - Mine and JOAR's Ring - OC Jewelery Sunglasses - Marks&Spencer |
This week I wanted to reflect the calm, soothing aesthetic
of Monet’s work in the outfit and aimed to do this with two of Spring-Summer’s
hottest trends: florals and pastels. Iridescence also made a welcome appearance
on the catwalk this season, and I took a few leaves out of Alberta Ferretti’s,
Donna Karen’s, and (my personal favourite) Burberry Prorsum’s books and went
for this lovely lilac number from the ever-wonderful H&M (seriously, why am
I not their head of PR/the face of the brand yet?)
I added the
scarf-cum-shawl for a floral edge, and went for pearls to keep in with the
simple shimmering look and, honestly, why would you go for ONE necklace when
you could go for four? Added a little glamour and drama with the bold eye
make-up, courtesy of Best Friend From Land of the Brave (BFFLB)
who was this
week’s photographer.
