Week 27: Moulin Rouge

Well, I couldn't put it off any longer, this week I felt it was time to combine one of my favourite parts of Paris with one of my favourite films of all time to give you… the Moulin Rouge shoot!

That's right folks, for week 27 (on the 27^th of the month – clever huh?) I donned my flounciest petticoat and sashayed on over to the world-famous cabaret with this week's photographer (AND make-up artist) Very Talented Cousin.

The Moulin Rouge ("Red Windmill") was founded in 1889 by dynamic duo Charles Zidler and Jospeh Oller. These gifted businessmen had an acute understanding of the public's tastes and new exactly how to turn their dance-hall into a money-making miracle.

Nestled at the foot of the Butte de Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge aimed to provide a fabulous escape where the rich and powerful could slum it with bohemian artists and flirty dancers in one of the most fashionable districts in town.

Taking its name from the multitude of windmills which graced the top of the Montmartre hill from the late 17^th century, the cabaret is probably most famous for being the "spiritual birthplace" of the cancan. Although the dance had been around since the 1830s it reached high fame at the Moulin Rouge where famous dancers –such as La Goulue – made it raunchier than ever.

La Goulue – or The Glutton – was one of cabaret's main attractions. Although also known as "the Queen of Montmartre", she got her principal stage name from her habit of downing customers' glasses as she danced by their tables. A close friend of Auguste Renoir, the posed for many of the quartier's artists and was painted many times by Toulouse-Lautrec. She was well-loved for her amiable nature and readiness to shock and one of my favourite stories of her tells of the time –in 1890 – when the future King Edward VII (then The Prince of Wales) was on a private trip to Paris, and visited the Moulin Rouge to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently  La Goulue recognised him in the audience and- mid-dance, with her leg in the air- decided to call out "Hey, Wales – the champagne's on you!". I really hope that's true.

Nowadays, if you go to a show there, you will see the dance troupe the "Doriss Girls" named after Doris Haug who formed the troupe in 1957. One small difference has been made, however: where once there were 4 girls… now you get 60. Makes sense that one of the nicknames for the cabaret was "The First Palace of Women"…

VTC made me do this pose...

There's so much to say about this wonderful place, I'd be here for weeks if I tried to tell you about all of it, but my favourite thing that I learnt while doing my research was… there used to be an ELEPHANT in the garden. A giant, life-sized elephant that was built for the Universal Exposition in 1889. This elephant not only looked hella cool, but also –apparently – housed an opium den and belly dancers which you could go and enjoy for the very reasonable price of one French franc. But only if you were a man. Harumph. Guess no one told Nicole that….

That reference will have seemed a tad bizarre if you haven't seen Baz Luhrman's 2001 masterpiece. If this is the case… well… I’m sorry – and I include a clip to put you out of your misery. Unless of course you hate musicals, glitter and ridiculously dramatic romances. In which case, you may want to give it a miss…

ANYWAY, this week's outfit is pretty much solely inspired by the cancan dancers' costumes in the films, with me putting my own 1950s flamenco dancer spin on it. Too many references? Maybe… Mint green and red seemed like an initially dubious combination to me, but I think they worked surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that some poor Spanish tourists mistook me for someone ACTUALLY affiliated with the establishment, and asked if I'd get a picture taken with their child. Sorry about that…

Me with the Spanish tourist child...

VTC was in charge of all the make-up (also inspired by the film) and OH MY GOODNESS HOW COOL ARE THE DIAMANTE THINGS?! Although they did make it look as if I was crying glitter… which is pretty much how I feel whenever I watch the film actually, so it all works out quite well. To keep in with the slightly risqué nature of the place, we went for a couple of cheeky Chanel tattoo transfers on the lower thigh. Which I think are hilarious fun… apologies for anyone now feeling scandalised… I do try to make this as family friendly as possible… just ask the Spanish tourists!

Right, that's enough glamour for one day – back to Metro-Boulot-Dodo for me. See you all soon!

Top - New Look
Skirt - Marina Retro
Petticoat - Lindy Bop
Shoes - New Look
Earrings - H+M
Tattoo transfer on thigh - Chanel

Week 6: Sacré-Cœur

This week we were in my favourite part of Paris – I’ll give you some clues; it’s in the 18^th arrondissement, it’s on the Right Bank of the River Seine and its name means “Mountain of the Martyr” (due to Saint Denis – former Bishop of Paris and patron Saint of France- being martyred here in 250AD) Got it yet? No? Really? Even with all those clues? Well maybe you’ll get it if I say that it became famous as an artistic district in the 19^th century with many of the best-known artists of the modern era (such as Dali, Modigliani, Picasso, Monet, van Gogh) having had studios here.  You got it! It is Montmartre!

Red Scarf - Joy of a Roommate's 

Necklace - New Look

Dress - Second-hand (donated by lovely colleague), originally from Monsoon

Towards the end of the 19^th century, Paris was very briefly ruled by the Paris Commune, a government made up of left-wing socialists and one which is often hailed as the first working-class assumption of power during the Industrial Revolution. While it makes sense that this liberal, artistic quartier would be the place where the Commune’s first insurrection took place, it is far harder to couple this view with that of Montmartre as the "mountain of the martyr". This is where this week’s shoot location comes in: the basilica of Sacré-Cœur.

Upper Arm Bracelet - Asos

Earrings - H+M

Situated at the highest point of the city, Sacré-Cœur was built, not only as a symbol of moral order, but also to act as a penance for the "crimes" of the Commune (one of which was murdering Georges Darboy, the then Archbishop of Paris). It was designed by architect Paul Abadie in 1875 – though he would be long-dead by the time of its consecration in 1919. The front of the basilica displays equestrian statues of two French saints; King Saint Louis IX and Joan of Arc, and the mosaic inside the dome "Christ in Majesty" is one of the largest in the world. As the mosaic shows, and as the name suggests, the basilica is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and it was this image that I decided to use for this week's outfit inspiration.

Belt - Belonged to my Ma

Yellow Scarf - Small Turkish shop in Edinburgh Grassmarket

The Sacred Heart has been one of the most common Christian images since the 17^th century and is supposed to symbolise Jesus’ love for the world. The image is a flaming heart, shining with "divine light", encircled by thorns, pierced by a lance wound and bleeding. I thought I’d leave the lance-piercing and bleeding bit out, but apart from that I decided to take these features and use each one as an individual part of the outfit. The heart can be seen in the cuff and the necklace, the thorns are represented by the spiked bracelet and ring and the studded belt, and the red and yellow scarves are to show the “divine light” or flames. Because the Sacred Heart image is often used as a tattoo, I decided to make the look a bit punky and I chose the blue dress to mirror the background colour of the mosaic.

Cuff - Claire's Accessories (no judging), Ring - H+M 

Another exciting development was that this week’s photo-shoot took place at night. Delightful boyfriend and I headed over to Montmartre in the afternoon only to realise that clement weather brings tourists out in full force and – let’s be honest – what nicer place is there to spend a sunny winter afternoon than Montmartre?  Take my story as a cautionary tale folks and if you are going to visit Sacré-Cœur (which you absolutely should) try to head there in the morning. Anyway, my photographer of the week and I decided to do what all professionals do and decided the situation was a sign from the universe that we should spend the next couple of hours eating nice food and waiting for the tourists to clear off. Doing the shoot at night made the experience far more pleasant and the basilica looks wonderfully dramatic but the picture quality seems to have suffered a tad. Still – a useful lesson to have learnt, and I hope you all enjoy the shoot anyhow.