Week 26: Parc de Bagatelle

Now, I know I said I wouldn't talk about the weather anymore, but it feels necessary to make some mention of the heatwave which seems to have been sweeping the globe for the last couple of weeks. This is mostly necessary because it played a large part in deciding where this week's shoot should be!

This week, delightful boyfriend and I headed to the Parc de Bagatelle. So chosen because it was outside – and being inside is not an option in this heat – and a little bit off the beaten track so less likely to have been mobbed with tourists. For those of you who (are lucky and) don't know me – I'm a complete treasure, a TREASURE I TELL YOU… unless I am too tired/hungry/hot or need the loo. Then I can be the grumpiest being you ever did see. (Yes, just like a baby…) This means that it is a good strategy to keep me away from large groups of people who have a marked predilection for walking slowly, pausing suddenly, and taking photos often. 

Anyway, less about my foibles, more about the foliage. The Parc de Bagatelle is situated outside of central Paris, in the 16^th arrondissement's Bois de Boulogne. It forms the extensive gardens belonging to the Chateau de Bagatelle, an ex-hunting lodge which was transformed into a neoclassical playground for the aristocracy in the 18^th century. The grounds passed to the Comte d'Artois in 1775 and, following a bet with his sister-in-law (Marie-Antoinette – you might have heard of her) the chateau and its gardens were completed in under 3 months (63 days to be precise).

The name comes from the Italian word "bagattella" meaning "a trifle" or a little pretty thing. For any linguaphiles out there, the word "bagatelle" in French has now come to mean "philandering/nooky/rumpy-pumpy" as well. So now you know.

A chateau it may be, but it was considered very small at the time, as is reflected in the Horace quote which stands over the porch to the main entrance; "Parvus sed aptus", which means "small, but able". Incidentally, I'm thinking of using that as my new way to introduce myself, you know: "Hi, I'm Fran, parvus sed aptus", followed by a wink and a cheeky grin. Thoughts?

The gardens are enormous, were designed by Scotsman (woo) Thomas Blaikie, and include a pagoda, an obelisk, several waterfalls, and all sorts of fake ruins and grottoes. There is also an orangery and a rose garden and in June every year the gardens host an international competition for new breeds of rose.

In 1842 the 4^th Marquess of Hertford inherited the chateau from his father and used it to house his extensive collection of French art. Upon his death in 1870 both the chateau and the collection, along with a house in London, were passed on to his illegitimate son Sir Richard Wallace. In 1897 the art was brought over, installed in the house in London, and the Wallace Collection was born.

Due to the Anglo-Chinese style of the gardens and – to be frank, more importantly – because of the ridiculous heat, this week I opted for this simple floral dress from Apricot. I've said it before – floral dresses are not my fave. They are too simple, leave me very little to play with or embellish. However, it was 36/37 degrees this weekend. 36! I'm not sure if you know but Scots aren't really built for heat, we're not used to it. As a result, if I'm subjected to temperatures above a balmy 30° Celsius, my brain melts to a liquid not dissimilar to a fine French bouillon, and trickles out my ears.

Disgusting metaphors aside, it was too hot to be creative. Plus I love the fabric of this dress- the thick cotton makes it sturdy enough to not blow up in the breeze, but the cut means that it is held away from the body and doesn't cling. It's much shorter than I would normally go for but needs must in this heat, and I figured the slightly oriental style of the flowers would go quite well with the Chinese parts of the garden.

Dress - Apricot for New Look
Blue flats - Marks+Spencer
Wedges - New Look
Earrings - Present

I paired it with floral wedges initially, to try and invest some flair with an overload of patterns, but gave up halfway through and retreated to my faithful M+S flats. A girl's got to know her limitations. That's all for this week folks! Hope you're all enjoying the heat and the sunshine where you are and, if there isn't any chez vous at the moment, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN DAYS.

Week 23: La Mosquée de Paris

This week marked the last blogshoot with the dream team – that is to say, with Joy of A Roommate as my designated photographer. She has gone back to Blighty and to celebrate her last days in France, we decided to have a bit of a girly weekend. With that preamble, it may sound a bit strange when I say that we went to a Mosque, but don't worry – I'll explain all!

The Paris Mosque is situated in the 5^th arrondissement, right next to the Jardin des Plantes and is one of the largest mosques in the country. It was founded in 1926 as a thank you to the 100 000 Muslim "tirailleurs" from the French colonies who died fighting against the Germans.

The Mosque  was built in the mudéjar style – that is, in the style of Moorish architecture which originates from Spain and the other largely-Muslim parts of the Iberian Peninsula - and its minaret stands at 33 meters. My favourite fact about the mosque is that, during the Nazi occupation of France in WW2, it served as a secret refuge for Jews, giving them food, shelter and safe passage with fake Muslim birth certificates.

Along with gorgeous architecture and a great history, the Paris Mosque also has a restaurant, a tea room, a souk and  - most importantly – a hammam.

A Hamam is a Turkish bath, which is the Turkish take on a sauna the main difference being that there is less steam and more water. Quite honestly, Joy of a roommate and I had NO idea what to expect when we headed there, so we were pleasantly surprised to find several warm rooms, with small alcoves where you could sit and chat, fitted with taps and buckets so you could wash/cool yourself down. One of the rooms was more like a traditional sauna, but with a pool of cold water in the middle which was utterly wonderful to take a dip in once you had sweated out all your toxins!

Top - New Look
Trousers - H+M
Shoes - Marks+Spencer
Earrings - Bijou Brigitte

It is a women-only space Monday and then Wednesday-Saturday, with men having free reign on Tuesdays and Sundays and while, at 18 euros, it may sound a little expensive, but it was worth every centime. Massages and other treatments are also offered, but JOAR and I decided to stick to the baths. I came out with skin as soft as a baby’s and feeling so relaxed- a feeling only intensified by the mint tea and baklava we had in the mosque’s tearoom, whilst amusedly watching pigeons devour the leftovers of the table next to us!

As it was JOAR's last weekend AND the hammam was her idea
I thought it was only fair she got some airtime. 

I didn’t want to take any outfit pictures inside the mosque as I felt that would be extremely disrespectful, so this week’s outfit is inspired by the beautiful architecture of the mosque, but all photos of me were taken in the park across the street. I figured the lacy patterns in my beloved H+M trousers mimicked the delicate stonework of the mosque wonderfully, and I tied them up at the bottom to turn them from palazzo pants into harem pants (or, should that be, HAMMAM PANTS – I’m hilarious...) The top is from New Look and one of my favourites. Again, I felt it went well with the mosque’s overall aesthetic, as well as tapping nicely into this season’s love of graphic floral prints. Also did next to nothing to my hair and went for minimal make-up, so what you’re experiencing here is a post-hammam glow (if that’s not a cracking advertisement for this place, I don’t know what is!)

SO there you have it folks, get yourselves down to a hammam near you soon and embrace their steamy relaxation. In the mean time, enjoy the rest of your week and keep your eyes peeled for next week’s Blogpost (which ought to be much more punctual than this week’s!)

Week 19: Grand Palais

Well, we're carrying on with the Palais theme, and why not? You can't beat a good palace, even if this week's choice isn't (strictly speaking) one in the traditional sense of the term. It's pretty palatial nonetheless AND it provides a connection with the outfit of the week, so I'm sure you'll forgive me.

Yes, this weekend we headed to the Grand Palais (which basically translated as the "Big Palace"…sounds much better in French though!) The Grand Palais was built at the same time as the Petit Palais, to house bits of the Universal Exhibition and was opened on May 1^st 1900.

The building was designed and constructed in the Beaux-Arts style by four different architects who each took a separate part of the building.  Inspired by London's Crystal Palace, it was one of the last large-scale public buildings to need a glass ceiling before electric lights became widely used.

The Grand Palais was originally supposed to house the great artistic events of Paris –and indeed a great many art exhibitions have be held here, with Picasso and Matisse even having their first public breakthroughs under its glassy skies. However, the Palais has become far more famous for the vast array of other events it has held and purposes it has served. Alongside exhibitions for trains, planes, automobiles and household appliances, the Grand Palais has hosted an annual Riding Show (1901-57), a Boxing Match (1942), a military hospital (WW1), a depot-full of Nazi trucks (WW2), the Parisian Resistance's HQ (Liberation of Paris, August 1944), a Dance Festival (1989), regular Chanel fashion shows and even, in 2005, a fortnight-long fairground. Phew!

This weekend, the Grand Palais put on another wacky show for the public to enjoy; after a 10-year hiatus, the well-loved “L’Art du Jardin” (“Garden Art”) exhibition was back. First held in 1993, the L’Art du Jardin exhibition was the brainchild of entrepreneur Aude de Thuin who came up with the idea as a reaction to the French economic crisis in 1991. The exhibition pays homage to modern garden and landscape art and features a mixture of kooky garden furniture and ethical sculptures,  (crazy barbecues, a car that doubled as an enormous picnic hamper, a pond, an 1100-year old olive tree, you name it) showcasing work by artists, landscape gardeners, those who work in tree nurseries, horticultural specialists and architects.

Needful to say, it was brilliant fun – families and kids all over the place, innovative chairs to sit on, flowers to sniff, and nooks to hide in. There were even some peacocks!  And the giant glass roof made it feel both as if you were outdoors and inside a huge greenhouse at the same time.

What's more, the building is incredible, and I decide to honour its palatial nature by wearing… palazzo pants! (For any of you confused by my extremely tenuous link, both "palazzo" and "Palais" mean "palace". Learning is fun!) I bought these trousers a while ago on a whim and am super-chuffed that I finally get to use them in a shoot- they are hilarious and great.

This week's outfit didn't take inspiration from any runway collection particularly, but taps in slightly to the slouchy, pyjama-like tailoring seen at Celine, Chloe and Stella McCartney. Also it carries on the still HUGE trend of white, all white. The great thing about taking colour (almost entirely) out of the mix is that it forces one to be creative with other aspects: cut, style, fabric. The lace of these trousers does a similar thing to the glass of the Grand Palais' roof: It makes them lighter and airier, whilst adding an extra dimension to the outfit as a whole. I wanted to keep the look summery and relaxed – not too plain and neutral, but not too flamboyant either – so I added touches of red with the shoes, earrings, sunglasses and lipstick (oh, and hair obvs) and used no other accessories.

Crop top - ASOS
Trousers - H&M
Shoes - Primark
Earrings - Bijou Brigitte
Sunglasses - H&M

I must say, while I endeavour to wear solely clothes which I like, I felt particularly great in this outfit. Perhaps it was just the sunshine, but I felt more summery and comfortable in my hilarious trousers than I have in many rainy months… though I did notice a few sceptical/disapproving matronly glances at my bare (and very white) belly. Still, at least I didn’t get any from my mother who was this week’s wonderful photographer! Anyway, that's it for now- let's hope this weather keeps up and I wish you all the loveliest of weeks.