Parisian wedding dresses

When we went to Paris just before Christmas, I picked our hotel based on price (Mr. HH is ridiculously cheap-I don’t know how he ended up with me).  I didn’t go for super cheap (cause those can be scary), but we certainly weren’t going to stay next to the Louvre or off the Champs Elysee.  We stayed near the Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est (North and East train stations, which are just a few block from each other).  Apparently, this is the wedding district.  Almost every shop was dedicated to le beau mariage.  I got so many responses and emails about the wedding dress photos I took in Strasbourg  (Interestingly I was sick then too—seeing a pattern?), I thought you might like to see some from the Parisian shops.  I have to say, the prices weren’t nearly as bad as I thought they would be, but again, these were not the pricey boutiques on the Champs Elysee.

I’m not so sure about the green flowery, poofy things on the dress in the first photo, but I like the use of color and the different whites.

 

They seem to be big into detail work.  The last one though, you have to be really confident, in great shape and have an understanding fiancé to pull off.

 

 

The above photos were taken at night, but the next day, I took some from a few other shops.  The night photos are better IMO because they have few reflections in them, but in a few of them, you get an idea of the area from the reflection. 

This first gown I liked so much I took a close up of the detail.  Isn’t that pretty?  And look only 349 Euro!  With the exchange rate today, that’s just under $500.  That’s a bargain!

                   

The mannequin on the far right of the first photo looks like she’s been celebrating too much.   I’m not sure about the dress in the far right of the second photo.  It looks kind of like birds attacked it.  The dress in the far left of the second photo though, I think is lovely.

 

They seem to be really into the whole layering thing.  Let me tell you how thrilled Mr. HH, Indy and my dad were that I kept making them stop to look at wedding dresses. 

    

Layering, frou-frou and beading!  Oh, my!

I’m assuming this first gown is either a MOB dress or a dress for a second wedding.  It seems a bit matronly, but still, it’s lovely.  The one next to it, however is anything but matronly.  Down right scandalous!  Again, you have to be really confident and in really good shape to wear that.

                          

 

And finally, because I could, hello!  Shoes!  I thought the glittery starry shoes would be perfect for a NY Eve party.  The boys wouldn’t let me stop to try them on (probably because Mr. HH knew they’d somehow end up in my luggage).  I need to go to Paris with girls.  Stupid boys. 

I hope you enjoyed a little peek at the wedding district.  Until next time, bon appetite!  Oh, no wait, that’s Julia Childs’ line, isn’t it?  Well then, merci d'être passé sur.  Or something like that.

Get your act together and stop the schlump

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment (everything’s fine, don’t worry). I got up and put myself together. Nothing fancy, jeans, cute top (not trendy or expensive, just cute), with a scarf (it’s very European to wear a scarf all the time) and slipped on a pair of super cute high heeled slide sandals (seriously, they’re ridiculously cute). I did my hair and spent about 6 minutes slapping on some moisturizer, face powder, lipstick and mascara. I did not put a lot of effort into getting myself together, but I put some effort.

I sat in the waiting room and looked around at all the other people waiting I wondered why the lack of effort. I mean we were in a waiting room of the doctor’s office and it’s possible that some of these people were indeed sick (though no one really looked like swine flu sick or sick at all to be honest), but even sick, I can brush my hair and put on something other than grubby sweats, a holey t-shirt and flip flops.

I have to say it makes me sad that people (specifically women) take so little pride in themselves and their personal appearance. It doesn’t take much time, effort or even money to look good. Nice clothes can be found at yard sales, thrift stores and second hand shops for very little. Just washing your face, brushing your hair and putting on decent clothes goes a long way though. I just don’t understand why people don’t care about the way they look. I’m not saying I look I look great all the time (believe me, I don’t), but unless I’m half dead I make an effort.

Are you guilty of this? Do you just not care what you look like when you go out? I’m not saying looks are everything, and you should judge people by outward appearances (but let’s be honest here, we all do, even though we know we shouldn’t), but think about the image you put out there. Does it project who you are? Are you a schlump? Are you a woman who puts all her effort into everything but herself? Be proud of yourself! Even if you think you’re overweight or out of shape or you’re tired (believe me, I’m there every day) or you have a million other things to do, take a few minutes for yourself and make an effort. Not only will you look better, you’ll feel better.

And now I’m getting off my soapbox. On which I wore kick ass shoes.

EDIT: Let me climb back up on my box (not as easy as you'd think in these shoes). After reading the comments, I would like to clarify that I'm not saying you should wear makeup every day to look good. Some people are allergic, and while that makes me a little sad for you, it's completely understandable. If you don't wear makeup, that's okay. Even if you don't wear makeup though, you can brush your hair and wear clean, non grubby clothes. Looking decent doesn't mean looking like a fashion plate. It just means you take some pride in your personal appearance. Now, could someone please help me down?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugg (ly)

WARNING! PHOTO HEAVY!

I know that Europeans are supposed to be the arbiters of fashion, but we saw some SERIOUS fashion faux pas (pases?) while we were at DLP. Oh, it was awful. I have photographic evidence. Some of them are hard to look at. Be brave.

There are so many things wrong with this couple. His pants were faux baggy, BTW. There was a second waistband above the bagginess. Weird. And her...bless her heart. It was just tragic.


There was so many of this type of hat floating around. This is the only one I could get a close up on.


Europeans really like mesh. You'd think they wouldn't given how cold it is, but they really do.


This poor girl. It was actually her birthday (hence the leis?). Someone should have given her a fashion book. Tim Gunn would not like this. She had another (black) belt on around the waist of her jeans.


Sadly, it wasn't just the women.



These are kind of hard to see, but they are SILVER.


Red. Lots of red going on here.


Zoom in on this picture. Really, you NEED to.


This is blurry because she was on the move, but these are hot pink pants with a black mesh overlay. Fancy.


1983 called. It would like its shoes back.


'Cause I'm a gangsta, and ya know 'dis.


Help! Her feet are being eaten by some sort of woodland creature!

Blow this one up. Zoom in on mom's pants and shoes. Her kid doesn't stand a chance.


Won't someone please think of the children?


I'm all for heels, but these are just not the proper footwear for Disney. You KNOW she was griping all day about how much her feet hurt.

Um...pink?


I have no words.


Knee warmers? I....don't get it.


AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!




Okay, it wasn't all bad. This couple here was so stylish. Also, pretty. He was some serious eye candy. It hurt me to put a smiley over his pretty face.


A little fashion forward, but still, they look chic.


And it wasn't just young, hip couples. Look at these moms and kids. Don't they look lovely? Nothing fancy, but still stylish.


I actually have 300+ photos of people in bad clothes. It was hard to choose just a few to post here. I may not always be a fashion plate, but at least I don't look like I dressed in the dark in someone elses room.