Life in Paris.

About five months ago, I got a crazy idea to hop over to Paris for a year to Au Pair, all while simultaneously brushing up on my French and exploring all things european fashion. After a week of adjusting to the time zone and getting to know the family I am staying with, I got the chance to have a night tour of the city, driven around by two born and raised Parisians. We drove past the Grand Palais, le Louvre, Notre Dame, L'Arc de Triomphe and so many other beautiful places. We capped off the evening with a cappuccino while watching the Eiffel Tower light up at 11PM on the dot. Perfect evening.

Then September 1st came around, also known as the day I received my metro card for the year! So of course I was up early Sunday morning to go explore Champs-Élysées and Ave. George V. Champs-Élysées is great,  but truth be told I totally zipped down quickly and headed straight for Ave. George V., which is where I knew I would be able to gawk at the windows of some of the most profound designer storefronts. There were a few big names missing, but I was able to capture a few of them with my Nikon, one I did not get a decent photo of was Fendi and Chanel side by side - oh Karl! 

It was amazing just to peak through the windows of the CLOSED stores on a Sunday, the beautiful architecture of the buildings mixed with high end fashion is absolutely devine.

photo source: emma kathleen

September is a great month for fashion, with fashion weeks kicking off in New York, and of course Fashion's Night Out being across the world mid-month! I picked up a copy of Vogue Paris, and it came with a little guide of this years Vogue FNO in Paris. It should be interesting to check out Paris' FNO - definately looking forward to September 17th!

So glad to finally be back blogging, and the fact that I have the opportunity to spend the next year exploring this beautiful city, I am sure will lead to many photos taken and blog posts posted.

xxx

Team USA Uniform (Made in China)

With the Olympics just two weeks away, it is no doubt people are starting to pay attention to anything happening with London 2012. Recently there has been quite a bit of of controversy towards Ralph Lauren's uniforms for Team USA being made in China. The Olympics is one of the longest standing patriotic events, and it is only assumed that the clothing worn by the athletes during opening/closing ceremonies is made in their own country. Perhaps some of the smaller countries could get away with having uniforms made elsewhere, but for America, this is just unacceptable. Why? Because the American's are very patriotic and it should show in their clothing down to the very last stitch.

Yes, the fleeces for team USA from Salt Lake in 2002 were made in Canada - but people are beginning to pay attention to these things now, and it took no time at all for "Made in China" to be noticed. Being a former athlete myself, I think of the athletes in the opening/closing ceremonies or receiving a medal, representing the country they love, and wearing clothes from a country that is not your own. I guess this is just something that doesn't settle well with me, I would love to hear what anyone else has to say! xxx

Photo of 2012 London Team USA uniforms (Made in China)