back from Paris

Paris is as wonderful and magical as ever.

We left  just a few  days before the horrendous terror attacks .My granddaughter is fine but somewhat traumatized as she lives around the corner  from Blvd Voltaire.

I had forgotten my battery charger so no photos of 

my subsequent trip to South East Kent and the blustery, windy coastline.

Home safe and sound and back to textiles soon.

Louis Vuitton

Its a wonder what you can do with the proceeds from some overpriced handbags!

The new ( opened last year) Louis Vuitton Foundation of contemporary arts, in Paris, is amazing.

Designed by Frank Gehry, it is set in the Jardin d'Acclimatation, at the end of the Bois de Boulogne

I found the building, and its contents exhilarating - I had no expectations so itis always thrilling to be so pleasantly surprised.
The restaurant, 'Frank', was pretty good too.

Paris

A few days in Paris and the weather, by chance, is just what one would want it to be.

After all these years I have never been on the Bateaux Mouches before, it was the perfect excursion for my 12 year old granddaughter.

EDIT...I take that back, I was on the Bateaux Mouche about 15  years ago , it was December, there was a transport strike, the tour boats were providing the only transportation in town ( apart from taxis). I have never been so cold in my life, waiting on the damp cobblestone banks of the river for about 2 plus hours.....and this from a Canadian!

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Old and young were out picnicking by the banks of the Seine

Our Paris apartment!

Back to vintage textiles next time....maybe.

Hudson's Bay blanket

There is a lot of confusion and fast growing myths about Hudson' s Bay blankets  these days 

Here are some recent conversations at market

C = customer

M=me 

C- "Oh look, everyone is  knocking off Hudson Bay these days"  pointing to very nice Ottawa Valley blanket c. 1940 ( above)
M- ( keeps mouth shut)

C- I'm looking for a Hudson Bay blanket.
M- Here you go, from the 50s or so.
C- Not that, I want a real Hudson Bay , with the stripes ( 1950s blanket, above)

M- A very interesting Hudson's  Bay blanket from the 1920s or 30s
C- But this one says its made in England
M- yes, that right.
C- That's   nonsense, we all know they are made in Canada.

C- showing an overseas guest around, " only Canadians are allowed to use these colored stripes"
M- "Actually this is a 1940s Mariposa blanket from Ohio"
C- "whatever"


 I must say, whoever owns The Hudson's Bay Company there days is doing a fabulous marketing job....I believe they even print those stripes on toilet paper,

Liberty scarves and more

Here are the latest thrift store finds to add to my collection of Liberty scarves

Pre war red paisley.....I am wearing it as  we speak and it is my favorite  sort of scarf. Warm, rich  colors, old and traditional. I think I have a couple more of this pattern, possibly a different size and colorway,

 1970s blue floral Liberty silk scarf!

Not a Liberty but I love it. Old Macclesfield classic print. Again pre-WW11,

I also could not resist these two Indian wool shawls with hand embroidery. A pleasure to wear and always useful.

Hermes alert, alert, alert

In about 25 years of collecting ( cheap) Hermes scarves at thrift stores and bazaars this is the first tine I have had a three Hermes day!!!.

 First up, a pastel peonies  design, 'Les Pivoines' by Christiane Vauzelles , rather the worse for wear with several quite noticeable ink stains. But hey - it was 99 cents and its an Hermes.

 In much better condition, like new, in fact, is 'LeTemps des Marionettes'. I believe this was designed in 1996 by Annie Faivre. This will be coming with me to Europe in October.

Finally, my favorite ' Costumes des Departmens de la Seine Inferieure du Calvados de la Manch et de L'orne'  designed by Zoe Pauwels in 1989. But this is not the exact design that is featured  in the Hermes scarf catalogue.......do you think it might be much earlier????
 Not pristine, but good enough for me.

 Not bad for a days work, eh? I hasten to add this is the first for my collection  in about a year/

some nice publicity

Kelly Brown, an exuberant, sunny,  fashion stylist and blogger from LA, borrowed some of my vintage dresses this summer for some shoots.

 A couple were featured in Jute magazine. I must say the dresses  look a damn site better than my amateur  pics here and here !!!!  sigh........I hardly recognized them.
 Wonderful photos by Michelle Aristocrat.

Kelly was so much fun to work with, full of enthusiasm and joie de vivre, she and her team did a terrific job.
I hope she comes back to Toronto next year.