Three days. That’s how it took me to get in the groove of fashion week.

Three years after my very first shows, what has changed? At first I was mesmerized by eveything I saw. Now I have more distance… And I hate that feeling!
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The first images were pretty shocking. Seriously? Wrinkles!!! Maybe the girls of Sex and the City should have stopped while they were ahead. And then does it sparkle. Where is the simple and joyous mess? And what about Carrie’s charming and slightly dated apartment? Miranda’s bizarre outfits? And what about that all-too-glossy world they live in?

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You’ve gotta imagine a Saint-Tropez filled with stylish girls. The first day, they would all head to K-Jacques and Rondini (including me). The second day, they would painfully experiment with the rising prices in the touristy parts of town (including me, again –> how are you going to try to sell me a pair of Alexander Wang shoes at double their price – 1000 euros). And the third day, they’d finally find happiness in an amazing thrift-shop, the Marché du Marin.

Can you imagine the atmosphere of a showroom during fashion week ? Well, the day I got there, it was exactly the same. Mademoiselle Agnès wasn’t the only one here: she’s got Emmanuelle Alt and Carine Roitfeld with her who are all happily vintage-shoppin’-it-up for their whole family, surrounded by lots of other stylists and fashion people. I didn’t take photos because I’m no paparazzi — except to get Agnès, who was just about on her knees for these too-cool shorts and wanted to show them to me.

Yep. So you’ll have to take my word for it when I tell you that doing your shopping next to Emmanuelle Alt is hell. It’s like she has an antenna for awesome outfits. Every time I saw something that could potentially interest me, from afar, by the time I got there, she would already have it in her hands. This big faded pink fleece sweater, for example. Or this grandpa shirt. Or this awesomely shiny marine vest. Pffffff.

FRUSTRATION! I let it go and promised myself I’d be back the next day, alone, far from any fashion intimidation.

The next day, I pillaged and plundered. And I usually hate vintage stuff in general but it’s like they opened up a treasure chest just for me :

- The clothes smelled good.
- The selection was incredible. Nothing overly stupid or too-much, a big section just for vintage marine wear, but done tastefully. There were also a few lacy things and college sweat-shirts, leather bags, but all was already sifted through. You didn’t have to spend three days to find something which is exactly what drives me nuts in most vintage laces.
- Reasonable prices.
- And then on top of all that, the shop was super cute.

Why isn’t there any places like this in Paris?

PS = THIS IS MY NEW IT-BAG ALL FOR MYSELF. YOU LIKE IT? YOU’D BETTER CAUSE I’VE BEEN CARRYING IT AROUND SINCE WEDNESDAY.

Le Marché Du Marin, 4 Avenue Foch 83990 Saint-Tropez.

Translation : Tim Sullivan

#3 This Muse Two in military garb, after saw it, I was told it was part of a very limited edition of pieces that YSL made for his favorite editors. I even saw them under Carine Roitfeld’s arm who almost never has a bag with her….

Pffff, for two days now, we’ve been getting weather that’s so typically London. Rain, grey skies… You could freeze out here!

That said, before the shows, everyone meets up at the TopShop Café. TopShop has a really active part in fashion week this year (Yeah, that’s the reason I’ve talked about them twice in a row… But after today, promise, no more!). The giant British brand sponsored tons of shows, released a lot of work by young designers, and injected a lot of money and energy into this year’s fashion week.

And offers a cozy little escape for the whole thirsty and hungry fashion crowd.

I love this stuff.

Carine Roitfeld and Carla Sozzani, in the middle of a conversation before the Marios Schwab show.

Tiffany, I love your look! And I want your trench.

I love this stuff. Part deux.

I’m getting that something’s going on with these trenches…

And off we go, a quick stop. It’s nice that the café is 10 feet from the next show.

Besides, it’s time for my latte. Big hugs! Bonne journée!

Translation : Tim Sullivan.

I can’t believe it. You’ve actually succeeded in getting me to publish a picture of myself. Aaaaah bravo!!!

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Woooohooooo!!! The new Vogue.com is live! And to inaugurate the site’s renaissance, I had the chance to follow around Carine Roitfeld during the fashion weeks.

First off, I’m so excited about this new collaboration with Paris Vogue. Because I’ll be working closely with the magazine team and will take you with me behind the scenes that always keep me dreaming. But also because the new Vogue.com gives me all the freedom in the world to express myself with larger images, sounds, and a lot of new things I’ll be playing with over the next year. And then because I can share everything with you, thanks to Tim who will be translating my articles with his legendary talent. (Tim, I love you.)

Yesterday was the Chanel show. The Chanel show? The show of shows of shows? And then some. Taaadaaaa…. Music please!!!

The Grand Palais was transformed into a barn with a whole bunch of decorations à la Disneyland, only better, totally beautiful. All the platforms were wood, there was hay everywhere and people were going a little nuts. The hysteria was palpable.

The girls started down the catwalk with a hop in their step, beautiful and happy. When suddenly…

Lily Allen came out of the earth (Seriously, honest to god) to do a concert… Yeeaaaa!

And then Freja, Baptiste and Lara decided to have a ménage à trois… Yummy!

… With the blessing of Karl Lagerfeld, of course, in a most triumphant salute. No worries, you’ll always get the biggest show, Karl. All the others, you can always try to keep up.

Carine, loved it. Prince (Yep, Prince!)(No, I didn’t get a shot of him. You want me to die? His body guards make the most unbreakable wall. I don’t know if he could even see the show.)(Well, that and I didn’t actually see him.) Anyway so Prince… he was dazzled. Well, at least I think so. Agnès told me about so. Agnès was amazed. Everyone thought they were at a rock concert, a mass, a play, a party and… wait for it! A runway show too!

Riots! Hysteria! Chanel! Craziness! Genius! Karl! Encore! With Scott, we decided that it’s no longer far off from just having to pay to get into shows. You’ll have to get your tickets six months ahead of time. There’ll be tickets on the black market with absurd prices. You’ll have to sleep in front of the show for three days to get front row seats. Anna Wintour will be super protected in a glass VIP box that will be formed perfectly to fit her hair. It’ll be like a Madonna show…

Well, okay, so it was Scott who said that. I told him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But in the end…

Craziness! So many people, I really didn’t have any idea where I was anymore. It’s that in terms of style for runway shows, with Chanel, it’s a different level of language. Do you know the Chanel alphabet?

Come on, of course you do:

Chanel! Hysteria! 2.55! Craziness! Luxury! Style! Chanel! Chanel!!! Commercial genius.

Some people, like the amiable Caroline Sieber knows how to have fun with the Chanel alphabet.

And Voilà !

Hey, wait, you think you’ve seen it all? Nope! We’re not done yet! Chanel, in the Chanel language, it means quite simply… Reinvent from now until forever!

Chanel! Hysteria! 2.55! Craziness! Luxury! Recession? What are you talking about? Chanel! Chanel! Chanel!

Bonne journée!

Translation : Tim Sullivan