Photo of the Week
Another view of the Centre Pompidou. Photo © Darren Palmer of Paris by Photo.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:00
Paris Update What's New in Paris
RESTAURANT/CLUB/CAFE
Wanderlust: Finally, part of Les Docks, Cité de la Mode et Design will open to the public on June 6. Brunch on the terrace, take a yoga class, take in a concert or dance all night. 34, quai d'Austerlitz, 75013 Paris.
SHOPS
Stella Cadente: The designer of very feminine clothing and accessories has a new Paris store that's like a gold-lined tunnel. 102 boulevard Beaumarchais, 75011 Paris.
Ecolo-Chic: Pop-up store in the Marais selling ethically resourced products, from toys and design to organic wine. 90, rue des Archives, 75003 Paris.
SMOKING
A new organization, L'Union pour les Droits des Fumeurs Adultes, has been formed to lobby for the rights of French smokers
JUSTIN ON THE ROOFTOPS
Keep your eyes peeled: Justin Bieber will be filming for the Web TV program live@home in an undisclosed location on the rooftops of Paris on the evening of May 31. Click here to win a pass to the taping.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:00
Paris Update Flash News
CAKE THE WAY WE LIKE IT
Goodies on display at Merce and the Muse.
Nowadays, American expatriates in Paris can easily satisfy almost all their nostalgic food cravings, from hamburgers to Reese’s peanut-butter cups or Oreo cookies. Until Merce and the Muse opened in the Upper Marais, however, it wasn’t easy to find good homemade, American-style cakes. The desserts at this homey, flea-market-furnished café are not just good, they are scrumptious and original, made from owner Merce Muse’s own recipes. The other day I shared a slice of chocolate layer cake with vanilla icing and another of pistachio cake with rose icing with a friend, but in truth I wanted to eat all of both of them. 1 bis, rue Dupuis, 75003 Paris. Tel.: 09 53 14 53 04. Open Tues.-Sun. for breakfast, lunch and coffee; brunch on Sunday. Heidi Ellison
Paris Update This Week's Events
For full details about an event, click on its name to visit the official Web site (in English when available).
 Art Saint-Germain-des-Prés
>Left Bank gallery walk. Collective opening, May 31, 6pm. May 31-June 3.
Carré Rive Gauche
>Another Left Bank gallery walk, with 120 participating galleries. June 1-June 3.
Champs-Elysées Film Festival
>A new Franco-American film festival, presided over by Lambert Wilson and Michael Madsen. Various locations, Paris, June 6-12.
Chartre en Lumières
> The town of Chartres illuminates its monuments and the cathedral with colorful light installations. Through Sept. 15.
Designer's Days
>Design shops, galleries, schools and more participate in a city-wide design event. Various locations, Paris, May 31-June 4.
Festival de l'Imaginaire
> Performances by troupes from around the world, Maison des Cultures du Monde, Paris, through June 17.
Festival de Saint Denis
> Music festival featuring both stars like Sir Colin Davis and young talents; ends with a dawn performance by horse whisperer Bartabas and oud player Mehdi Haddab, Cathedral and Legion of Honor, Saint Denis, through June 30.
Festival Extensions
> Concerts, dance, films and more, various locations, Paris and Val de Marne, through May 31.
Festival International des Jardins de Chaumont-sur-Loire
>"Gardens of delights, gardens of delirium" is the theme of this year's garden festival, Chaumont-sur-Loire, through Oct. 21.
Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés
>Jazz acts ranging from amateur to big names like Ahmad Jamal and Yusef Lateef (together). Various locations, Paris, Through June 3.
Le Court en Dit Long
>Festival of short films. Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, June 4-9.
Nomades
>Cultural festival in the third arrondissement; art, poetry, concerts and more. Various locations, Paris, May 31-June 3.
Quinzaine des Réalisateurs
>The features and short subjects entered in this category at the Cannes Film Festival shown in Paris, Forum des Images, Paris, May 31-June 10
Salon du Vin de La Revue du Vin de France
>Annual wine fair. Palais Brongniart, Paris, June 2-3
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Created on Tuesday, 15 November 2005 23:00
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Published on Tuesday, 03 July 2007 23:00
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Written by Heidi Ellison
Black Is So 17th Century
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| Plus ça change.... |
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There may be nothing new under the sun, but the Sun King himself had plenty of nouveautés up his billowing sleeve. Almost everything we know about fashion today, according to Joan DeJean’s book The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour (Free Press), originated under the reign of Louis XIV, with the help of his crafty finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert.
According to DeJean, a professor specializing in 17th-century France at the University of Pennsylvania, the mincing, charismatic young Louis XIV deliberately set out to change France’s place in the world. “When his reign began,” she writes, “his nation in no way exercised dominion over the realm of fashion. By its end, his subjects had become accepted all over the Western world as the absolute arbiters in matters of style and taste, and his nation had found an economic mission: it ruled over the sectors of the luxury trade that have dominated that commerce ever since.”
The book is full of entertaining anecdotes about the fashion excesses of Louis’ day and comparisons with today’s trends. One of the earliest hairdressers, cunningly named Monsieur Champagne, is a good example. He insulted his aristocratic clients, bedded them and often stormed out of the room, leaving them half-coiffed. The must-have hairstyle of the day was the fontange, an elaborate do named after one of Louis’ mistresses.
DeJean notes that the idea of fashion seasons was originated during Louis’ reign by the popular newspaper Le Mercure Galant, which issued the type of fashion diktats we are all familiar with today, including the prophetic “everyone is wearing black” for the winter of 1679.
She goes on to describe how the newspaper
invented lifestyle marketing and how the lower classes adapted the fashion diktats to their budgets.
Many of the advertising, marketing and branding techniques we are familiar with today were invented on Louis’ watch, and he was apparently behind the birth of nightlife as well. Why is Paris called the “City of Light”? Because Louis insisted that the streets be lit at night, facilitating after-dark outings.
While DeJean’s book has more depth than one might expect from the subject matter, she fails to mention the dark side of Louis’ innovations: much of the wealth generated by the new luxury industry was used to fill the king’s war coffers. Today, it continues to fill the coffers of the still-unrivaled French luxury industry.
Reviewed by Karen Burshtein
Heidi Ellison
© 2005 Paris Update
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