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The Paris Fashion Report : Summary
November 2, 2006

Now that I'm back in New York, I've been reflecting on what I learned during my time in Paris. I would have to say that I learned the value of minimalism. And I don't mean it as an aesthetic statement (heaven's no!), but as a quanity thing.

It's far better to buy one fabulous, of-the-moment skirt and wear it three times a week for four months than to get a whole bunch of 'nothing special', but have a different outfit every day.

The same applies to shoes. I have told you about a chic friend of mine who will spend a bundle on a great pair of shoes, but she will wear them every day until they break or the season is over...then she'll get a new fabulous pair. She probably spends less than many 'girls on a budget' that I know, but she looks far more interesting.

I took my own advice on this and bought some fabulous black suede Prada wedges. These Michael Kors wedges ($240, Bergdorf Goodman) are kind of similar...

They will look endlessly current all season, they are comfortable and you can wear them with everything.

I think this is the better approach to shopping. Be honest, don't you have loads of stuff in your closet that you never wear? Just imagine if you took all that money you wasted and bought a great version of the black pants you wear all the time. Or one great bag that you could carry every day rather than a bunch of junky ones.

The other important lesson was the whole moderation in diet thing. You may have what you want to eat, just don't eat much of it. You got a hankerin' for a hunk of Brie? Fine, just limit yourself to a little hunk and enjoy every bite. Same goes for all the yummy foods about which we obsess. A couple of small bites of foie gras are fabulous, you don't need the whole slimy jar.

Finally, I learned the value of fearless dressing. Start with a really elegant base and add a really quirky pin or some wild shoes. No more than two items 'of interest', though. And that whole 'fearless' part is really important. The women I got to meet just really didn't seem to give a fig about what you though of their outfits. Pleasing themselves was all that counted -- an attitude that, I understand, is rampant with four-year-olds.

Here I am galivanting around the Place de la Concorde with the Eiffel Tower all lit up in the background. I'm looking forward to my next trip and will continue to try to crack the French style code.

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