Parisienne falls hard for local luxe
Sorry to be late with this one and thanks to LauraH for catching it!
I had dinner with my visiting French girlfriend, Huguette, a Parisienne who, after a glass of wine, confessed that she had bought a cardigan at ça va de soi.
"But", she exclaimed, "it is so horrendously expensive! I don't usually spend that much." I said, "Uh, you don't think so?", and offered memories of being with her in Paris when she merrily rolled past that price point, and gestured toward the $450 Japanese shoes she was wearing, hardly an isolated example.
"OK", she replied cheerfully, "I'm thinking of getting the same one in pink, too." That is what this line does to a woman; as we say here, "Elle a trippé forte."
She had her prize rolled in her handbag: the Patty, a fine-knit shirt of Egyptian cotton blended with a thread of raw linen, in a mysterious green, one of those odd "goes with nothing/goes with everything" colours. Perfect for travel, because it can be worn either open, or closed as a shirt.
ça va de soie is available online; sorry to say, there are never sales. My present stash rests at five pieces, of which one was a gift, one secondhand. I am still wearing my first, now at least a dozen years old. Yes, I would like to buy as blithely as my friend!
Long known for whispery, subtle colours, they have added a few brights and for fall, deep neutrals. Prices below are proudly in $CDN.
Left: Alashan Cashmere Savini turtleneck in "marasquin"; price $450
Top right: Thousand Washes Cotton Valencia cardigan with pockets in "pistache"; price, $250
Bottom right: Nuage wool Oscalito pashmina in "cappucino"; price, $195
"So should I meet you there?", I asked, as we discussed where to have lunch in a few days. "Well", she said with the helpless, slightly glazed look of someone smitten, "maybe just a few blocks away."
I had dinner with my visiting French girlfriend, Huguette, a Parisienne who, after a glass of wine, confessed that she had bought a cardigan at ça va de soi.
"But", she exclaimed, "it is so horrendously expensive! I don't usually spend that much." I said, "Uh, you don't think so?", and offered memories of being with her in Paris when she merrily rolled past that price point, and gestured toward the $450 Japanese shoes she was wearing, hardly an isolated example.
"OK", she replied cheerfully, "I'm thinking of getting the same one in pink, too." That is what this line does to a woman; as we say here, "Elle a trippé forte."
She had her prize rolled in her handbag: the Patty, a fine-knit shirt of Egyptian cotton blended with a thread of raw linen, in a mysterious green, one of those odd "goes with nothing/goes with everything" colours. Perfect for travel, because it can be worn either open, or closed as a shirt.
ça va de soie is available online; sorry to say, there are never sales. My present stash rests at five pieces, of which one was a gift, one secondhand. I am still wearing my first, now at least a dozen years old. Yes, I would like to buy as blithely as my friend!
Long known for whispery, subtle colours, they have added a few brights and for fall, deep neutrals. Prices below are proudly in $CDN.
Left: Alashan Cashmere Savini turtleneck in "marasquin"; price $450
Top right: Thousand Washes Cotton Valencia cardigan with pockets in "pistache"; price, $250
Bottom right: Nuage wool Oscalito pashmina in "cappucino"; price, $195
"So should I meet you there?", I asked, as we discussed where to have lunch in a few days. "Well", she said with the helpless, slightly glazed look of someone smitten, "maybe just a few blocks away."
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