Studies in blue. A girl in in cornflower blue amongst the flowers of the Jardins du Luxembourg, absorbed in her own world. An incredible array of beads of all shades at the weekend flea markets, Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen. Exploring a single tone can be so effective on the body or in interiors.
These two shots show how the European man embrace’s colour more boldly than his Antipodean counterpart. The shades of pink worn by the gent in the first shot even extend to his shoes! In the next shot, this father and son were out for an evening stroll in their matching suits. The soft brown linen suit on the son is classic for summer, and the tan brown shoes really make the look of the father. Both shots show how effective it is to dress in tones of the same colour
I was hooked the minute I met Anne on a quiet lane in Le Marais. She was so shy but her style is bold and brave – a beautiful contradiction of preppy and sexy – with a great eye for colour – inimitable! Merci Anne
Its all in the detail. This Parisienne’s look is really about her belt and bag. They add warmth and layers of interest to this simple look and they match her skin tone so well. The touches of silver are also a great addition and add a cool note along with her shorts. A quintessential summer look of balanced tones
There is a wonderful use of colour and materials at the Musee du Quai Branly, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and landscape designer Patrick Blanc. Nestled in a large garden is a structure hard to define, multi-faceted and painted in tones of burnt ochre and red. These colours reflect the indigenous art and artefacts from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas displayed inside where walls, ceilings and floors are similar tones or finished in pale brown leather. The garden is the work of Patrick Blanc, as is the vertical planted wall of the museum that faces the Seine – a riot of different plants, textures and greens. The ceilings in the bookshop and research libraries are a highlight, painted by indigenous Australian artists, such as this spectacular one by John Mawurndjul. One for the must-visit-in-Paris list
I caught this shot quickly from a St Germain side-walk cafe as this lady in green maxi strode by. The emerald green against her tanned skin was wonderful, but the detail that really caught my eye was the position of her rope belt, it gave a wonderful Grecian goddess feel to this dress and personalised the maxi look
Talking of colourful men’s shoes and socks, we move onto Paris to find some fantastically dapper messieurs!
A collection of English summer blooms and blues, including my wonderful friend Amy. With a cool skin tone that tans easily, Amy can easily wear these bright blues. I love the mix of shades and the little jacket with t-shirt dress. Perfect for an English summer’s day, lady x
Paul Smith’s famous Covent Garden store is a riot of colourful stripes, beautifully tailored suits and gold framed nude portraits hung on every inch of the soft green walls (no photograhpy allowed, I’m afraid). Old fashioned timber dressers hold rows of men’s and women’s wear, and elegant staff float around by the dozen. Of course I love the colour Paul Smith offers men, and can’t resist the socks in particular for my husband – they peep out with true British cheek from below the leg of a conformist suit combination.
The big trend in London this summer is floral print dresses, and there were so many on view it became boring, until I spotted Leah in the doorway of the Betsey Johnson shop where she works in Covent Garden. On the aptly named Floral St, the store sells Betsey’s always colourful, 50’s inspired and slightly irreverent designs, of which this dress is a great example. Leah’s 50’s styling set off the dress so well – even the little star tattoos on her arm go with it! Thanks Leah