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When I set out on this Parisian boutique journey nearly two years ago, I would plan shopping trips to Paris and, in the weeks leading up to take off, would worry myself death! “What if I find NOTHING? What if I come back empty handed? What if I only find one pretty dress… and it has a wicked Merlot stain down the front?” Well, a handful of Paris shopping trips later, I have learned to trust that Paris will always promise two wonderfully delicious things… food and fashion. And not just any fashion… vintage fashion. And not just any vintage fashion… fabulous vintage fashion.
Food and fashion greet you the minute you exit the airport terminal to board the RER B train into Paris. A café selling warm baguettes and beautiful women who, let’s admit it, the world considers THE most stylish women on the planet. So, with the confidence that I would find whatever I was looking for if I looked hard enough for it, I went to Paris Fashion Week with a globally inspired Spring collection in mind.
One thing that unites women the world over is the desire to look our best and through the decades, designers have capitalized on that by taking inspiration from all of the beautiful cultures of the world. In 1954, Christian Dior sent Indian inspired, pink brocade gowns down the runway and in 1970, Coco Chanel designed a collection of black and gold silk embroidered evening coats with bronze and red beading in Chinoiserie motifs. And so I set off on the streets of Paris with a Metro pass and a vision, ISO pretty Parisian vintage with a nod to all of the women of the world and, as it turns out, I was successful in my hunt!
The Maison Marcellé Spring 2019 Collection includes Turkish kaftans reminiscent of those that Elizabeth Taylor and Lauren Hutton made so iconic. Full skirts in African prints, like works of art, are among my favorite finds. I’m a sucker for Asian silks (hmmm… I feel a fabric blog coming) so when I stumbled on some of the finest quality 1960s silk brocade minidresses I’ve ever seen, I lost all self control… and just bought more boxes. French fashion is represented in a majestic black and white, Givenchy-esque ballgown that I haven’t stopped drooling over and of course, I nurtured a carry-on full of Derby-worthy vintage Parisian chapeaux across the ocean. Italian leather sandals, British fascinators,
Moroccan jewelry… all the exotic colors of the world are represented with the beauty, style and grace that you have come to expect from Maison Marcellé.
Let’s play dress up, Mesdemoiselles.
