The Staple - Parisian Delights

Vive Paris

I have, of course, blogged about my love of Paris before. It is, despite its smelly tube, tiny flats, lack of parks and a thousand and one other badnesses, my spiritual home. Last week I had the pleasure of reporting from this different urban metropolis, and believe me, the pleasure was all mine. After a trip which has been over 6 months in preparation and thanks to a lovely Anglophile colleague in my company's Paris office, I'm was in la belle ville for a week, working (a little) and wandering (mostly). Eurostar aside (fires in the tunnel do not equal a Staple), this journey yet again reminded my why Paris is not just another city, it is an entire way of life. I'm staying in Anicee's small but beautifully formed studio, just around the corner from one of Paris' few parks, the Buttes-Chaumont. Just treading those streets again, wandering aimlessly and being able to walk from work to the rue du Faubourg St-Honore and browse in some of the most gorgeous designer boutiques in the world sans peur, drop into one of my top 5 shops in the world, Colette and pick up a huge stack of CDs and magazines, and then return back home, fling open the shutters and dine alfresco with a bottle of Leffe and a gorgeous sunset is really enough for me. Added to that my weekly shop here cost €18, and tomorrow will see me hitting both the (brilliantly-kept secret) APC stock shop and the cinema on the Canal St. Martin, and I am in living heaven. I hope to add some more to the 'Paris is amazing' debate as the week progresses, but one phrase which makes everything so appealing will definitely feature later on: 35-hour week. This week will be a special Staple of one thing: Paris. Seven essentials will follow come the weekend (and here's hoping that I get to go to the Technoparade...)

The Staple - Grace Jones

Amazing Grace

As I've mentioned previously, my summer has been liberally garnished with festivals. Actually, strike that, my summer has been nothing but festivals. Eight in total, finally finishing last weekend with Bestival (aka the Mud vs. Glitter) and one of the most brilliant performances I've seen all summer: GRACE JONES. I believe I've mentioned before how brilliant I think she is, her songs mean a lot to me and she's one of the 5 or so artists whose music never leaves my constantly rotating 2GB iPod (NOTE: Must get a bigger one soon). I love her. So when we slid up to the main stage at Bestival at the same time as a 'Secret Act' I was mildly amused. The opening bars of 'Nightclubbing' came on and I thought it was a backing track, then on she strode in an utterly ridiculous cape and leotard. I went utterly bonkers - missing her at Secret Garden and Festival Hall gutted me - and it made all the mud, rain and welly rash worth it. It's not that often I TOTALLY lose it to music, but for Grace, I do. Singing every word, humming every refrain and hands firmly in the air, I was blissing out. Then she proceeded to play all the songs I love, have an increasingly more ridiculous costume change EVERY song and make me bawl with joy. Absolute highlight of the year. When you're at festivals, especially with adverse weather conditions, you need an act like this who life your spirits, and make it all worthwhile. Bestival was pretty bliss in itself, mud excepted, and with all the sea creatures bouncing around to Grace, this was the icing on my festival season. Other Staples that will make your festival:
Grace Jones
Black wellington boots
M&S Mini Flapjacks
A fleece blanket
Gold sequinned shrugs
A selection of waterproofs
A thick cashmere rollneck for ultimate comfort

The Staple - B Store Sale Shoes 2/2

...of B Store magic

So there I was, rifling through a basement of beautiful clothes and shoes, working out if Siv Stoldal sheer white trousers would be practical in the rain (guess what? No.) when I was directed by the lovely girl working down there to a black, double-breasted jacket. Immaculately-tailored and with only one set of buttons, this will fulfil my need for a smarter autumnal jacket. I can already see it lending a sense of occasion to going out as the weeks roll past. My final purchase was again in the shoe department. Having waxed lyrical about getting some hi-tops last week, these Bernard Wilhelm beauties bring out my inner Klingon. K'avok ch'a! They, like the silver ones, are the softest leather, and unlike all my cheap canvas shoes, actually provide some foot support, so I expect them to be good for some street-pounding in the rain. For only 35 quid! Also, they are not too over-the-top, despite the typically Belgian detailing, which means I can wear them without the ceremony which would be required of a pair of electricc-blue patent ones. In these credit-crunch times, such conspicuous elements will be frowned upon, and here I have the ultimate boots, comfy, luxurious, but also understated. Not a word used often about Bernard Wilhelm...As if I needed more love for bstore, it's now a definite Staple - coupled with the lovely staff (Matthew Murphy, if you're reading - Tesco is not the best supermarket!) and delightful feel of civility. Now to this week's other Staples:
Bstore sale shoes
A lovely garden party in Honor Oak (courtesy of Jasper)
The Churchill Arms in Notting Hill
Peter Moren's brilliant performance at the Fly this weekend
Bestival planning
A morning glass of cranberry juice
Douglas Coupland's novel JPod

The Staple - B Store Sale Shoes 1/2

A Double Helping...

Last week's ruminations on AW08 galvanized themselves when I was informed that I was getting paid before the weekend, and then by chance checking my email just before leaving the house on Saturday to find that one of my favourite stores was having a sale. And not just any sale either, but 80% off. And not just any store, but bstore on Savile Row. Once my mind was made up, I hot-footed it down there, literally running down Conduit Street so I could still make it to a fantastic garden party (cheers Jasper) later that afternoon. What luck. Two pairs of shoes and a jacket, of which the above pair of beauties were the first thing that caught my eye. It's often very frustrating for me in sales, as it's usually only the large sizes of jumper that are left, and they are always enormous. With shoes however, I am blessed (in a double-edged sword way) with size 11 stonkers. What luck, then, that the only pairs of silver Mario's that were left were in my size, and reduced from £165 to an 'I-can't-believe-it's-not-more' price of £40. And they are comfy and not too showy; the silver is a more muted, subtle affair, and despite my enormous feet, these don't look like clown shoes. I am known for picking up sale bargains, but this has to have been the winner. Two pairs of surprisngly practical shoes which I wore all afternoon and evening with trousers and shorts, even when cycling that haven't made a mess of my feet. The key is the soft, raw leather which has already moulded itself to my feet. I can see these becoming firm favourites as Autumn draws in...

AW08 Thoughts #1

Credit crunch, credit crunch blah blah. No-one has any money, and as you'll have read countless times, this means everyone is buying less. Fashionwise, it's classic rather than crazy time. New accessories rather than entire outfits. With that in mind, I've been pondering the following purchases in order to update the wardrobe without any major investment (not that I actually need any clothes, in fact I'm due a clearout so if anyone knows of the best way to dispose of clothes (ideally with some financial recompense) then please do let me know.
First, I've been very tempted by several black patent leather belts - I know patent is not exactly a fresh idea, but I think it might give an interesting edge to old jeans, and replace the metallic ones I've been rocking seemingly forever. Dior has some nice ones (credit crunch alert!) but I reckon somewhere a little flash/nasty (like Massimo Dutti or Zara) may be a little my budget.
Second, paisley seems to be appropriate somehow - it's been all over catwalks, and the unusual retro-print is a pretty rare sight these days. Especially with "summer" now ending, I think a new scarf may be in order. My flatmate returned from Thailand with a gorgeous IKB-coloured scarf for me, and i reckon my dear mum might have some paisley material tucked away that could be ripe for conversion.
Third, some new trainers are also needed - I'm pretty much over my coloured plimsolls, but had no idea where to head next, until I saw a spread in the latest 10+ Men for patent hi-tops. I've got some gorgeous Marc Jacobs for Vans lo-tops from a few years ago, but I think something in a black or grey/silver might be the ticket. Perhaps these from Topman?
Finally, a good, structured jacket. This I think may be a sale purchase come Winter, and as with the belt, a hankering after designer (think Bottega Veneta, or McQueen) may have to be replaced with highstreet - Topman again has some good ones, but for £100. We shall see. Biding time will be key, as will be trying to avoid those impulse buys..

The Staple - Good Homewares