Winter postcard from Paris

There is hardly a time of year when Paris isn't beautiful... on a clear winter's day a pastel sky reflects the soft colors of the buildings which line streets and boulevards, while restaurant and café lights cast a warm and inviting glow over the pavements.

This time we stayed at L'Hotel in the Rue des Beaux Arts in St Germain. I haven't been for a while, but the atmosphere is just as opulent, decadent and rock'n'roll as I remember it from my very first visits... almost thirty (!) years ago. Oscar Wilde famously lived and died here, and Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Dali, Elizabeth Taylor, David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Johnny Depp are among the many famous guests who have come to enjoy the bohemian charm of L'Hotel.

View from the staircase

Velvet and leopard prints reign at L'Hotel



The twenty (some very tiny) bedrooms are arranged around the circular central atrium

Walking down the nearby Rue Grenelle I came across a store called Cos, a brand which specializes in neutral basics in interesting and often oversized cuts. The quality seems great and the prices are very good. I found two fabulous tops at 59 EUR each. What's more, they have online shops in many European countries as well as in the United States: www.cosstores.com

I could not find the dark blue silk panelled shirt online, but my favorite, the camel V-neck top, is at the moment still available in Europe and the US:

US: http://www.cosstores.com/us/Women/Tops/V-neck_top/46885-19831623.1#c-15133319

France: http://www.cosstores.com/fr/Women/Tops/V-neck_top/46885-40641780.1#c-24479  


The sadness of leaving Paris is always sweetened by the fact that the train going home departs from the beautiful Gare de Lyon. It's wrought iron roof and old-fashioned station clocks are evocative of how romantic travel must have been at the beginning of the last century.

I always make sure to arrive early, so that there is enough time to raise a glass of champagne to Paris in the magnificently opulent and ornate Train Bleu station restaurant. It opened it's elegant mahogany doors in 1900 during the Great Exhibition, and its painted ceilings, gilt decoration, crisp tablecloths and shiny brass details make you feel as if you've been transported back into the Belle Époque.

 

Inspired by the many beautiful combinations in various blue and brown shades in the FSH windows, I paired my new camel top with a 'Cavelleria d'Etriers' shawl in bleu/violet/parme, worn in the basic bias fold.

Capsule wardrobe pieces: blue jeans and camel v-neck top
Accessories: Hermes 'Cavalleria d'Etriers' cashmere/silk shawl in a basic bias fold, Kelly Double Tour bracelet in ebene with GHW, camel Evelyne gloves and a Bolide 31 in Bleu de Prusse. 
Shoes: suede ankle boots

L'Hotel: 13 Rue des Beaux Arts, 75006 Paris, Tel: +33 1 44 41 99 00 www.l-hotel.com

Cos: 3 Rue de Grenelle, 75006 Paris, Tel: +33 1 40 48 28 50 www.cosstores.com

Le Train Bleu: 1er étage/1st floor, Gare de Lyon, Place Louis Armand, 75012 Paris,

Tel: +33 1 44 43 90 06 www.le-train-bleu.com

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