October 1, 2014

tweed dress – COS, color-blocked dress – COS, Soleil de Soie scarf – Hermes (vintage), black and white silk Bandana – Hermes, grey and black “twilly” silk hairband – Hermes, grey and black star cardigan – Rika, black and white star sweatshirt – Maison Scotch
I did not shop the first four days I was in Europe, because I was escorting my two photographer friends, and we were BUSY finding great locations and walking, walking, walking! (there will soon be a new header for The Vivienne Files!)
I know, it’s hard to imagine that I saw any museums, monuments, or restaurants… but I have found that my Paris purchases almost always become my wardrobe staples for years to come, so I’ve started to plan for some shopping when I’m there. Does anybody else have this much luck shopping 4,000 miles from home?love,
Janice
What wonderful shopping adventures you had!
Since I sew my wardrobe, I generally come home toting several yards of fabric. Seems the nicest stuff lives in a different place than I do ~grin~
I love the dresses! And like you, I'm always looking/asking for an Hermes scarf with some black in it.
Beautiful additions! I am crazy over your two new star additions. Must add something with stars to my want list, lol.
Hi,
Lovely dresses, but you didn't find the lovely Cos stores in Amsterdam? I live in Amsterdam and love to shop there.
I did, but I decided to hold off that shopping until Paris, so I wouldn't have SO MUCH to carry on the train! I loved Amsterdam…
Love your new pieces and that vintage Hermes scarf with the splash of Orange is simply gorgeous!
Hermes duty free at CDG airport? Now that is going to be a great reason to get to the airport early!
Hostess–Just to help you with planning….the duty free is @ 10% under the regular price.
Next time let me know and I'll show you our hidden gems!
Stars for the Star of Bloggers! Wonderful finds, Janice. I'm so glad you had such a good time.
Congrats on all your shopping (and the "duty free straight ahead" comment made me laugh!). When I lived in San Francisco, a friend of mine (who lived in New York at the time) would shop when she visited. Something about being on vacation….
But I have a question about Hermes scarves–you can't get them wet, correct? (As in, rain….) I live in Oregon, and I just can't see trying to protect a scarf every time I turn around. Ain't got the mental bandwidth for that at this time in my life!
Well, some of them will run like the wind if you get them wet, but I generally just tuck mine down under my coat or jacket if it starts to rain. Don't tell the Hermes people, but I also WASH my scarves, which probably drives them crazy. You just have to move fast and not give the colors time to bleed into each other.
I think I'm just lucky with things like this!
How fun to see the results of your shopping adventures. Love the tweed dress.
Gosh, that sounds like a lovely trip and a lovely lot of shopping. It's so nice when you find special pieces overseas – they're momentos that keep giving as you regularly wear them. Still, I have been seduced into items that work beautifully in the local environment but not when you get them home. We live and learn…
Janice, these choices are, as one might expect, so very you! When I get back to doing any buying again, I hope I can zero in on my own-ness, as you have. I'm finding it difficult to buy my "everyday" (retirement in rural village) clothes. I need practical things and somehow they all seem just too basic to get excited about, even though they are well-coordinated. Any thoughts? Hugs from
Swissy
I'm replying because I too am retired- though not rural. Depends on your climate but if you have any cool to cold weather, I suggest you consider cashmere from Eric Bompard, which you can order online (in English). It comes in gorgeous non-standard-issue colours and both classic and innovative styles. Wait for post-holiday sale. The web site gives garment measurements. And you can wash nearly all styles yourself! Really boosts the style quotient of your denim or cords.
Love your choices. I find shopping "on the road" very stressful. I wish I had your confidence and decisiveness.
Love your new "shop" also.
It looks like you did very well. The trip sounds lovely and mad-dash and "duty-free straight ahead"!
I love shopping in London as they have Cos, Toast etc that I really like. Added bonus is that I can go into the Eileen Fisher stores in London. In Australia we do not have anything similar. In Paris I like Metal Pointus for jewellery. I will be in in both cities later this month and can't wait. Thanks Maryann
Welcome home! Love what you bought. One of the nice things about buying special clothing pieces on a wonderful vacation is that when you get dressed in the morning, you enjoy the beautiful clothes and you also get to enjoy the memory of the trip.
Beautiful pieces, especially the color-blocked dress. Cos has such nice clothes, simple yet stunning.
And I can so relate to your experience. I just bought my entire fall/winter capsule wardrobe on a recent trip to Germany. Not as impressive as the distance you traveled, we are talking a couple of hundred kilometers. But still, I find it easier to go shopping there because I know the stores I have to go to to get my tops or bottoms, its like shopping on autopilot. I could almost buy without trying things on whereas in the Netherlands, most of the garments -especially bottoms- are too long or just do not fit me right.
Love your travel blog. I do shop in Germany during my annual trips. There are still many high quality labels to be found for women at our age. So glad you had a wonderful time.
Seeing all the ladies coming to shop in Germany makes me smile – I live here and shop everywhere else but!
I'm too short, have a backside (German cuts are straight…), Italian & Spanish brands plus some UK and US suit me better. Thank heavens for international shipping!
When I look at each item, see how your choices work with your wardrobe. Sometimes I do what you did with buying two starred pieces of similar scale- usually one ends up not being worn much…have to be on guard for what I call "I'm Here, It's Here (And I Will Not Be Here Again for a Good While"). But you seem far less prone to such errors. Interested in your review of COS quality as they are same corp. as H&M, but higher price point.
Love the dresses…the sweaters…a little too memorable? But, a great reminder of Europe.
Many several-year old items I purchased when we lived there were just coming into style when we returned to the states…making them excellent buys…I got much more mileage from them.
The sweaters are certainly memorable, but I don't mind that! For some people they would certainly not work out… that's part of the fun of it all!
The dresses are going to be workhorses – I wore the tweed one the day after I bought it! I'm eager to see how they hold up to serious usage.
are you still doing P333? I was wondering how you'd wiggle in your new purchases… I'm in this fall/winter! actually, I figure that NE Ohio weather is about the same from October 1 until April 1, so I am doing this for 6 months and also doing a shopping fast during this time (unless I find a *huge* need, like the fact that I am freezing or if something wears out). Have you any advice for a first timer?
Hi- I'm new to your blog and have been reading all of your posts but haven't seen the answer to my problem yet. I have been trying to edit/simplify my closet for a while and have chosen black and greys as neutrals with pink/mauve/purple as accents with white. However, I also have some tobacco/dark brown bottoms and shoes that I'm not ready to give up yet. The accents work but the browns, creams, etc. don't go well with my face. Any ideas? Would love to see a combo with these colors. Thanks and I really enjoy your blog- you have a new fan!