Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street,
fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.
...CoCo Chanel
fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.
...CoCo Chanel
On the morning of Day 20, my tour team was on a walking tour to the Île de la Cité . I had done a self walking tour with Rick Steve's audio tape the day before so I was on a personal sightseeing mission. Call me crazy, but one of my goals while in Paris was to discover the location of Chanel 31, Rue Cambon. The holy flagship store!
When I was 16 years old, my parents brought me home a bottle of Chanel No.5 from one of their many trips overseas. From that point on, I have been a forever Chanel girl. I have seen all the movies and read all the books about CoCo Chanel. I just had to find 31 Rue Cambon.
I was a bit nervous. I had heard that there were usually long queue lines and the Chanel clerks were somewhat snobbish on the clients they allowed in the doors. I was dressed in rain soaked traveling clothes and had little or no makeup on. I really did not look like a Chanel customer. After a great deal of walking, I had arrived! No lines, probably because of the rain. Now, I just had to come up with the courage to walk in the door.
Swoosh...a handsome French doorman opened the door for me. Here I go! Another handsome French clerk walked up to me and asked if he could assist me. Wow! I felt and probably acted like a teenager. The clerk was so nice to me as I babbled about how I had always wanted to walk the floors of 31 Chanel and how my father always brought me home a bottle of perfume. He was wonderful as he helped me with my purchases and then showed me the infamous staircase that CoCo, herself, would walk down.
My mission was a success. I walked out with my signature bag and confidence in my stride. I had to celebrate by strolling down Avenue des Champs-Élysées and splurging on a glass of champagne at lunch.
C'est Magnifique!!
When I was 16 years old, my parents brought me home a bottle of Chanel No.5 from one of their many trips overseas. From that point on, I have been a forever Chanel girl. I have seen all the movies and read all the books about CoCo Chanel. I just had to find 31 Rue Cambon.
I was a bit nervous. I had heard that there were usually long queue lines and the Chanel clerks were somewhat snobbish on the clients they allowed in the doors. I was dressed in rain soaked traveling clothes and had little or no makeup on. I really did not look like a Chanel customer. After a great deal of walking, I had arrived! No lines, probably because of the rain. Now, I just had to come up with the courage to walk in the door.
Swoosh...a handsome French doorman opened the door for me. Here I go! Another handsome French clerk walked up to me and asked if he could assist me. Wow! I felt and probably acted like a teenager. The clerk was so nice to me as I babbled about how I had always wanted to walk the floors of 31 Chanel and how my father always brought me home a bottle of perfume. He was wonderful as he helped me with my purchases and then showed me the infamous staircase that CoCo, herself, would walk down.
My mission was a success. I walked out with my signature bag and confidence in my stride. I had to celebrate by strolling down Avenue des Champs-Élysées and splurging on a glass of champagne at lunch.
C'est Magnifique!!
