Shorts-Sighted

Once upon a time, we thought shorts were a no-no in Paris. We read in guide books that only tourists wear shorts in this oh-so-fashion conscious city, and for a long time, our personal experience reflected this rule. But soon after another American-in-Paris blogger reinforced Paris' no-shorts policy, we visited Nature Capitale and noticed exceptions. Lots of them.

First, there is an epidemic of man-capris in Paris, which comes as no great surprise.


We know these aren't the same thing as shorts, but once you start wearing capris, it's a slippery slope down . . .

And just in case you thought this was the work of rogue Frenchmen, flaunting their pasty legs in the face of fashionability, think again. The Champs-Elysées boasts some of the most coveted window-display real estate in Paris, and even there, shorts are beginning to appear.

Normally we'd be excited about this liberalization of men's wear, since the unspoken ban on shorts has always seemed unfair. But as we said, it's a slippery slope from capris down, and we saw evidence of the unsightliness that often accompanies shorts-wearing.

Short shorts remind us that as France transitions into a shorts-wearing nation, it must set a new standard for warm weather clothing. I recommend we call it "comfortable chic." Emphasis (as always) on the chic - sorry, short shorts fans.

Striped shirts

When I studied/lived in Paris in 2003, I noticed a trend among Parisians: striped shirts and vacations go hand in hand. But now striped shirts are everywhere, all the time. We took the following pictures during a 5 minute stretch on a weekday, just across the street from Galeries Lafayette.

(And just so you know, women aren't the only ones hip to the trend.)

There's only one possible explanation: Coco Chanel. We recently saw Audrey Tautou play the famous couturière in Coco Before Chanel, and suddenly we understood the recent craze for striped clothing.

Just as Coco took a design initially worn by sailors and popularized it among high society, Tautou-as-Coco 

has reminded Parisians (and visitors to Paris) of the simplicity, timelessness, and cozy-chic of striped clothing. Will we return to the States with our own striped shirts? You'll find out soon enough!

Overdressing

As the weather gets nicer and people-watching gets easier, we've been amazed at how many people haven't made the transition from winter clothes to ones more appropriate for spring.

There are so many overdressed people in this picture, you probably won't believe that it was 70 degrees and sunny.

This woman must have been worried about catching cold, but only from her knees up.

In most cases it seems to be a conscious fashion decision. I frequently make the equally conscious fashion decision to dress entirely according to the weather, which means wearing shorts when it's warmer than 75. Which is generally a no-no in Paris, no matter how hot it gets. At least I'm not sweating through my scarf and fur-lined coat like these two chic ladies.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Real ladies don't sweat.

The Franklin & Marshall Mystery

Ever since we arrived in September, we've been seeing teens and twenty-somethings walking around in sweatshirts emblazoned with "Franklin & Marshall." First we thought that F&M had some huge study-abroad program, and that its dorm was in our neighborhood. It turns out that F&M does, in fact, have a program. But when we started seeing the hoodies everywhere, we decided that the people wearing them couldn't all be Americans.

We kept wanting to capture this curious phenomenon on film, but it wasn't until last week that I finally caught a break leaving the Conciergerie with my mom and Cathy:

I had myself a little Google and found this French website selling F&M apparel. But I don't believe everyone gets this stuff online, and I still don't understand why these sweatshirts are so popular. Any ideas?