October 25, 2012

The Hunt for Vintage October

I twirled and laughed through the street last spring after striking a barter at my new favorite vintage store. I had scored two fabulous handbags and another great sundress, and could not wait to continue sifting through the countless treasures for many seasons to come.


Despite some September rain, I forged ahead to regain my "haggle high" in the winding corridors of the tacky secondhand shop simply called "VINTAGE." My creative sense of direction guided me down the street I was so sure had been my point of celebration a few months before...and I walked around for another 45 minutes up and down the side streets to no avail. I blamed the limitations of my inner compass, gave up, and hopped onto the train home. On a drier day, I would rediscover my gold mine.

That sunny day finally came, and I racked my brain for image recollection and insisted upon retracing my steps from the rainy day. I knew it was this same street. I remembered the widened area that opened to bike racks and cafes. I remembered the corner shop, the tan walls, the large lettering shouting promises only a thrifter understands...I was standing right in front of it. I had had the right street all along. I had missed it on the rainy day. How?

It was gone. The building was still there, but all the signs were down, and strewn about the empty inside, just waiting for the next renter to come in and clean it up. I slightly believe they went out of business because of their willingness to bargain, so I now publicly take 5 euros worth of the responsibility. I am so sorry.

But there is always a new day in Paris, and after some ridiculous Google homework, I compiled a new list of hopefuls. I didn't even necessarily plan on buying anything; it was more of a quest to interview potential vintage hosts for the shopping moments that always eventually pop up. I ended up feeling like one of those secret shoppers because I kept writing all these notes about each store so I wouldn't mix them up.

Today I sought out 8 shops generally in the same chunk of Paris on the Right Bank. I have another round waiting for me in the Montmartre district, but I am fairly certain those stores will be very dirty and messy. I need to really be in the mood for that kind of "adventure." Only one of the stores didn't seem to exist (unless it really was behind the creepy curtains at the address, and in that case, they can keep to themselves), so finding seven new stores was exciting and fun, especially since it was not raining.

I ask myself 4 questions at every store. (I've been doing this since I was 16.)

1. Wearability: would most people wear these clothes?
I hate "Hippie Markets," and I hate sorting through costumes. Is there a rack of dark colored jackets? Rows of boots and heels? A collection of neutral-tone purses? Any place with wigs is code for "leave right now."

2. Accessibility: did the owner organize the arrangement?
I'm okay with a few dig-in bins. But when the whole store is one giant cave of unfolded clothing, I panic and end up at H&M again to simply enjoy hangers. If the workers hang up most of the clothes in some kind of theme (color, size, style, item, whatever), it is a workable location for me.

3. Affordability: are most of the items under 20 euros?
I shamelessly check price tags and remain completely expressionless as if I have a thousand euro note waiting to jump out of my wallet. But what I'm really looking for is some price baselines that I've discovered to be decent deals in Paris, like 10 euro dresses, 5 euro accessories, 20 euro coats, etc.

4. Popularity: Who else is shopping/working here?
The worker at Omaya Vintage was a gal with a neon blue mohawk. This is actually a good thing. Then some hipsters strolled in, and confirmed that Omaya is a super cool place to be. At Vintage Desire, it was very crowded, everyone was under 30, and all of them definitely own a mirror that they use to put themselves together each morning.

Maybe I should be secret shopper for real.


Two out of the seven stores fit my bill, listed above, Omaya Vintage and Vintage Desire. Neither of these places stole my heart like the shop that shut down, but they will help fill the void until the right one comes along. The other five shops can be broken down like this: 2 were higher prices for the same used items, and the other 3 were INSANELY expensive because they had legitimately "gently used" clothing from the likes of Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and so forth. One place had designer clothes from the 1960s, so I treated that one more like a museum than a store.

To complete my vintage rebound, I snagged an icy blue winter coat and scarf for 15 euros from Vintage Desire on rue des Rosiers in the Jewish Quarter.


Speaking of rebounds, have any of you seen the new Taylor Swift music video? "Begin Again" is another one of her frothy romance songs, but it works for me because it was filmed entirely on location in...Paris. I'm still deciding about her new album (how many times can you tell the same story?), but we can at least enjoy the backdrop. If you are anti-Swifty, just mute the thing and watch, because it really is as beautiful as it appears. Actually, it's usually more beautiful, but they did a pretty good job.


Pet peeve: when people wear brand new "vintage" clothing as their signature style. I promise TSwift did not come shopping with me today.

I'll let y'all know how the second round of shop search goes in November.

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October 9, 2012

To The Fortress!

Everybody should go, right?


I have been trying to find ways to make a visit to Blandy-les-Tours (translation: Blandy-the-Towers) happen since last year. Tanya and I can recall a very rainy day that the bus driver totally didn't stop for us and we had to wait even longer to not get to Blandy, and we gave up and just returned to Melun.

Alas, the day finally arrived that Marc and I could pull it off together! It was actually a perfect day: the weather, our energy levels, and the buzz of our neighborhood were all dancing together under the scent of flaky pastries from the bakery. I am so serious. It was a day full of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah moments.



We spent a wonderful peaceful afternoon in the quaint village of Blandy. The "city" is built entirely around the castle and the old church, where we casually enjoyed our picnic lunch and snacks in front of the ancient walls.


We had the time to take a stroll through the small neighborhood where we found an abandoned house, a cranky old dog, several ivy covered walls, and a volleyball net in the middle of a field.


Typical.



The fortress itself had a bizarre art exhibit going on (titled "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell," and yes, it was extreme and weird, as the name suggests), but we ignored the strange decor and amused ourselves with climbing the five towers. Blandy-les-Tours was built in the 1200s, and changed ownership throughout the centuries to finally land in the hands of the tourists, like most great homes.

The latest in Baguettes and Arrows.
So we scaled the spiraling steps, took in the high views, and of course acted like we were defending our land with the castle. It helped that we had inspiration from Louis L'Amour's radically awesome book The Walking Drum. You will read this book, if you know what's good for you and your imagination and your life and your happiness. Does it sound important? Good, because it is.


After our fortress escapades, we hopped onto, then off of the bus to give Marc his first Vaux-le-Vicomte experience. We were getting tired at this point, so we only went through the main portion of the gardens and passed our time happily at the outdoor cafe.


Even though it was my fourth time at the chateau, it was the first time I'd seen it without the scaffolding covering the entire dome! I was finally able to get some up close photos of how beautiful the mansion really is.


And of course, it's always a great day when there's a jumping shoot!



And yet, the adventure has only just begun.

(For those of you who will do your homework and READ THE BOOK.)

(OR for those of you who will come see us and everything else!)

Lou Messugo
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October 7, 2012

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Hallelujah! October is the best alarm clock ever.

Marc and I with my cousin, David,
and our new cousin, his wife, Any!
September was nothing short of insane. We had a lot of fun, but not a lot of time! All of our coaching started, we both got sick, my newly married cousins passed through, met up with a friend from college, matches began, and I picked up a new field of expertise...tutoring English. It turns out American English is a hot and happening skill to have, and I've got a convenient lifetime of knowledge.

What's not to love? Seriously.
Happiest place on earth. Sorry, D-Land.
France rearranged some of their volleyball league policies, so now we have league AND cup matches: the only thing to know is this simply equates to like zero free weekends. And while that may put a damper on my weekend adventures, it does continue to enhance Paris as our choice destination! As if the Eiffel Tower ever gets old (it doesn't, it won't, it can't).

This limited weekend availability also encouraged me to find other work, so it hasn't been all bad. We had way too much free time last year (as some of our visitors can attest to), and it feels good to have a more normal schedule again. But don't get me wrong; I still only have to wake up early once a week, and I love having the morning to take my time.

Extra work also means extra money, and better justifies the epic Spain trip I'm planning for 2014. I can work happier knowing the money is going toward something fabulous, of course.

Marc and I have also taken up writing articles for some websites (his is basketball, mine is health and wellness) to make some American dollars on the side. Of course, our lack of reliable internet has not been friendly to this cause, but we hold onto to the hope that someday the technician will come to our apartment and install our phone, cable, and wifi...someday in the next three months maybe?

(Author's Note: Until the man with the power of the world wide web arrives, this also means we cannot Skype well at all. We are not avoiding you. Not all the time, anyway.)

My team won our first cup match, but lost our first league match in a bitter 5-set where we had the 2 set lead. But we bounced back with a 3-0 victory in our second match. We have added some great new French teammates, both older and younger, and we are working to find our identity as a team. It is extremely awesome to be a returner finally, and to have the foundation of last year to build upon - as a player and a coach. I am really enjoying coaching my 14's team, and everything is way easier the second time around.

I'm number 5 this year, by the way. Why not?!
October is my favorite month of the year, what with the cooling temperatures, changing colors, and volleyball! I won't get to "celebrate" Halloween this year because I have practice that night, but maybe I will still dress up for it. Okay, probably.

Everyday is still an experiment in language and ambassadorship, and we are excited to share another year of our journey with the world!

The Next Really Big Thing...

Christmas in Rome.

Plus all the other fun stuff we will do until then! À bientôt!

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