Window Shopping Along Avenue Montaigne, Paris: Chanel Accessory Spring-Summer Collection 2011

     Of all the fashion window displays on Avenue Montaigne, Chanel has the over-all collection of fashion accessories.   

      This is what I have learned from Chanel - to accesorize - to give an added touch to my suits, my dresses, and casual-wear pieces. A variety of fashion accessories can make the same clothes look different each time, transforming the casual to elegantly casual and the elegant to sophisticated. One can accessorize from head to toe to achieve a certain look.
     Accessories come in different shapes, forms, and materials. They add color and a polished, finished look to any outfit.

     A head accessory could be a hat, a headwrap, hair accessories (headbands, hair jewels, barrettes, clips, combs, hair slides) and head jewelry as in the Indian jewelry sets.

     Clothing accessories range from things that are worn or pinned, made of fabric, alloys or other materials.  

     Replacing fresh flower corsages are flower pins in solid color or printed, with a silky, velvety, smooth or textured feel, natural looking or stylized. The stylized camelia is the flower associated with Chanel. 

     They also use their logo in their accessory designs.

     Costume jewelry is definitely a must in anybody's fashion accessory box. They are more affordable and up-to-date. Getting a few pieces each season, say a pair of earrings, a long and short necklace, bracelets, and rings, is a good way to be fashionably updated. Sometimes, refashioning what you already can attain the new style you want to have.

     To showcase their accessory line, Chanel has a melange of things used to accessorize  the mannequin, above:  a black head cover - a beret-like head gear;  a white and black grouping of camelia flowers around the neckline;  several long necklaces made up of gold-tone metal chain, with faux pearls and imitation semi-precious stones; a medium length necklace with a bejeweled cross pendant, and a Chanel pin. 

     Using two or three of these accessories would be more of the norm, when accessorising. These necklaces and flower grouping around the neckline bring drama to an otherwise simple, sleeveless linen blouse, plus multiple bracelets to adorn the arm. 

      In these display windows, I noticed how accessories are being used all over, in not the very usual places we always do.

     How about a brooch, a trinket, or a flower somewhere in the bodice, between the empire line and below the waistline? This is a new look for me. And yes, it works. It brings focus to another part of the figure that is worth showing off or emphasising.

 With a tucked-in shirt, accentuating the waistband looks good.

     Notice the pink, textured camelia flower pin that was used in the white outfit, around the neckline? It is now used as a hair accessory, as well. You can have more than one use for just about anything. 

     I really like this style - the off-the-shoulder-laces or shoulderlaces (instead of necklaces), long chains starting from one shoulder and cascading down to wrap around below the hip on the other side of your body, draping in different lengths, then going up diagonally on the back side all the way back to the shoulder. It's like wearing a sash made of gold chains, pearls, glass stones, and other faux stones. The shoulder bag even looks like it is part of the costume-jewelry accessory. There is an elongating, thinning effect that will make one look even taller. I can see myself connecting long necklaces to come up with this effect. 

     A cuff-bracelet design is going to be prominent this season.  It can easily be worn with other bracelets with the same or complimentary color tones.

     Chanel has a separate store for their 18-karat gold jewelry, diamond and semi-precious-stone jewelry pieces and watch collection.

Do you see anything you like?

     You've noticed all the different colored and styled quilted purses. The quilted leather is their signature material for their bag designs, that has not changed for decades. In some of their shoe styles, platforms are back this season, along with the flats, and mid-calf boots, as well as closed-toe and opened-toe shoes. Here are more styles:

These ones are from their separate store for their footwear line.

I think you are getting the idea - to acessorize, accessorize and accessorize more! It can be the easiest thing to do to look fashionably chic.

Window Shopping Along Avenue Montaigne, Paris: Valentino Spring-Summer Colletion 2011

The Valentino Spring-Summer 2011 Collection was previewed last fall, featuring the designs of  creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. In the video, most of the fabrics were soft and sheer, from chiffons, silk organzas, to laces, in light colors and muted tones, with the exception of the use of black and red. The  designs were mostly fluid, simply flattering and feminine. 

Situated between the Theatre des Champs Elysées and the Plaza Athenée Hotel on Avenue Montaigne, I decided to walk by to take a closer look at the Valentino window displays.  To my surprise, the pieces showcased were none among the featured items in the fashion show, but just as beautiful and appealing.


Valentino's spring and summer theme is "Garden Party." "Discover Garden Party - a secret party where seductive flower prints spring to life." It's all about flowers in the clothes' designs and fashion accessories. 

This short spring dress is elegantly casual for daytime or early evening wear. The impressionistic style plants and flowers grow on a background from light to dark. It looks romantic and dramatic.

The Garden Party look is in some of the fashion accessories of matching shoes and bag. This ensemble will dress up other casual-wear pieces you may have in your wardrobe.

Here is one long gown where the leaf-clover designs are hand painted (or possibly silk-screened) in varied shades of green,  with one section embroidered in pink silk thread, and in the middle of each is a rhinestone to give it some bling. The effect is like having fresh flowers cascade all over the dress, in random pattern.


The cut is simple - round neckline, a long-torso bodice joined below the waist by a skirt cut on the bias to an A-line shape. The corded belt accentuates the waistline without distracting from the overall design and adding to that feminine touch. 

In this creation, the bodice is petaled in single layer. From the waist down are different muted colors until it ends with the dramatic black along the hemline of multiple layers of cut-up fabric, thinly corded along the edging, forming the flower-shaped appliqués that are sewn to the skirt, in graduated sizes, giving it a three-dimensional finish.


A thin cord tied into a bow on the side cinches the waistline. 


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In this short cocktail dress, little flower lace pieces have been appliqued and embellished with silver glass beads around the flower patterns to adorn the bodice. A fur shrug or a bolero - I would call it a "shrap" a shoulder wrap - of the same tint is part of the design, to be worn on cool evenings. The skirt is beflowered with the same material as the basic dress, of petal-shaped pieces, gathered in multi layers and sewn to form the bigger flowers. 

There are also long-gown versions constructed in this same manner.

This  straw-like bag, made with a woven natural material of braided natural fibers (possibly abaca) and leather and metal furnishings, is ornamented with different pastel shades of soft leather, shaped into different flowers. There are pairs of sandals  and ballerina shoes to match. An all-leather bag version with the same flower motif is available, too.

These multi-colored fabric roses, with pinked edges (cut with pinking shears), cover every inch of this bag, big enough to be a carry-all bag,  except for the leather handles, the clasp and the metal furnishings. 

The sunglasses for the season are white framed, in this collection.

You need not travel far to get some of these fashion pieces. They now have an online store. After seeing this collection, I am getting ideas on how to be in step with the Valentino design ideas this spring.

Sunday Brunch at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris

L'Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris is a 5 star luxury hotel situated on Avenue Montaigne. The hotel is owned by the Sultan of Brunei and it is luxuriously well-appointed. In the restaurants, the menus and gastronomique creations are under the direction of michelin-star-rated chef, Alain Ducasse.


Having Sunday brunch at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris could turn out to be something of an experience, at any time of the year.



Here we are at the Alain Ducasse restaurant. Although I had been here for a birthday dinner and a get-together with friends before, this was my first time to have brunch. What is there to expect?



The first thing you notice is how classy and elegant the place is...with hand-polished silverware for the table settings, with servers in their tux outfits...



a fantabulous chandelier, exceptionally designed by Patrick Jouin, that I could not help but take pictures of, from different angles, as I plan to make my own, as inspired by this design.


As soon as this platter of specialty breads and sweet breads arrived - the viennoiseries of Christophe Michalak, a champion, world-class patisiere - , out the window went my stand about how bad it is to eat something white and something sweet. To lessen the damage, my family and I shared each one, so that we could taste more than one or two, with some French fruit marmalades and jams and the best salted butter! And, of course there was that offer for a glass of Champagne or wine...I opted for a glass of fresh orange juice.



If only our main courses would have arrived sooner so we could stop eating these vicious carbs...so hard to stop once you start.



I ordered the Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, topped with soft-boiled eggs and truffle mushrooms, and served with bechamel sauce...



while my daughter and my husband went for the brunch special: Soft boiled eggs with truffles/dark truffle sauce, on a bed of mashed artichokes...innovative, I thought.



You can tell that the ambiance and the other amenities like this chair designed with a pull-out bag table will be part of the bill, right? But, it's alright once in a while. This is how I learn to prepare something new, as I deconstruct what I eat and go home to make my version. It ends up pretty close, most of the time, but turning out more healthy, like limiting the number on that platter of viennoiseries; using whole-wheat bread for the Eggs Benedict; trying out versions of a mashed bed of something for the eggs, such as using mashed sweet potatoes/squash, or mashed lentils, to be served with a reduced sweetened-balsamic/garlic sauce; and with healthy freshly-made juices.


I have found new ways to serve soft-boiled eggs, thanks to Alain Ducasse.


Inspired to make something like these by just looking and imagining the flavors? Head to the kitchen and discover how creative you can be.