Hi YLFers!

Inspired by the other travel reports we've had lately (London, Buenos Aires…), I thought I'd give you the fashion low-down from the City of Light. Photos at the bottom, as well!

Spring was everywhere in the shops, but it was still winter on the streets. I think I was there on the first properly warm weekend--about 20C/68F and sunny. The locals on the street were a sea of neutrals (mostly black, a fair amount of navy, and only a little bit of brown), but that may be the way that Parisians dress most the year. The silhouette on the SWTs (Sweet Young Things) trended toward skinny jeans with bulk on top. I couldn't make out tops very well because most people were in coats and scarves for the better part of the day. Scarves were lighter weight, but still dark/neutral in colour. I mostly saw brighter colours (reds, pinks, bright blues) on other tourists and children. As far as shoes, I saw lots of booties with low-medium heel. I saw one older woman (in her 70's, perhaps) rocking a tweedy suit with a skirt that fell to her knee and a low bootie. She looked fab. On the jacket front, it was black, leather, and in some sort of moto style, generally. This might have been the season--it was too warm for anything heavier. Some people were wearing hip-length pea-coats in the mornings.

In the shops, I saw several varieties and colours of leather moto--a couple pinks (mostly bubblegum), one pretty ice blue (but 180 Euros was out of my budget), a couple of white ones, and some medium browns. Not much in the way of mixed-media on the jackets. Didn't see many boyfriend jeans, or any bootcut. I wasn't looking for those items in shops, so I don't know if they were carrying them. The spring skirts I saw were mostly short (above the knee), with some volume and of a floaty material. I also saw several of the floaty tapered pants (which you all soundly rejected my oui/non. good call). I did buy something else, to be debuted in another post.

I was a little amazed at how easily I was able to play "spot the American tourist" (white tennis shoes, "mom jeans", poorly fitting t-shirt, and trying to find the bus stop, rather than walk 10 minutes to their destination.). I'm not sure if I still "look American" or not--I asked my German travelling pal, and she said she couldn't answer b/c she knew me, but my willingness to go up and talk to darn near anyone was very American.

Picture 1 is inside the Louvre. Part WIW, plus there's some people in the background.
Picture 2 struck me as totally French--a woman sunning herself (in fab heels) while her dog chills out under the table. I think she was the shop owner.
Picture 3 --shop window
Picture 4--gratuitous shot of the Eiffel Tower