And although my heart will ache, and I will cry such bitter tears, I will never regret our time, ‘I will smile for we will always have Paris’.

This is a small section from my travel diary that I wrote during a moment at the Jardin des Tuileries where I was the unfortunate witness to the end of a love story. I couldn’t move because it happened so close to me and there wasn’t really an escape but the words that decorate my journal are slightly smudged. I think I cried for both of them. 

“I like The Eiffel Tower because it looks like steel and lace.” ― Natalie Lloyd

I’m home!!!!

Bon voyage!

I have one surprise post set for tomorrow morning but I’m shutting my laptop down and getting ready to lock up my flat. It’s 36f (2c) in London and supposedly set to snow tomorrow in Paris (knock wood it’s not rain this time around). Bleh.

I’m crashing at a friends house tonight so I can get to St. Pancras by 7:00 tomorrow to go through security. See you all in a bit!

I just realized that this is the first time since high school that I can take a photo in a museum (not that I am going to because I am a good girl who cherishes art), get yelled at by the Gallery people, and use the old “I don’t speak your language” excuse.

I have been waiting FOREVER to be able to use that. For some reason I just can’t seem to get away with it in London (imagine that).

Probably the only reason this post will be repinned by anyone is because this is the interior of the Opera Garnier in Paris, France. If I am able to stop by I will be buying all the honey.

Bonjour les amis! I’m off too Paris with my University on Tuesday for a quick two day trip. Les Arts Decoratif has Fashioning Fashion on (FINALLY!) and Musée d’Orsay has a lovely Impressionist exhibition that we are going to see.

On Wednesday we have a free day before we have to catch the train back to London later that night. My question is to my fellow costumers and admirers of art, does anyone know if there are any costumes exhibitions on or anything interesting involving costumes whilst staying inside the city?

Paris promenade, 1911

In April I started to panic because I had three massive hats I needed to take on the train for my 1912 fashion lecture.  I logged on, found a lovely vintage green hatbox, paid ten quid for it and promptly forgot about the problem.  The hatbox arrived a week later and I was panicked because my Merry Widow hat box ended up being a Cloche hat box.  I figured it wasn’t worth the hassle of returning it and the box was so lovely I couldn’t bear to return it.  The label was in perfect condition and the ombre green satin ribbons looked like they had never been touched.  The turning point was when I opened the box.  The scent of the most beautiful flowers danced around my room and I knew the box had found a home.  So it became my jewelry box and like most of the piece I own, it became a cherished piece of history that I was in charge of. 

THEN last night I was working on the new blog post and found the photo I just posted above (unfortunately the box in the photo doesn’t look like it’s seen the best of days) accompanied by this text:  ”The elegant paper label reads..

Fleurs, Plumes, Coiffures

JUDITH BARBIER

7, Rue Pasquier Paris

…upon the marvelous oval hatbox of green carton, complete with a lid and rayon ribbon carrying strap. Founded in Paris in 1895, Judith Barbier offered jewelry, hats artificial flowers and other creations to the carriage trade.

In very good condition save for normal wear and slight fading, and perfect for use in a display.

Measure: 4” high x 6 1/4” wide x 4 1/4” deep … 

AND THIS PRICE:

“$185.00”

A quick wiki translation from the original French text tells me that “Judith Barbier house is a house designers of ornaments, hats , artificial flowers for high fashion in the early twentieth ^century.  The house has also released several fragrancesunder his own label in the 1920s. Judith Barber SA was founded in 1895 in Paris in the 20th century, at 7 rue Pasquier. Several flavors (Sheet Black Barbier des Isles, Jasmin) were created in 1927 Home, artisanal debut has industrialized the production under the direction of Alfred and Jean Martory Martory .House Judith Barbier known in many countries , provided several courts of Europe, Houses Cartier Christian Dior , Chanel , Balenciaga ^, , it has grown to international selling some of her creations at Macy’s in New York.”

Who knew my little box had such a wonderful history?

France

c. 1920

LACMA

The Parisian showroom of Worth

c. 1910

The Parisian showroom of Doucet

c. 1910

Via the Musee d’Orsay website: On 22 October 1895, there was a particularly spectacular railway accident at the Gare de l’Ouest, later re-named the Gare Montparnasse. The 26 October issue of L’Illustration reported the event as follows: “The No.56 train arriving from Grandville hurtled into the station at a speed of 40 to 60 kilometres an hour, and, unable to stop, ploughed through the buffers at the end of the platform. Its engine crashed through the façade of the station building, […] and fell down on to the Place de Rennes. […] The only fatality was a newspaper vendor on the square, who was killed by a piece of falling masonry”.

For several days, gaping onlookers crowded around the locomotive, stranded in the middle of Paris. Among them were many photographers, both professional and amateur. Here they found an opportunity to use their cameras to prove that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. The Musée d’Orsay print, which has no professional stamp on the back, is undoubtedly the work of one of these amateurs.

The sensational nature of the accident ensured a wide distribution for this image, in many versions. Even today, a postcard of the Railway accident at the Gare de l’Ouest is an absolute must for tourists in Paris.

L. Mercier (in Paris um 1895 tätig)
Accident at the Gare de l’Ouest, 22 October 1895
1895
Aristotype
H. 22.6; W. 17.1 cm
© RMN (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

That was the sound of my heart breaking into a million tiny pieces.