Fashionably Late

Vogue’s Fashion Night Out is a worldwide event that celebrates the start of fashion week in September. Last year, I attended Chicago’s event, and this year I was able to go in Paris. Being a fashion student, I was ecstatic to go! I couldn’t wait to put on a trendy outfit and go see what French fashion was all about. I wore an electric yellow/green dress with an asymmetrical hem, my black J.Crew bubble necklace, a faux (duh) leather jacket and six inch black pumps. Our night began at the event’s official photo station where we of course posed to get our picture taken, and where we were taped for a live stream of the event. Also in this area were two makeup booths- one for Lancôme and one for Yves Saint Laurent. Everyone came dressed to perfection in their best fall garb. I saw everything from dressed-up denim to floor-length tulle skirts. Photographers were everywhere and it felt like being on the red carpet of a movie premiere. A friend and I were asked to pose several times, and kept catching candid photos being taken of us. Finally, I now know what it feels like to be followed by the paparazzi, and let me tell you, there is nothing annoying about it.

            We continued down rue Saint-Honoré passing countless designer stores with the most glamorous people shopping for the most luxurious clothing. Almost every store was offering desserts and drinks to shoppers, sending this event over the top. The street was lined with fashionable people allowing for supreme people watching and creating the illusion of being at a fashion show. Every store we visited offered us champagne. Naturally, it would have been rude to decline, so we obliged… every time. My favorite store we went to was Marc by Marc Jacobs. The atmosphere was exactly what you would expect from the brand: lively, fun, energetic and young. There was a long line to get into the women’s store, so we went into the men’s boutique first to shop with a friend for his wardrobe. While we in there, a friend made a good impression on one of the men working the event, so he took all of us over to the women’s store so we could bypass the line. It really is true that having adorable friends can pay off.

            While inside the store, we had full champagne glasses the entire time. The employees were great, and we ended up making friends with two of them and had plans for the next night before we even left. Needless to say, we all ended up leaving with bags of goodies and a great buzz. After Marc Jacobs, when the night had come to a close, I headed back home with a friend. While on the train we ran into three friends from our dormitory and made slight detour for pizza. Once again, my lack of French was the cause of irritation for our waiter who ended up high on my shit list by the end of our dinner. Fortunately for Pizza Pino, all their food is as delicious as my French is a joke.

            The next day I made plans to take a bike ride around Paris with a new friend. I’m not sure if it was because of the fact that biking makes me think of Chicago (or at least the obnoxious hipsters that refuse to take public transit…or shower), or because I knew I needed a workout after all of the bread and cheese I have been consuming since arriving in Paris. Nevertheless, I knew it would be a great way to see the city. Paris has bike stations located all around where anyone can rent a bike and ride. We went out for an hour and I was able to get my bearings on the locations of places around the city. While convenient, taking the metro makes it difficult for me to figure out where places are located, and the distance they are from me. Biking really helped bridge this gap, and for the first time since arriving, I realized how small and quaint the city really is.

  That night we had plans to meet the boys from the Marc Jacobs store from the night before at a bar called Le Pom Pon. Being as directionally challenged as many of us are, the trip to the bar that should have taken twenty minutes ended up taking: two hours, two pee breaks, a group split up, countless people giving false directions, one desperate phone call to the boys, a map, and possibly five years off my life. Thankfully, the bar and the company in it were well worth the travel disaster. Because of the exorbitant amount of time it took to get there, the bar closed after only one beer into my night. Afterwards, four of us headed out to The Social Club, where a friend was able to get us in past the line and with no cover charge. Once again, thank goodness for cute friends. The night ended around 3:30, upon which time we began our hunt for a cab. I have learned that in Paris, you have to really want a cab in order to find one. By saying this, I mean you have to completely disregard any manners you may have and run to get in front of people in order to catch the one cab that might come strolling by with a green light every fifteen minutes. All etiquette aside, we flagged one down and made it home in time to be in bed at 4:30.