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Tuesday, 4 February 2025
... that I think you'll love (plus bonus tip!)
1. Astier de Villatte: Ma Vie à Paris
Now in its fifth edition, Ivan & Benoit, owners of the emporium that is Astier de Villatte, share their best kept Paris tips in this beauty of a book. True to AdV form, it's printed on letterpress and comes with gilded edges. It's been a treasure in my bookcase since it first came out, and I desperately need an upgrade, as the revised edition has a promised 200 or so additional addresses waiting between its pages.
2. Ernest Hemingway: A Moveable Feast
Hemingway's memoir of his years as a struggling journalist and writer in Paris in the 1920s that was published posthumously in 1964. The book is dotted with references to notable figures during the time, from Shakespeare & Company's Sylvia Beach to F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, and captures the ambience of 1920s Paris, which, coupled with Hemingway's sharp and straightforward prose, makes it a fascinating read on every level.
3. Muriel Barbery: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Originally published by Gallimard, this novel by Muriel Barbery is set within the walls of a Parisian hôtel particulier. At its heart is Renée Michel, a seemingly unremarkable concierge who carefully conceals her intellect and deep love of art and philosophy. When she strikes up an unlikely friendship with the precocious daughter of an upper-class family in the building, her guarded world begins to shift.
4. Julian Green: Paris
Julian Green was born to American parents in Paris in 1900. In this book, he leads the reader on a dreamlike journey through Paris's courtyards, alleys and secret corners. It's atmospheric, evocative and the perfect read when you're longing for a spot of Parisian flânerie.
5. Ruth Reichl: The Paris Novel
My most recent Paris read, this was one of those light-but-not-silly books that sweeps you along to wander through many familiar corners of Paris and dive into restaurants to sample the dishes. Set in 1980s Paris, the novel follows reserved New Yorker Stella, as she's drawn into a world of art, food and culture, discovering a new side of herself. A foodie treat.
And for the bonus tip! (You might have guessed...)
Rebecca Skye Watson: Parisienne – Secrets to Paris-Inspired Living
An invitation to sprinkle some Parisian charm into your everyday, from styling your home with Haussmannian elegance to curating a Parisienne wardrobe and throwing a soirée. A visual feast filled with inspiration, recipes and secret addresses – and more reading tips.
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Caroline de Maigret is one of the iconic muses, who has been my girl crush forever & whose presence I felt on my shoulder while writing Parisienne. During these slow and cold January days in the north, her energy, charisma & self-deprecating humour felt like the perfect spark to kick off my new Muse Parisienne series.
Some of these photos have been taken about a decade ago, which just shows what a timeless look she has had all these years. Where feminine meets effortless, masculine, edgy.
Beyond the tousled hair and signature long fringe, her signature style instantly brings to mind:
- soft, white tees
- classic (men's) shirts
- straight-leg jeans
- slouchy cashmere jumpers
- smoking jackets
- oversized blazers
- navy pea coats
- Chanel vibes (she is a Chanel muse after all)
- trusty leather jackets
- white sneakers, black biker boots, men's brogues & loafers
- gold jewellery
- black oversized sunnies
Here's what she has to say :)
On ageing:
"Don't be afraid of ageing. As the saying goes, don't be afraid of anything but fear itself."
"As your face gets messier with age, your hair can get neater, for balance."
"Enjoy the face you have today. It's the one you'll wish you have ten years from now."
On style:
“The signature item is an attitude. It is the gun in your holster that makes you feel well dressed and invincible."
"Wear a black bra under your white blouse, like two notes on a sheet of music."
"If you own only one sweater, make sure it's cashmere."
"Not too much makeup, too many colours, too many accessories..."
"Wear navy blue with black."
"A smoking jacket, jeans & a white t-shirt are items every woman must have."
On beauty:
"Be unfaithful: cheat on your perfume, but only on cold days."
"Go to the theatre, to museums and to concerts as often as possible: it gives you a healthy glow."
"Always look as if you are gazing at the sunset. Even during rush hour in the Metro. Even when picking up frozen pizza from the supermarket."
You can follow Caroline on Instagram via this link.
Images:
1. unknown via Pinterest,
2. collage, top left to bottom right: 1. at Chanel show via Calliste Agency, 2. Ami Fall 2014 Menswear via Vogue, 3. athens-streetstyle.com, 4. unknown via Pinterest
3. via Eclectuals
4. collage, top left to bottom right: 1. & 2. Caroline de Maigret IG, 3. unknown via Pinterest, 4. via Image, 5. & 6. unknown via Pinterest
5. top: via Cool Hunting, bottom: via Lucia Wegier
Quotes:
Sophie Mas, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret & Anne Berest: How to be Parisian Wherever You Are
Monday, 6 January 2025
(Image of my favourite model, my daughter, for the Parisienne book.)
Well I was aware that after the post-Christmas bubble, those creative ideas start to surface, but this time round I’ve been quite astounded by the force of the flow – as if some block has been released, unfettered, a feeling of freedom, joy, exhilaration.
I’ve been staring at the work of some portraiture masters, and somehow ended up revisiting a gallery of dreamy portraits I’d taken some years back. I’m feeling a pull to explore creative portraiture again in the coming year or so – rather than going back to what once was, a curiosity to see what moods, connections and hues start surfacing now, years on, in another state of feeling and being. It’s interesting what an effect revisiting something from the past can have – in addition to the passion for creating, I also suddenly remembered the insecurities I was going through at the time, lurking in the shadows.
Yesterday, as we were putting Christmas away and cleaning up the aftermath, we ended up rearranging the living room furniture back to how it used to be. I was taken aback by the downer that brought on – like suddenly being hijacked back in time instead of going forward. But the layout works better that way, we feel, the room flows and seems more spacious, and it is actually different somehow – because we are in another time, and we leave something out and add some new element in.
The creative life has its pitfalls – the comparison trap, not feeling good enough, feeling like you haven’t really found your thing or stuck with it, getting inspired by one thing, then the opposite. It’s not always pure joy and freedom – we are humans after all, with things we grapple with, limitations. But one thing I’ve become aware of lately is that whatever sparks one’s curiosity is worth exploring. It’s not that serious, quite the opposite. It can be fun, like play. There is no right or wrong when it comes to inspirations, they are shifting by their very nature. And also, it’s perfectly fine to be swept by all things joie de vivre one minute, and soul-searching imagery the next, or vice versa. It’s all part of the human experience. If it touches you, it is bound to touch someone else, too. Our passions, humour, mysteries, sorrows, joys, idiosyncrasies, lightness and shadow all make up a whole, reflected in what we churn out into the world, and there’s beauty in it all. When we become more accepting of the different parts of ourselves, we begin to accept what we create – it’s all part of the journey. And, on another note, I also believe that we can create what we yearn for. What you focus on, expands – also in photography.
And in the flow, you are bound to see some miracles.
"There's no logic in the realm of imagination. It's more about feelings, emotions and love. You can't explain why you fell in love with someone because some emotions cannot be described. It's the same for me with photography."
- Paolo Roversi
Friday, 3 January 2025
A palette cleanser of a mood board
(unknown via Pinterest)
(Kate Moss & Lucian Freud, 📷 David Dawson)
(Chanel, unknown via Pinterest)
(New Year's plans, unknown via Pinterest)
Monday, 30 December 2024
“Shut your eyes,
Close your ears,
Don’t use your brain,
Use your heart, your soul.”
- Yohji Yamamoto
There’s just something about these slow in-between days that blend into each other, until you’re no longer sure what day of the week it is. A state of being rather than doing or consciously striving for anything. That’s when I find things start to bubble up – like an inner mood board, although with soft contours, more like invitations and possibilities.
I’ve been going back to past inspirations – my favourite photography books, black-and-white images, portraits. In this age of AI, it’s the analogue sources of inspiration that beckon. Let’s see how much of those inspirations start to reveal and manifest themselves, perhaps spill into this space, too. Instead of some grand master plan for the New Year, a gentle call to “leave some room for the unimaginable” (Mary Oliver, who else...).
A sense of cleansing, shedding and preparing for something new.
It all ties in with an urge to create a blank space also for my love child Poésie Privée over on Instagram – a reimagined gallery. I’ve been giving the moulded walls a fresh lick of imaginary paint, scrubbing those herringbone floors and chilling the crémant for anyone wanting to step in (find it on Instagram: @poesieprivee ).
I wonder what's nudging you, as the year is closing and another beginning?
Wishing you moments of rest and replenishment, before a fresh page turns.
Avec amour,
Rebecca
P.S. Images 1,2 & 4 were taken for my book Parisienne at the dreamy Ullman's Villa – a place close to the sea for plenty of replenishment, any time of the year.
Thursday, 7 November 2024
November arrived & with it, some slower days. I've been breathing, quietly organising this or that corner of the home, thinking about exhibitions to see, movies to watch, books to read. Landing in rest after months of so much going on.
A few glimmers of the season just around the corner. The first decoration arrived home with me from the department store, and it's only afterwards that I realised I'd pinned a similar one by Elsa Billgren – I really love her gentle and relaxed approach to decorating and all things aesthetically pleasing.
E.E. Cummings has the most beautiful words for this month that despite the dusk, shimmers:
"Peering from some high window; at the gold of November sunset
(and feeling that if day has to become night this is a beautiful way)."
And I say that I've been missing something of the old "blogging days". Things are of course quiet here these days, but a morning pointing the lens at small things that lift the heart is still a form of mediation for me I see. So I would like to continue. And if you happen to be meeting me here, I wish you a beautiful season ahead, with treasures in the dark.
x
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