Balenciaga Teaser. . . . A Postcard from Paris

 Technology is holding me back in posting (slower Wifi, photos not transferring as quickly as I’d like from iPhone to Cloud and then to my MacBook), so instead of sharing the myriad brilliant window displays I’ve been snapping, here’s a teaser from the Balenciaga exhibition we saw at the wonderful Musée Bourdelle (former Montparnasse home of the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle)

 Luckily we’ve visited this museum before, because otherwise it would have been even tougher to get through in the hour we’d carved out of the day’s schedule (the museum opens at 10, and we had a lunch reservation at noon. If you put this on your travel itinerary, leave yourself at least ninety minutes, preferably two full hours).

I will say right away that my limited photographic skills were overwhelmed by the triple challenge of photographing black fabric (the show is called Balenciaga: L’Oeuvre Au Noir), the lighting, and the reflective surfaces (as seen below).  The photo above is an attempt to show Balenciaga’s system of coloured threads and attached notes recording modifications to a pattern. The pattern pieces are held in the glass case pictured below;  you can see how the glass mirrors the mullioned windows and skylights of this stunning space.

 In other rooms which are otherwise quite dark except for the light through one or two windows, the problems become more acute, but still, I thought you might like to see a close-up of a hat or two. . .

 I might wait until I’m back home before I do a separate post or two out of the twenty or thirty photos I took — the posts I published of another couture exhibit (featuring Madame Grès) at the Musée Bourdelle are among the most popular of anything I’ve ever posted here (yes, there are four separate links there — a whole lotta dresses!), so I know there are many of you who will appreciate the sharing, even if the black reads as grey, and a photographer of a certain age casts her shadow across the skirt of a brilliantly strict suit.

So this is just a teaser, and I beg your forgiveness for the weak photography.

Here’s a shot of a much less strict outfit, not a smidgen of black nor a hint of haute. . . photographed stealthily (sneakily? 😉 by a fellow who makes a very good travel companion and who gets mad props for his patience and his fairly convincing display of interest in a couture exhibit.

And let me tell you, those sneakers (Onitsuka Tiger) worn with a pair of technical running socks are the dream. Walking never felt so good. Seriously!  (White tufted cotton skirt, J Crew; navy Bompard V-neck tissue-weight cashmere; white Madewell T; M0851 bag; and Club Monaco silk scarf I’ve had for years). This outfit might not be any kind of couture, but I loved it! Felt so myself, comfortable, expressive enough but not too. And pockets!!

There you go. I’ll load up some Paris Windows photos when technology cooperates, and I’m also posting a few times a day on Instagram.  As usual, I’ll be reading your comments each day, but it might take me a while to respond — my main focus for now is hanging out with my guy, eating and  sipping and ogling and walking our way through Paris. À bientôt. . . .