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Paris
Many times, I have been asked where to eat vegetables in Paris. Who is
the best massage therapist to soothe jet lag? Where to get a serious
blow-dry on short notice, a quick eyebrow shaping . . .? I have too
often failed to provide my sophisticated visiting friends with the right
info. I have been living in NYC for five years now. For a long time, I
wasn’t aware of how different the routines and habits were between Paris
and Manhattan. I could tell you where to buy cigarettes at 3:00 am in
Paris. But kale and scrambled tofu for breakfast? A myofascial release
specialist? Hmm. Honestly, no idea. So I’ve decided to tackle that issue
and give my sophisticated New York, Milan or São Paolo friends the best
tips and favorite haunts from my people in Paris. A quick caveat: This
guide does not pretend to be authoritative. Sometimes the crowd in a
restaurant will look more appealing than your food. And you may wonder
why the taste-makers still come here season after season. Ask them, and
they’ll shrug: “The owner is crazy.”Fashion people are creatures of
habit. Not surprising, as their work is to program obsolescence. And
they travel so much . . . the world, their playground. When it’s time to
relax, they look for their nests, wherever the photo shoot is taking
place. Like a family, they also share the same strict code for a
“stylish experience”: fun characters, unpretentious luxe, impeccable
professionalism, outsized punch, authenticity. By following them, expect
to be surprised, bewitched, puzzled, maybe disappointed at times, but
always dazzled. That’s what fashion is all about!Have fun, C. S.
With 30 illustrations by Caroline Andrieu
New York
Originally from Paris, based in New York for five years, I’m permanently
struck by how different habits, routines, and expectations remain on
opposite sides of the Atlantic. Parisian girls won’t hesitate to show up
in jeans at a fashion event, still love to smoke on the terraces, and
don’t feel guilty for never, ever working out. They don’t line up in the
snow at 11:00 am on a Sunday to get waffles and scrambled eggs courtesy
of Peels. They won’t graciously accept “No” from a bouncer, even if
they have failed to RSVP. And they won’t go home at midnight for some
beauty-sleep emergency. They also wouldn’t declare a sweet “I love your
shoes!” to the girl in the line at the deli. But they will marvel at the
quality and quantity of services, delivered with professional kindness,
found almost everywhere in New York City. When you’re French, you never
quite get used to it. While writing this guide for friends visiting
from the US or overseas, I was impressed by the quality of experiences I
found in Brooklyn. When, two years ago, Condé Nast Traveler named the
borough one of its “15 best places in the world to see right now” (which
included the Maldives and Sri Lanka), Brooklynites responded with
eye-rolling, mortified to be reduced to grass-fed-beef eaters and
wine-bar fiends.
Of course, like people in the other fourteen divine places on Earth,
they’re far more diverse than that, as the cohort of supermodels,
editrixes, AAA-list stylists, and CFDA- approved designers based there
can testify. Generously, these fashion insiders have agreed to take us
on a stroll down the path of the delicious, the novel, the healthy, and
the adventurous, from the quaint and fashionable Carroll Gardens-Cobble
Hill area to posh Brooklyn Heights, from the leafy Fort Greene to the
hipster heaven that is Bushwick.
I hope you’ll enjoy discovering their tips and insights as much as I
did.
Have a happy, healthy, stylish stay in New York. C. S.
With 30 illustrations by Bernadette Pascua.
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