Summer Vibes - "Delux" - French Fashion

DIOR BIKER JACKET - Black goatskin - Made in Italy Spring has sprung, but this Summer, weather is all over the place. 

The chicest fashion houses have some pieces to dream of, wish for, invest in???? However you justify them.. these beautiful little treasures are worth your time.. and worth a visit to the boutique near you.  It's not that they scream "Summer" - but they are available NOW, and will be gone by the time the temps dip in the Fall..   DIOR - Biker Jacket in Goatskin - $4,800.00 - Made in Italy

LITTLE DARLINGS - These two jackets and a hobo handbag will take you from day to night, from LA to Paris, shopping, working.. wherever!  No regrets..promise.

DIOR - The biker jacket... forever a classic.  Dress it up.. dress it down.  It's DIOR.. so dress it any way you like.  Maria Grazia has created this uber cool Black Goatskin version- $4,800.00 - Made it Italy. 

Across town from Dior at LOUIS VUITTON -that master of logo relevance reinvention - Nicolas Ghesquire took the iconic LV Travel Trunk and inspired a leather jacket that will spin your head around the world!  Save your travel tokens, because this calfskin jacket is $7,850.00.  However, let's face it.. NO ONE else you know will have it, and you will be wearing it for life! Made in Italy.LOUIS VUITTON Trunk Print Leather Jacket in Calfskin - $7,850.00

A few blocks away from LV, the House of CHANEL has countless offerings to carry all the things you need this Summer.   *RIP Karl Lagerfeld.   This pale petrol blue hobo calfskin small "Gabrielle" bag has all the iconic details of a CC bag, but they come together in such a hip, chic way with that matte gold hardware that this bag can dress up or down.   Invest in this $4,100.00 bag from the French House that made the handbag a necessity. CHANEL - GABRIELLE - small hobo bag in Calfskin - $4,100.00

There's a reason why so many fashion professionals say that Paris is the place to find the most beautiful design, and Italy is the place that produces the most incredible leather goods. Desgined in France, Made in Italy, it's a winning combination.  

SEMPE & ST. TROPEZ - FOREVER

ST. TROPEZ - ARRIVING BY BOATSt. Tropez is like a dream.   The infamous destination on the French Riviera is the hottest summer "see & be seen" spot - hands down.   The quaint village on the sea has some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere in the world.   There is an ironic competition however between natural and manmade attractions.   While the beauty of the mountains, the color of the deep blue sea, and the overall landscape are breathtaking... it's the manmade creations that might have you gasping for breath.   Yachts, Breasts, & Lips - all get bigger season after season!BOTERO ON THE SQUARE - ST. TROPEZ

While it is the glitz, glam, and vulgarity of some of the tourists that make St. Tropez a guilty pleasure for people watching, somehow the excess is diffused by the spirit of the village. SUPER COOL YACHT IN ST. TROPEZ  It's the charm of the shops -tailored for this  "at the beach" experience.    The farmers market and antique fair on Sunday is not to be missed.   Where else can you buy Hermes & Heirloom tomatoes while in flip flops, and take a boat ride back home??

If you can - arrive by boat.   Traffic on wheels is insane.   I go on a friend's boat whenever I visit, but there are public ferries from a few nearby towns as well.   We make a day of it by arriving early and having breakfast on the harbour.  Then a little shopping around, maybe an ice-cream & we are out.  I never stick around long enough to make it to Les Caves du Roy at the Byblos hotel, but I'll leave that to Paris Hilton and whoever she is working for  that summer!  If you plan it well you can have lunch at one of the chic beach clubs West of the village.    This year we found a great alternative to Club 55.    Cabane Bambou is beautiful and breezy.   They have a super friendly staff and a clientele that is a bit less saturated with Americans than 55.   I love Club 55, but sometimes you want low key.  Of course there are so many options... New Coco,  Nikki Beach, Tahiti, etc.   If you have kept to your bikini diet all year, then hit the nude beach that is just next to Cabane Bambou - what's more exotic than being naked on the French Riviera?ST. TROPEZ FARMER'S MARKET - SUNDAYS

This year I was also so happy to see two amazing art exhibitions in St. Tropez.   The Botero sculptures are large and dominating - which is typical of the artist's work.   There is an overt sexuality to Botero's sculptures that is somehow able to be shock and sooth at the same time.    A perfect choice for St. Tropez!

At the Louis Vuitton boutique, the French fashion house hosted a showcase of an artist known for his witty cartoons of society and scenery.   Jean-Jacques Sempe and his creations are -oh- so French.  JASON AT LV BOUTIQUE IN ST. TROPEZYou probably recognize his unmistakable style from his numerous covers of The New Yorker.   Sempe (as he is usually referred to) always has an ironic twist on a situation.  Usually his aim is to make you laugh - which he achieves time and time again.   Many times, we are laughing at ourselves as we recognize the silly hypocrisies we all live with day to day.   Never mean spirited, Sempe's observations are more a pat on the head, than a slap in the face.JEAN-JACQUES SEMPE - HIS VISION OF ST. TROPEZ    Also a perfect artist to be shown in St. Tropez!   In fact, the artist has referenced this playground of the rich and famous many times over the years.    For a closer look at some of his work, and to learn more about Sempe - click LOOK.

BANG BANG BOOKMARC

BOOKMARC - 400 BLEECKER STREET PH: Jason JobsonWhat might seem like a lost episode of the Twilight Zone is in fact just another day in retail on Bleecker Street in New York's West Village.   The street has become infamous for the waiting line for cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery.  More recently  the lines at the Marc Jacobs accessories boutique that sells Marc Marc Jacobs leather goods, t-shirts, and trinkets was rivaling the bakery!    Jacobs was the first designer to call the street home, and has increased his number of boutiques there year after year.    Last week the company opened the fifth store front on the street (seventh in the neighborhood).   BOOKMARC is the first full scale book shop for the company...   click   BOOKMARC-ED to read on and see more pictures of what's in store!

LEGACY THE "NEW" LUXURY

LOUIS VUITTON - ARTISAN ADNo industry  loves to promote a trend or a catch phrase like the fashion industry.   Season after season marketing campaigns tell us what is the "new" black or the latest silhouette that Women must have on their back and or in the closet.  During the eight years of the Bush administration, consumers were drunk on credit.  Click Luxury to read on..