Hilary Clinton’s expression says it all… elle adore Paris!
The secretary of state arrived in the city yesterday for the ‘Friends of Libya’ conference.
“What we heard today was very promising,” she told reporters at a press conference.
Tags: hillary clinton, paris politics
One is a child of communist Russia, and the other a child of ruthless captialism, but this summer its free market love for supermodel Natalia Vodianova and LVMH heir Antoine Arnault.
The two lovebirds couldn’t stop their public displays of affection while vacationing in Ibiza this August.
Natalia, 29, freshly split from Brit real-estate heir husband Justin Portman, didn’t waste any time going after the Arnault heir, who is currently ranked the wealthiest family in France. LVMH also happens to be one of her major employers, as she does campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Guerlain, Givenchy among other labels.
For those of us protectionistes who hate to see change in the classic landscape of Paris, the fears that the new Mandarin Oriental would be an eyesore on lovely rue St. Honoré were unfounded. After nearly three years of suspense, hidden behind a horrid construction facade that took up half of the rue, the big reveal was by all accounts a non-event.
In fact, the exterior facade of the hotel is so inconspicuous, almost communist in its austerity, that Petite Brigitte has missed the entrance to the hotel several times and had to turn around!
Once successfully inside, the fresh modernity consistent with the Mandarin brand comes through in the minimalist design, white flowers, and noble materials. To the left is the space age bar, where a small interior opens out into a verdant Hong Kongesque garden cocktail louge… definitely the tables of choice on a nice evening. The menu is strictly liquid for the moment though snacks will be added shortly. The bar specializes in gourmet cosmo-style cocktails as well as champagne cocktails, at prices that rival the Plaza Athenée (around EUR24 a pop), though perhaps not at the same quality or expert service of the Plaza. Petite Brigitte & co. waited 30 minutes for cocktails– a near disaster. At these prices, the clientele consists mostly of hotel clients, a few curious Parisians, and businessmen with expense accounts. While it is a more fashionable clientele than neighborhood rivals like the Park Hyatt, it cannot touch the coolness of the adjacent Hotel Costes.
To the right, the restaurant ‘Camelia’ continues in the cool, modern style, with a gastronomic menu, and although Petite Brigitte hasn’t tried it yet, the ambiance looks a little froide. The only tables really worth having are outside along the pond, as the candlelight and foliage create a romantic setting. Just hoping the service is better than at the bar!
Mandarin Oriental Paris
251 Rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris
01 70 98 78 88
Tags: cocktail bar in Paris, Mandarin Oriental Paris, nightlife
THERE are picnics, and then there are picnics. Notre Dame was one of two sites for Pariss Dîner en Blanc. Guests, all in white, brought their own tables and food. Three weeks ago, in the golden light of an early-summer evening, thousands of Parisians dressed entirely in white converged on two of the city’s most picturesque locations — 4,400 of them in the plaza at the cathedral of Notre Dame; 6,200 in a courtyard of the Louvre — for a feast that was neither advertised nor publicly heralded. They had brought along not only their own epicurean repasts but also their own tables, chairs, glasses, silver and napery.
via A Pop-Up Paris Picnic Is Coming to New York – NYTimes.com.
Petite Brigitte always gets a kick out of the usual Carla-bashing that takes place here in France, but this positive spin by Alexis Marble is surprisingly refreshing!
‘Carla Bruni and Me’
Ever since Carla Bruni married Nicolas Sarkozy and became first lady of France, I have been a bit obsessed with her. There is something about Carla, and I don’t just mean her fabulous style. It is her confidence, her calm and cool demeanor. You have to love a woman who has unapologetically slept with both rock stars and royalty. A woman who professes to be polyandrous and then settles into domestic bliss. A woman who sings sultry French pop songs while attending embassy parties in chic flats and covered up couture. When I heard recently that she might be pregnant, the picture was complete. The President of France, clearly wildly in love with his wife, will now be bonded to her forever-polyandry be damned.
So, as a recent divorcee, who is dipping her toes (well-pedicured# into the pool of possibility of finding love again, I have decided that Madame Sarkozy is my mentor. Calm. Cool. Collected and confident. Not a Cosmo-swilling, bar hopping, man hungry babe on the prowl in knock off Loubutins .For me, I will don my ballet flats #or real Loubutins) with confidence and style. Let those good men find me (I know they are out there) not because I am available, but because I’m not. I am thriving (albeit not polyandrous…yet) on my own. Like Carla B., I will be the mystery woman behind the brunette mane and chic sunglasses.
I realize this plan to cultivate my inner Carla may sound far-fetched and perhaps even egotistical, but this persona is my armor. After 22 years of marriage, babies, confusion and heartbreak I must enter this new phase of life protected by my strength, not my weakness. What did not work before is being tossed out-I am trying on the new me and trying out the new men (where ere they may be) So far, I have accumulated a string of starter beaux-those Starbucks baristas with the nice smiles and the man at the car repair shop who thinks he’s still got game. Those men are not the goal, but a girl’s got to start somewhere. I have not pulled my Carla out for them. I am reserving her aura for the men who get it. For the men who appreciate a woman’s gifts (all of them) and can keep up with the desires of a woman starting over and ready to dive in-consequences or not. If I play it to safe (long nights of solo Scrabble-well, solo anything, at home) I will miss what’s really happening. With Carla B. as my muse, I will venture forth to see what’s going on in the world. A week in Tokyo? Check. A sexy weekend in San Francisco? Check. An esoteric lecture at a museum with dinner afterwards? Check.
As I alternate between my ballet flats and my stilettos, I will find my balance. I may even find that man-not the man I “need” but the man I desire. Like Carla Bruni, I’ll make settling down sexy, not subservient. Vive la difference-I am off to change my shoes and
It usually would be extraneous to talk about a movie poster in a movie review, but in this case the poster for Woody Allen’s latest feature, Midnight in Paris, is particularly instructive. Here we see Owen Wilson, cast in the role of the stereotypical Allen protagonist and even dressed in a nebbish fashion much like Woody in Annie Hall or any number of his films, walking along the Seine in Paris. Behind him, the city is dissolving into a post-Impressionist landscape, the sky alight with the swirling celestial background of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Although the character of Gil Pender (Wilson) will find himself transported — literally, via a vintage Peugeot that appears at the same bend of a Parisian street at midnight — not to Van Gogh’s Arles but to Hemingway’s Paris a la Moveable Feast, the poster effectively conveys the magic realism that Allen infuses into the film, his best in recent memory.
Its a boy! Close friend of French president Nicholas Sarkozy confirms the sex of Carla Brunis baby By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 1:05 PM on 23rd May 2011Comments 4 Add to My Stories Share Shes been the subject of months of speculation.But today it was finally confirmed that pregnant Carla Bruni is pregnant – and that her first child with husband Nicolas Sarkozy will be a boy.The French Presidents close friend Jacques Seguela – the matchmaker who introduced the couple in 2007 – revealed the sex of the child in an interview with a Belgian newspaper. Parents: Frances President Nicolas Sarkozy and his pregnant wife Carla Bruni are expecting a boy, a friend has revealed I have it on good authority that the baby will a boy, he told Le Soir.
via Carla Bruni baby: Close friend confims child of Nicholas Sarkozy will be a boy | Mail Online.
These maternity pants should quell what lingering doubts there may have been that First Lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy is pregnant.
Let’s just pray that her pregancy stays scandal-free, and that the child looks something like Sarko, and not alleged lover Benjamin Biolay! Mon dieu we don’t need more scandals here for the moment.
Tags: carla bruni pregnant, paris gossip
SINCE Sunday, when Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, was arrested on sexual assault charges in New York, French politicians have been loudly expressing their horror at his “violent” treatment at the hands of America’s criminal justice system. It must be a shock to them: the sight of a top French establishment figure being treated like an ordinary criminal is about as rare as a photo of the Queen of England in a bikini.
But they are not merely voicing their concern for an esteemed colleague; many of them are also thinking, “There but for the grace of God (or rather the grace of living in France and not the United States) go I.”
France may think it had a revolution, but in fact it just got a new, and even more powerful, elite. They believe themselves so indispensable to the running of the country that trying to topple one of them is a bit like threatening to shoot a prize racehorse for nibbling your lawn. You’re meant to shut up and let them nibble.
On the scenic banks of Ile Saint Louis, a small sushi restaurant named Isami is drawing in big names in the fashion industry. The expertly sliced sushi, and other japanese specialities, make reservations mandatory in this five table establishment.
Petite Brigitte spotted which famous sexogenarian designer seated by the counter, arm over a stunningly chic (and young) blonde?
Don’t miss: the sashimi, the sake, and the green tea matcha ice cream
ISAMI 4 Quai d’Orléans 75004 Paris - 01 40 46 06 97
Tags: best sushi in paris, Isami, petite brigitte
Paris has so many cool art galleries popping up in the north part of the Marais district, and this Kate Moss exhibition will certainly draw the fashionistas into the district. Loving this photo above… very Bardotesque.
(With all the fuss about drugs, rockstars and anorexia-inspiring catchphrases it’s sometimes difficult to remember that Kate Moss is famous for a reason – her jaw-dropping good looks.A new exhibition hopes to remind us with a collection of photographs which go on display today at La Gallerie de L’Instant in Paris.
via Kate Moss exhibition of famous photos of the model opens in Paris | Mail Online.
Tags: Paris, Kate Moss exhibition
Sad news out this weekend on the most glamourous of Brigitte Bardot’s ex-husbands. Gunther Sachs, the dashing playboy who married Brigitte in 1966 after a fairytale courtship, took his life in Gstaad this weekend after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. His legend will live on. Check out Glenys Roberts‘ nostalgic reportage…
The newlyweds, who were impossibly glamorous, were all over each other that night in Hollywood. Brigitte Bardot was wearing the shortest of mini dresses, Gunther Sachs was in his trademark blazer with loafers and no socks.Finally, they went upstairs to consummate their marriage — to the great relief of everyone, including myself, at their wedding reception. We had all feared they might be about to perform on the dining room table such was the sexual chemistry that simmered between them.Perhaps memories of that extraordinary night in 1966 played through Sachs’s mind before he shot himself at the weekend at the age of 78.
via Gunther Sachs dies: Brigitte Bardot’s ex-husband shoots himself | Mail Online.
Tags: Brigitte Bardot, Gunther Sachs, Saint Tropez
Last year Parisians went into crisis mode after a well-publicized petition claimed that Paris nightlife was on the verge of a slow death. They even coined the expression, “City of Sleep.” L’horreur!
While we may have been facing a party downturn in recent years, Petite Brigitte is happy to report that Paris nightlife is still going strong and 2011 is shaping up to be a year of crazy fêtes (starting with Kate Moss at Raspoutine in February).
Here are your top 5 hottest clubs du jour, but keep in mind: if you aren’t on a list and are going it alone, keep your finger’s crossed and arrive before 11:30. A few attractive girlfriends can’t hurt either.
1. Bagatelle: Built as a hunting lodge on a bet between Marie Antoinette and the Count of Artois, the elegant Bagatelle Chateau and Gardens in the Bois de Boulogne hosts the wildest parties of the summer, such as the notorious Eurotrash Disney party (you’ll never look Mickey in the eyes again). It is a hike getting out here to the western edge of Paris, but well worth it on a warm summer night, especially if there is a good guest DJ. Arrive for dinner or near 11pm to avoid the crowds. Costumes are commonplace, and leave your Louboutin’s at home- it’s a jungle out there.
2. Chez Raspoutine: This red-velvet cocoon of Paris’ most posh noctambules is located just off the Champs-Elysées. The music isn’t great, the dancefloor is petite, but it’s the place to see & be seen, and weekends see a smattering of Europe’s top models mixing with heirs of the luxury industry. Dress to kill.
3. L’Arc: This club near the Arc de Triomphe may not be as classe as the chichi Raspoutine, but the music is better and the lovely outdoor garden is a welcome addition in the summertime. The management have a Riviera sense about them when it comes to partying… not surprising as they are from Cannes! It’s a steamy club with a long bar, and a decent restaurant on the top floor. Great for groups of friends as other clubs tend to turn away larger groups. Opt for tables in the VIP section.
4. Le Baron & Montana: These sister clubs are so exclusive you probably won’t get in unless you are with Karen Mulder or Sean Lennon. With their quirky music, film industry clientele, and celebrity walk-ins, the Baron and Montana are the havens of cool for the right and left bank, respectively. Don’t dress to kill here because looks don’t matter. In fact, the hairier and more unkempt the better. Flannel shirts welcome.
5. Cirque du Bonheur: You might have known this location as the Mandela Ray, but forget all of that because now it is the ‘Circus of happiness’. Think fire breathers, midgets, acrobats, and guest DJ’s from Ibiza like Tim Rustow mixing among a thousand youthful Parisians. This was the hot club of winter 2010/2011 but will close down in mid June as most of this party crowd heads to Bagatelle.
Tags: best clubs in paris, Celebrities in Paris, Cirque du Bonheur, kate moss, l'arc, Le Baron, Montana, Raspoutine, tim rustow
Check out Elaine’s NY Times review of Inès de la Fressange’s new style book on how to look French. I must admit, its the best guide I’ve seen in a long time on attaining that certain “je ne sais quoi”. English version available in Paris at W.H. Smith.
THE perfect Parisian woman is an illusion, bien sûr. But learning to pretend to be one is a serious business that dates back centuries.
It is an enterprise that continues to thrive with profitable how-to books like, “How to Become a Real Parisian,” “The Parisian Woman’s Guide to Style” and “All You Need to Be Impossibly French.” Now Inès de la Fressange, ex-runway model, former face of Chanel, Legion of Honor winner, designer, businesswoman and daughter of a marquis, offers yet another take on how to dress, shop, eat and act like a true “Parisienne.” This onetime muse of Karl Lagerfeld has spun her beauty and style tips into a confection of a best seller, “Parisian Chic: A Style Guide,” which has sold more than 100,000 copies in French and has just hit the American market.
The book might have withered and died on the shelves, except that Ms. de la Fressange combines a “je ne sais quoi” audacity with a sassy tone, and leaves readers believing that, by following her rules and experimenting with confidence, they, too, can be just like her.
via Inès de la Fressange, a Frenchwoman’s Parisienne – NYTimes.com.
Tags: fashion, French Women, Inès de la Fressange, Paris
Woody Allen’s latest, “Midnight In Paris,” is about to open the Cannes Film Festival, and while most of the film’s stars are expected to be present for the world premiere, at least one has bowed out of the festivities for mysterious reasons.
Carla Bruni, wife of French president Nicholas Sarkozy, has “cancelled plans to appear on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival amid rumours she is pregnant with twins,” the Mirror is reporting.
Allen’s “Paris” marks Bruni’s acting debut, though she made her name as a supermodel before marrying Sarkozy. As the Mirror notes, Bruni “had been expected to draw huge crowds at the event.” Instead, the press will have to settle for Marion Cotillard, Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams.
via Carla Bruni Woody Allen Marion Cotillard Owen Wilson Cannes | HollywoodNews.com.
By Sean O’Connell
Tags: Cannes, Carla Bruni, French gossip, Midnight in Paris
Shamed fashion designer John Galliano was facing a new legal headache on Monday after his former lawyer lodged lawsuits against him alleging defamation and slander.
The British couturier was sacked as French fashion house Dior’s creative director in February after being caught on film subjecting cafe patrons to a drunken anti-Semitic tirade.
While criminal charges relating to the outburst are pending, and Galliano could face a year in jail and a 22,500 euro fine, in April he lodged his own suit accusing lawyer Stephane Zerbib of embezzlement.
The stylist accuses his former adviser of siphoning almost three million euros (4.3 million dollars) from his account and that of one of his firms, according to French legal sources.
But on Monday, Zerbib counter-attacked with two suits accusing Galliano of smearing him with the allegations, again according to judicial sources.
According to a copy of the suit seen by AFP, Zerbib insists Galliano had been made fully aware of all transactions carried out on his bank accounts and had never expressed concern about any transfers of money.
via Capital FM Kenya: New legal headache for Galliano as lawyer sues.
While Brigitte Bardot may be given credit for launching tourism in Saint Tropez, she also helped light the fire under the Brazilien tourism industry in the 1960′s during her famous trip to the beachside resort of Buzios.
Now, brazillien top model Gisele Bundchen reincarnates BB for this month’s cover of Elle Brazil (in a photo originally shot for Muse magazine).
Who does 60′s sex kitten better, Bardot or Bundchen?
Tags: Brigitte Bardot, Buzios, Gisele Bundchen
Teen crush Robert Pattinson was in Paris this weekend during his promotional tour for Water for Elephants, or De l’eau pour les éléphants, in Frenchie.
Accompanied by co-star Reese Witherspoon, the two stars dined at famed retaurant Chez L’ami Louis and spent Saturday night in the luxe hotel, Plaza Athénée on Paris’ best shopping street, Avenue Montaigne.
A devoted group of 30 groupies camped outside the hotel in anticipation of catching a glimpse of the Twilight star, who was sans girlfriend Kristen Stewart.
Robert’s European tour continued Sunday in Spain, for the Spanish premiere of the film.
Tags: L'ami Louis, Paris, Robert Pattinson
It seems a reasonable move, she has after all been working alongside Carine for the past 10 years at Vogue!
Emmanuelle Alt will officially become editor in chief of Paris Vogue effective Feb 1.
Tags: Paris, Emmanuelle Alt, France, Vogue
Who will be the next pregnant vedette… it comes in three’s!
Marion Cotillard is just finishing up her latest project “Second Coming” in time for a romantic and pregant start to 2011. The 35 year-old actress is engaged and expecting with boyfriend/French heartthrob Guillaume Canet (formerly married to actress Diane Kruger). The two have been dating for three years.
The couple walked the red carpet together at the Marrakesh Film Festival earlier this month, immediately setting off pregnancy speculation as Marion appeared much more voluptuous than usual in her Dior Spring 2011 dress (perhaps not the best choice?). A simple diamond engagement ring can be spotted as well.
Is the whole world engaged, pregnant, or both? Petite B wants to know!!
(Secretly thinking the recent rush of engagements/pregnancies is pure economics: the Great Recession is over!)
Eva Green has just dropped another role. After Gemma Arterton said she will replace Green in “Waiting for Robert Capa”, now Diane Kruger steps in to take over her role in “Farewell, My Queen”. The “National Treasure” blonde beauty will be seen playing Marie Antoinette in the upcoming movie, The Playlist says.
She joins Lea Seydoux and Gerard Depardieu whose involvements have been known before.
via Diane Kruger Replaces Eva Green to Bid ‘Farewell, My Queen’.
TARA Reid is back to her partying ways in the French ski resort of Courchevel. The actress, best known for playing Vicky Lathum in 1999 film American Pie and having a botched breast implants, knocked back the French champagne Cristal with a group of friends at restaurant La Mangeoire before treating them to a version of The Eagles’ Hotel California, the New York Post reported.
via Tara Reid sings and jumps into a coffin at French ski resort | The Daily Telegraph.
Tags: celebrity, Courchevel, French gossip, Tara Reid
The 23-year-old starlet is no stranger to Chanel.
In July, Lively was one of the designer Karl Lagerfeld’s famous friends in the front row of the Chanel Hauté Couture show during Paris Hauté Couture Fashion Week. In September, she hit the reopening of the Chanel store in New York’s Soho neighborhood.
via Blake Lively’s the New Face of French Fashion – E! Online.
While most Parisians prefer to celebrate New Year’s in more intimate house party settings, here are a few fun (albeit touristy) ideas to bring in 2011!
Check out this site and book your tickets directly: 20 Idées de Nouvel An à Paris : Soirées de Réveillon du 31 décembre à réserver – Mes Tickets.
Tags: Crazy Horse, France, New Year's Eve in Paris
Quelle surprise! C’est un bébé pour Natalie Portman et son chéri Benjamin Millepied.
Just when the gossip mill seemed lethargic after a cozy Christmas, news hits the wires this morning of Natalie Portman’s engagement to French choreographer Benjamin Millepied. Oh, and did we mention a bébé on the way?
The Bordeaux born-and-raised Millepied is as accomplished in his art as his new leading lady. Once touted as the “French Baryshnikov”, the sexy frenchman has spent much of his professional career in New York City since leaving France at age 16.
Felicitations to the hot couple!
Bugarach, population 189, is a peaceful farming village in the Aude region, southwestern France and sits at the foot of the Pic de Bugarach, the highest mountain in the Corbières wine-growing area.
But in the past few months, the quiet village has been inundated by groups of esoteric outsiders who believe the peak is an “alien garage”.
According to them, extraterrestrials are quietly waiting in a massive cavity beneath the rock for the world to end, at which point they will leave, taking, it is hoped, a lucky few humans with them.
Most believe Armageddon will take place on December 21, 2012, the end date of the ancient Maya calendar, at which point they predict human civilisation will come to an end. Another favourite date mentioned is 12, December, 2012. They see Bugarach as one of perhaps several “sacred mountains” sheltered from the cataclysm.
via French village which will ‘survive 2012 Armageddon’ plagued by visitors – Telegraph.
Napoleon’s dream of invading England will finally come true in 2011. With a handful of truly French fashion labels like Maje, Sandro, Vanessa Bruno, and the Kooples opening up shop, the frenchie fashion invasion is clearly underway in London. Vive la look française!
If you are an admirer of french women… here are your essential addresses for shopping the look in London. Check out article below:
Nailing that effortless elegance is a big part of the desire to buy into Parisian dressing. ‘The thing about a Frenchwoman is she never looks like she’s tried too hard,’ says Laura Fantacci, Red magazine’s fashion and shopping editor. ‘Chanel did the same thing half a century ago when she teamed a sailor’s stripy tee with men’s palazzo trousers.’
via Indulge in some French dressing | Metro.co.uk.
Tags: French fashion, French Women, Kooples, Maje, Sandro, Vanessa Bruno
She battled strikes, blockades, and blizzards, and last night rewarded her loyal fans by throwing prized Armani shoes into the audience at Bercy. After a rousing and much anticipated concert, Lady Gaga brought an end to the French leg of her MonsterBall tour.
The extra days spent in Paris awaiting stage time did not go unnoticed. As we reported earlier, Gaga took time out for some traditional French cuisine at Chez André, made a pit-stop at a local Bruce Field’s store to buy some cheap pants to cover her frigid derrière, all the while holed up in a cozy suite at the Hotel Park Hyatt near Place Vendome.
