Observations in pink
Pink notes and thoughts from Paris
My partner and I both celebrate our birthdays in May, a month that aside from turning a year older, I love each and every year. A month to celebrate peonies, the skies turning a little less grey, cherry blossom trees wilt for sprightly green leaves to take their place. Two bank holidays and weather in the sweet space of transitional layers: a version of styling I adore as I am not one for hot summer dressing but May is warm enough to take off the wool knits and replace them for cotton ones.
As it has been a busy year, with an even busier rest of the year ahead, May seemed a good time to take a trip away. Marseille was our immediate choice; a destination that remains close to our hearts and a spot I will no doubt write a sort of love letter/guide to some day. By guide, I just mean our favourite spots and not a fleshed out guide to the city of which we have only travelled to a few times. Paris was floated and despite being hesitant at first - mainly due to the perceived cost of it - I am, in hindsight, so glad we chose to travel there.
Our trip to Paris has now become, by far, one of my most favourite holidays of my entire life. It was not relaxing, and perhaps a more relaxing trip would’ve given me the rest I was slightly after - we walked everywhere. On the third day of our trip, we walked 33,000 steps but walking in Paris just ‘hits different’. I was enamoured by the streets, the facades and looking into apartments on our walks home from dinner. One particular apartment, above a crumbling boulangerie had a taxidermy lioness, its head just poking out of curtains yellowed by indoor smoking. Other apartments had renaissance paintings hung proudly - paintings I’d otherwise expect to see in grand townhouses in London. I spent a lot of time thinking how the residents of these apartments managed the many flights of stairs at the pre-conceived ages I thought they might be to own such delights. The apartment we rented for the week was on the fifth floor but was lucky to be the level where you get balconies that span the width of the space. I enjoyed people watching, young Parisians with baguettes tucked into the nook of their arms stomping home in Mary-Janes. I write with romanticism because it genuinely was observed in this way; I truly fell in love with the city.
Immediately after coming home, I knew I wanted to write a little more about our time there. I made a post on my Instagram (one of many!) focusing on my observations in pink. With so many photos taken, it felt nice to sink into a theme and document my enjoyment of the city through a colour. Paris was burgundies, bubblegum pinks, leafy greens: yet it’s my little notes in pink I’ve been drawn to in order to share it here. The photos I have selected also represent a moment, a place, an idea, a recommendation and so it seemed apt to catch the feeling in this way. So without further ado…
I had been wanting to visit Aurore Capucine since seeing these sablés in Katie Merchant’s Paris blog. As a lover of all these floral scented, getting a few to take home to enjoy with tea was on my surprisingly small list of ‘top things to do’. I selected my sablés in rose, violet and chocolate + anise flavour. I highly recommend getting yourself some of these to enjoy on an evening when you are missing Paris (this has been me every night since I left).
Holiday dressing is something I always feel very reflective of. My personal style has become a lot more refined in the last eighteen months or so which makes packing a lot easier. I tend to opt for versatile pieces I can wear multiple times throughout the trip, styling them a little differently each time to keep them fresh. I essentially packed a capsule wardrobe. This is something I’d like to write about soon as the prospect was quite freeing - perhaps because only fleeting. These socks when worn with trousers always look like they could be the colour of my actual skin from afar but I enjoyed this pop of pink when going to dinner on our first day in Paris. I especially liked the colour against the mustard mosaic-like tiles I spotted all over Paris.
We didn’t have time to visit the Louvre or the Musée de l'Orangerie but we did manage a few other ‘institutions’ during our trip. I particularly adored the Bourse de Commerce, a breathtaking space (the interior has been designed by Tadao Ando from memory) predominantly for contemporary art. We visited whilst the exhibition, Corps et âmes, was taking place. An exploration of the representation of the body in contemporary art. I particularly liked pieces by my potentially favourite painter, Marlene Dumas and the work pictured, by Philip Guston. After the show, we stopped by the Japanese cafe-come-shop iRASSHAi for a sando and onigiri - a favourite spot!
The Agnes B. flagship store is a little near the Bourse de Commerce. I had been lusting (I hate this term but I can’t think of a more suitable one) after one of their petite Snapper Cardigans for a long time and had wanted to look at them in the shop, with it being such a special retail experience. I enjoyed seeing the colours here, deciding what shade I would opt for, when the time comes (I think red…). The shades of pink though stopped me in my tracks - so delicate! So sweet!
I realise now upon writing that the images here are not in the order I observed them. I gasped when we came through a small arch, off the streets of a very busy area in Paris and stumbled upon the Jardin du Palais Royal. It was particularly quiet on this day and I took a moment to take in what I was seeing; something so perfect and delightfully different from the gardens London has to offer. If I had more time and perhaps if I was travelling solo, I would have taken more time here, sat by the fountain and read a book. Now that’s romanticism, and I love it. This rose has sat fondly with me and I am so glad I captured it.
There is not too much to say here, I just want to move in!
I noticed that there were many Japanese restaurants, cafes and shops in Paris. Japan is somewhere I have longed to visit for many years and so much from Japanese culture enters my daily life. We stumbled across a Japanese bookstore with magazines, fiction novels, manga and more but it was this little copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that swept me up. Its illustrations by Kuniyoshi Kaneko are very sweet. Books in Paris seem to be so much more pleasant - their spines and covers less vivid and more pleasing to the eye on the bookshelf - for me, anyway. The bookstore was called, JUNKUDO Paris, for your reference.
This was a very influenced location; somewhere I had been recommended through algorithm but also by a friend. Folderol is a little ice cream/sorbet + wine bar. I opted for the raspberry sorbet and my partner for the cookies and cream. We both had a glass of natural rosé to wash it down. What a combination! It is definitely a hyped spot, and pricey but these little silver dishes made it worth it.
I couldn’t help but swoon over these little La Fermière yoghurts in a special edition pink ceramic pot. La Fermière normally come in glass or ceramic pots which are very sweet to keep after and use for puddings and other sweet treats. The flowers reminded me of sakura blossoms, but the yoghurt was delicious - vanilla so lovely that the residue of vanilla pods resided at the bottom. Of course, I have kept these pots too!
I wanted to end on an image of this sweet window display at the beauty store, Bienaimé. I feel like it captures so much of what I now love about Paris and its charm. It is hard to come across treasures like this in London and feels a real treat that aesthetics like this are still adored. I plan to return and purchase a hand cream on my next visit.
I hope you enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed my trip to Paris <3