Saturday –
It was my first time in Paris! I know, I know… I took my time. Previous trips were spent exploring the beautiful countryside areas in France, collecting seashells, appreciating the quiet pace of life and using it as an opportunity to practise the language.
This time I needed to attend two huge global trade fairs… Eurostar here I come!
I have been attending tradeshows in the UK for Lingerie and sourcing for the past 3 years since I started studying Fashion Contour at London College of Fashion; working for them, sourcing the latest fabrics, viewing exciting new collections, meeting new people and consequently spending far too many hours saying hi to all the people I know.
Now I am in my fourth and final year at London College of Fashion and developing my first collection, the international tradeshows in Paris definitely seemed like a must on my ever-growing to-do-list.
Forget London Calling, I think Paris had a rope around my neck and was dragging me across the Channel.
Paris expo – Porte de Versailles
Interfilière
The leading international sourcing & business trade fair for intimates and beachwear fabrics
&
Salon International de la Lingerie
A visually stunning platform for 550 brands to exhibit:
Lingerie, Nightwear, R-T-W loungewear, Luxury Designer collections, Limited edition and Mens
I arrived in Paris high on sugar, excitement and life, made a stop at my Hotel in Montparnasse and saw the Tour Maine-Montparnasse towering over the rest of the buildings – I do like my fair share of Architecture! I definitely noticed that a nearby street on the way had many sex shops… gulp!
After dropping off my bag I went for lunch with a big group of Contour girls in Vin et Marée and sampled their Croque Monsieur and had Apricot Juice, then headed off to the Porte de Versailles to pick up my pass for the tradeshow.
I was really looking forward to start my exploring as soon as possible, so we headed off to Abbesses metro station and walked up the steep climb to Sacré–Cœur taking in the architectural features of the buildings as I went along.
Let us take a moment here to thank G-d that I had already started to do some Yoga and Inner-core strength training to keep myself healthy internally since the New Year or else I would have been totally out of breath once reaching the top. This is why Parisians are said to be so skinny! Steps, steps, steps!
The view was lovely up there; it almost had a Mediterranean feel…
Our large group then proceeded to wander into the nearby Place du Tertre, an arty farty tourist location for many bottles of wine, al fresco at La Bohême du Tertre, it was a chilly night but the wine, flirty waiter and company sure warmed us up quickly. I also spoke to an apparently toothless artist before walking back to the group – he was lovely!
The group later divided up into smaller packs to sample the Parisian nightlife near to the hotel. I was surprised at the contrast of clientele staying at the venues and bars late into the night. Compared to the London nightlife that I am used to – we definitely stood out!
More for married couples than young singletons I guess!
I decided to have something different for a change, so I ordered a Pina Colada from O CINQ with marshmallows; slightly different from my diet of red wine, dessert wines and champagne back in London.
Confidant and perky, we decided to venture into the nearby sex shops and I was soon informed by the owner I could receive a product ‘for free’… I politely declined ˆ−ˆ Better to be safe than sorry~
There is photo evidence of some of the more adventurous products but I feel it would be inappropriate to post here ~ ˆ−ˆ
We definitely had our fair share of fun today, taking in some of the culture and sights of Paris and decided at this point we should retire to our hotels and prepare for a long day tomorrow.
I forgot how much I love the French accent!
Day 2 coming soon!
–
Demoiselle 