Postcard from Paris 💋

There are certain cities we return to often, and Paris is one—yet somehow, we had never shot a campaign here. As we were planning our Fall collection, we realized the city's iconic grey stone architecture would be the ultimate backdrop to make our vibrant cobalt blue and lemongrass hues pop. Plus, this collection was practically designed for café hopping. We reached out to photographer/expat/friend Frances, who lives in Nice, and as luck would have it, she was already scheduled to be in Paris on the same dates. Fate!

Read on for a little behind the scenes, a few Paris favorites, and a magnifique playlist to set the mood.

Shop the look: Meribel Sweater / Tivot Pant

Shop the look: Somerset Dress

We met up with another expat, Ofelia Rodriguez of All of the Above substack, and a talented photographer, to eat and drink our way through her neighborhood, the 3rd. More to come on Ofelia’s hot Paris tips! Ofelia is darling and full of insight and I loved getting to know her, albeit soaking wet most of the time thanks to the rain.

Shop the looks: Telluride Jacket / Bonn Top / Whitby Skirt / Moritz Pullover

Shoot day was cloudy and I’ve never been happier because it looked and felt like fall. Sweating in wool on a hot late Spring day with blue skies and sunshine was not the vibe so we got lucky. Pouring rain was also not the vibe so this was the first shoot ever to push the date by a day at the last minute. Shoot gods graced us, praise be.

Shop the look: Ynez Dress

Floris’s red wavy locks and heavy bangs is French girl chic perfection, so we went with it. We threw out our planned accessories and used her vintage handbag, lace ankle socks and loafers and I love how her personal style melded with ours. We bought a baguette to be as literal as possible (don’t come at me for cliché). I loved the baguette prop.

Shop the looks: Salida Sweater / Arosa Skirt

We shot in the Palais Royal and around the Louvre in the AM, stopping thrice for coffee and croissants– and did not mind being so cliche one bit.

Frances had to fly back to her babies, so we finished the day around Saint Germain and the Seine. La Palette was empty inside and a dream of a locale for cozy autumnal vibes.

Shop the look: Fargo Jacket

Paris Things

Paris is obsessed with American style cookies now apparently. There’s an IG hotspots cookie store on every corner. (They are NOT as good as Tiny’s here in Houston.) Solomons were on every cool girl. Got myself a Cahu bag and I love it,. Violette Bisou Balm is everything you need to look like a Frenchie– sheer but matte, somehow. Bisous, bisous.

Shop the look: Telluride Jacket

I did almost no shopping except to ogle the treasures at Bode and Lemaire, and hop around La Samaratine. I did visit to a few vintage spots with no luck: Thanx God I’m a VIP (wrong eras for me, more post-war and mid-century), and Desert Vintage ($$!).

Had a lovely post-shoot brunch at Aux Crus de Bourgogne and wandered the Marais in the sunshine, stopping into the Picasso museum and drinking wine outside at Le Mary Celeste, which is Sunday perfection.

Shop the look: Zuma Dress

I never go to Paris without getting lemon sables and a slew of treats for my hotel room from Des Gateaux et du Pain bakery. It all just hits for me. (I can’t skip a mention of Bread & Roses’ lemon tart, too, which is perfection.)

Gah, the community butter at Avant Comptoir due Marché

I stayed at Relais Christine, which isn’t the highest on my list, though it was lovely. Last trip was Le Grand Mazarin which I liked a bit more. Before that was Pavillon de al Reine, and I wanted to like it more than I did. I still haven’t found the Perfect Paris Hotel™. Chateau Voltaire is on my list for next time, though Maison Delano looks tempting. Any hotel recs out there??

Le Grand Mazarin

There are 200 places on my Paris list, so here’s a hit list of spots I feel like mentioning for no real reason other than they simply stand out in my mind:

Never misses: Racines. Parcelles. Chez L’ami Louis. Localino. La Cave a Michel. Courtyard of Hotel Amour. Vivant (and Deviant next door). Early June. Mamiche bakery. La Cave du Paul Bert. Terra bar a vins. Tapisserie bakery.

On my radar: A La Renaissance. Loustic. Le Cenicheur. Bonhomme. Bangla Begum jewelry.

Shop the Look: Santander Skirt, Moritz pullover, Loreto Silk Tank

Shoot 2 Debrief

From Paris, we took the train to the Loire Valley to shoot the first fall chapter at Chateau Lucé, a gorgeous chateau surrounded by vineyards and small villages full of antiques. Call me Madame Royal. Set up like a home, it was not hard to pretend I lived there.

Shop the look: Nazaré Top / Baden Pant

If you can't transport yourself to Paris, put this playlist on and turn the music up. It's not your typical French playlist...

Turn the music up

A mix of French rock, ’90s alt, and old favorites, inspired by the mood of the collection and best enjoyed with the volume turned up.

xoxo

Katie