Francophile Friday (n°7): Shopping in Paris from A to S

Sézane. Sept-Cinq. Sessùn. Sandro. All Parisian shopping favorites, and for good reason... and I find it fun that they all begin with S! I visited each of these shops on my recent trip to Paris and was just as charmed as I had imagined I would be. Today's Francophile Friday post features a few of my favorites: Sézane and Sept-Cinq. I will give you some background on these beautiful shops and take you inside, sharing my experiences and purchases! 

If you're a regular here at Fleur de St. Louis, you know I did my research before heading to my one of my favorite cities on earth. One resource I used that I can't recommend enough is The New Paris by Lindsey Tramuta. (I also had the chance to hear Lindsey speak and you can read more about that here.)

(Click the image to shop this book.)

Lindsey's section on new shopping and crafts features "unique Parisian brands...made with heart." Among these: Sézane and Sept-Cinq, of course! 

Sézane, France's premier online only brand, was founded by Morgane Sézalory in 2013. Here's a statement from the site describing the brand:

"When you order a Sézane piece, you are in effect, with one simple click, ordering unique designs directly from our finest workshops to your home. No shop, no intermediary."

You may be familiar with Sézane's collaboration with Madewell. Two of my favorite worlds colliding. Magic! Classic breton striped shirts embroidered with sweet little French phrases... what's not to love? And there was absolutely nothing not to love about L'Appartement Sézane located in Paris's 2nd arrondissement, the showroom where you can see and feel the items first hand, try on, and place orders. 

(Sézane, mon amour. 

Mes ballerines: Repetto)

L'Appartement Sézane's homey and elegant yet minimalist design truly makes it a gallery where the beautifully made, quality clothing and accessories shine. But be sure to stay up to date on seasonal collections and monthly "capsule" collections as favorite items go quickly! I ordered this adorable le baiser (the kiss) tee to commemorate a most romantic visit to Paris, but I was also admiring the beautiful shoes and lifestyle accessories. 

(Click image for its source and to shop Sézane!)

Another reason to love Sézane? Morgane Sézalory's story. Morgane is a self taught designer who started Sézane as a small business. In The New Paris, she tells Lindsey that "from the beginning, [her] goal was to find what made [her] happy and run with it professionally." I am always inspired by women who find a way to merge passion and career. When asked in an interview with Garance Doré what makes her designs "uniquely Parisian" she answers with the same attitude of passion and a constant quest for growth:

"I’ve never wanted Sézane to be defined with a specific style… Sézane is like a woman, it’s always evolving, it’s living."

 (A peek through the window of the beautiful L'Appartement Sézane)

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Walk 15 minutes south into the 1st arrondissement and you will find Sept-Cinq nestled in the Forum des Halles, a métro station and shopping center. (Sept-Cinq also has a Pigalle location.) Lindsey gives some background on Sept-Cinq in The New Paris noting that it "began as a bonafide business-school project for Lorna Moquet and Audrey Gallier [and] became a bonafide entrepreneurial venture after graduation." This boutique offers a beautiful collection of small home items, stationary, shoes, and accessories. It also doubles as a salon de thé where you can enjoy tea or coffee alongside a delectable treat. 

Other guides that mention Sept-Cinq:

      

In 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go, Marcia DeSanctis credits her discovery of Sept-Cinq to a friend with a "brilliant eye". In Parisian Chic City Guide, Ines de la Fressange refers to it as "the quintessence of the city". With reviews like these, I absolutely had to check it out! 

Even with these glowing recommendations, I wandered to Sept-Cing on a sunny Sunday afternoon not truly knowing what to expect. What I discovered was an unbelievable treat! 

Enter the Forum des Halles location of Sept-Cinq. To your right, you are overwhelmed with a beautifully curated boutique. To your left, you are welcomed by a charming salon de thé. I instantly fell in love, and what was meant to be one stop on my afternoon of wandering turned into my afternoon. 

(Inside Sept-Cinq)

A creator of stationary myself, I spent much of my time admiring the beautiful cards, prints and books. I was tickled to spot this Paris poster by Garance Doré that I've had my eye on. Wandering through the boutique, I was pulled in by the soft touch and creative prints of these Meilleur Ami foulards de soie (silk scarves). While it was the Brooklyn that initially caught my eye, it was this version dotted with mini croissants that stole my heart. Zoé, one of the sales girls, showed me all of the ways the scarf could be worn: infinity, tied around the neck, as a headband... you can see another use I discovered below.

(My Meilleur Ami scarf dresses up this cognac tote beautifully.)

Heading to the register with my scarf and a few postcards for friends, I also spotted a small map intended for those discovering Paris alone. It seemed very fitting for my solo outing, so I added one to my stack. Zoé was also kind enough to open a Citix60 Paris guide for me to peruse while I enjoyed a goûter in the salon de thé. I ended up grabbing that, too, before I left...

      

After meeting Zoé in the boutique, I met Capucine in the salon de thé. I ordered a café filtre (a traditional drip coffee, the first I had seen in Paris) and she suggested the raspberry vanilla cake. It didn't take much to sell me on that!

There I sat, for about an hour, using the Citix60 Paris guide to add to the Paris list in my bullet journal and writing postcards to friends. Capucine even stopped by my table, intrigued by my journal, and provided me with a lovely opportunity to practice my French. We talked travel and exchanged contact information. I hope to be in touch with her again soon! It was a wonderful solo outing in Paris indeed. 

Considering this one Francophile Friday post only got me through describing TWO of my favorite Parisian spots, you know there is a lot more where that came from. I cannot wait to continue to share my Paris favorites and memories with you. Until then, enjoy a beautiful weekend!

Warm wishes and happy shopping (in Paris or wherever you are) from me to you,

Wellness Wednesday (n°7): Perfection

The word perfection has been coming up a lot in my life lately, and I wanted to take some time to explore this idea of perfection here on the blog today in terms of our wellness and happiness. 

Tony and I spent the last 7 days of our European travels with my Italian family. You can read more about my connection with them that began 5 years ago here. At a few points during our dinner conversations, we were reflecting on the last 5 years and what has changed. The strength of our relationship? Still as strong as ever. The height of my now 14 year old Italian sister? Major change! Me? It turns out some change had occurred here, too. 

My Italian mother and father pointed it out. They reminded me of how I was 5 years ago, wanting everything just so from my clothes, to my hair, to my makeup, to my life. Of course they loved me for who I was then, but I could tell that they saw more genuine happiness in who I am now. They noted that I was more at ease, less concerned with every detail, and a lot more go with the flow. This is when my Italian mom shared some beautiful advice:

"You don't always need to be perfect. Real life is better."

How right she is. I have enjoyed my life more since I started to gain comfort with the unknown, embrace mistakes as part of the learning process, focus on being truly me rather than someone I thought I should be. I was pondering this on our journey home while catching up on missed episodes of the Simple Sophisticate podcast. It always amazes me how much life speaks to you when you are ready to hear it. Echoing the words of my Italian mom, Shannon shared the following in regards to The Simply Luxurious Life:

"It may appear that life is happy and joyful all the time. It's pretty amazing, I'll give you that. But it didn't come without taking risks, it didn't come without a lot of uncertainty and doubt, but what it did involve is taking steps forward in the direction based on my self knowledge... I've learned to let go of the perfect. That has been liberating. Beyond liberating." 

(The Simple Sophisticate Ep. 161)

She references social media when she says this. And social media makes it harder to let go of perfection. I'll admit I have looked through some of my favorite accounts and thought, "Wow! What a wonderful life she has. If only I could have that." I am ever grateful for one of the most inspirational bloggers I have discovered, Rebecca Plotnick of Every Day Parisian, for tackling this topic just this week. I told you, when you are ready to hear it life has a funny way of communicating with you. In her post In Real Life, I am not Perfect, she shares the following:

"This weekend a friend told me that I sell "perfect" between Instagram and my photography that I sell. That really struck a chord with me because I am far from perfect. Lately, I have been doing a lot of reflecting and I am frustrated. My life doesn't fit into a tiny square box or a rectangle. My life is complicated and far from Instagram perfect. I never want to put out "perfect" in the world because "perfect" isn't real."

I completely relate. Like all of us, Rebecca is not perfect. What she is doing, much like Shannon does, is making it her life mission to find authentic (not perfect) contentedness by listening to her heart and following her dreams. With the inspiration of these women, this is the path I am on, too. It's real. At moments I am scared. At moments I experience doubt. I worry about what others think of me. It isn't perfect. But it is right in that it is me. Truly me. 

Look up perfect in the dictionary: 

(adj) having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.

(verb) make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.

"As good as it is possible to be." "As close to such condition as possible." Even the definitions suggest perfection doesn't exist. As I've said from the beginning of Fleur de St. Louis, my mission is to encourage others to commence (begin), to be OK with imperfections, and to embrace opportunities for continuous growth. I continue to live by this mission and I hope that when you come to the Fleur de St. Louis community you feel that. We all face challenges in our lives, and I want this to be a place where those challenges aren't something we push aside but rather something we work through, learn from, and grow from as we seek not perfection but genuineness in who we are. 

Warm wishes to you as you honor your authentic self,

PS: Couldn't get the fonts to match up in this post but in the spirit of its content I decided to let it go. :) 

Allora: A "Master of None" Tour of Modena, Italy

(Credit to Tony for most of the photos in this post.)

We are Master of None fans around here. Aziz Ansari and Alex Yang's Netflix original series is at the top of our list when it comes to winding down in the evenings. We especially love the beginning of season 2 when Dev (Aziz Ansari's character) is living abroad in Italy, most of which is set in Modena. 

I am familiar with Modena as it is just over 10 miles away from the home of my Italian family in Carpi, Italy. To give a little background on my connection to this family, I was fortunate to do a summer teach abroad in Italy in 2012. Alexandro, Chiara and Valeria welcomed me into their home and quickly became an important part of my life. Last summer, Tony and I hosted Valeria in St. Louis. This summer, we spent a week of our European adventure in their home. With Modena just a 13 minute train ride away, we knew we wanted to seize the chance to experience the city, Master of None style of course! 

This article was incredibly helpful in making this experience a reality. While it says you won't find most of what you saw on the show, we had a very enjoyable day walking in Dev and Francesca's (played by Alessandra Mastronardi) shoes.

From the train station, we made our way through Piazza Grande into the heart of old Modena. Just like Dev, our first stop was Bar Cappucino Da Angiolina where we grabbed due caffè and a croissant before hitting Mercato Albinelli. Dev takes Arnold (played by Eric Wareheim) here in episode 2. This is a market hall with fresh fish, meats, produce and pastries. We continued to snack our way through Modena, savoring meringues and crostata con ciliegia (cherry crostata).

After that, we stepped outside to grab a sandwich (for Tony) and un caffè (for me) at Bar Schiavoni, another spot that Dev and Arnold delight in together. As Dev and Arnold sing, "eating in Italy is my favorite thing" so when in Italy... 

 (Mercato Albinelli)

(Bar Schiavoni - Can you find us?)

Next, we journeyed to check out Menomoka. It is here that Dev and Francesca meet for coffee with friends and discuss the frequent use of the word allora in Italy. This is absolutely true. We heard it all the time! 

via GIPHY

We sat at the exact table that was used for filming, though it wasn't in the exact spot, for more coffee and another croissant. We even had the same server that they have in the show! 

(Menomoka)

Exiting Menomoka, we crossed the street to see Piazza San Francesco and stand where Dev and Francesca stood. This photo is just for fun... I took one of Tony, he took one of me, and allora... here are the results:

(Piazza San Francesco)

A walk along Via Canolino where Dev can be seen riding his bike was just the break we needed before drinks at Archer (where Dev takes Sara after lunch in episode 1).  And finally, we had to see L’Accademia Militare di Modena, in Piazza Roma before finishing the outing with a cold gelato treat. 

For Tony and I, Modena did not disappoint, and watching the episodes again after experiencing the places in real life has been a ton of fun. If you're ever in northern Italy, a Master of None tour could be the prefect way for you to visit Modena, too! 

Allora... that's all for now! I hope you enjoyed this post. Have you ever travelled in Italy? Which cities are your favorites to visit? I would love to know in the comments! 

Ciao for now and

warm wishes from me to you,