A Woman's Paris ~ Joie de Vivre

By Philippa Campsie

Barbara Redmond

The Café Marly, which faces into the courtyard of the Louvre, is the perfect place to contemplate some of the features of Paris style. It’s not the best restaurant in town, by any means, but the location is second to none.

Now, if you are there in Fashion Week, you will see bright, voluble young women dressed in tomorrow’s fashions today (this is a handy place for business meetings when the media tents are set up in the nearby Tuileries Gardens), but that’s not what we mean.

We are talking about the view through the arches toward the extraordinary juxtaposition of the old and the new that today makes up the Louvre complex. The oldest parts of the structure date from the Renaissance, the portion of the building opposite the Café is mid 19th century, and the centre is a late 20th century evocation of ancient Egypt.

Paris, a modernist fantasy

This is one of the things we love about Paris. In North America, older buildings are either demolished completely or reverently preserved. “Adaptive reuse” means exposed brick on the interior. In Paris, it seems, you can mix things up. We are endlessly fascinated by Paris décor magazines (such as Côté Paris) that show ultra-modern interiors in 17th century hôtels particuliers. Or a block of rigid 19th century façades interrupted by a modernist fantasy.

How about a little neon with your ormolu clock? An avant-garde floor covering on the 17th century parquet? A wild graffiti-inspired painting on the faded boiseries? Why ever not?

It doesn’t always work, by any means. The French fondness for modernism has led to some jarring introductions. Consider the Pompidou Centre. It’s been there long enough for one to develop a sort of cosy familiarity with the exposed pipes and the primary colours, we suppose, and the view from the interior (especially the top-floor lounge known as Georges) is splendid, but it still rather explodes out of the ancient neighbourhood, which seems all the more fragile by comparison.

The ultra-modern buildings in the Défense area to the west of Paris can also be overwhelming. And the new library (La Bibliothèque Nationale de France) on the left bank is imposing, but hard to warm to.

Still, the shiny white boutiques wedged into ancient buildings, the severely minimalist interiors behind rococo facades, the modern sculptures in ancient parks remind us that this is not a city that has been turned into a museum. Paris keeps refashioning itself, experimenting with shapes and surfaces and styles. So should we all.

Hôtels particuliers are the individual mansions that dot Paris. Each originally accommodated a single household, unlike the usual Paris apartment building. Most of these mansions are centuries old, entered through a porte-cochère (an entrance large enough to admit a carriage) which leads to a courtyard (la cour). Nowadays, many have been turned into offices; only the very wealthy today can afford to live in un hôtel particulier. Boiseries are wall panellings made of wood.

VOCABULARY: French to English translations

Boiseries: Wall panellings made of wood.
Façade: Face of front of a building.
Hôtel particulier: Individual mansion.
La cour: Courtyard.
Parquet: Floor made of parquetry, a patterned wood inlay used to cover a floor.
Porte-cochère: Large entrance.
Rococo: Fanciful but graceful asymmetric ornamentation in art and architecture that originated in France in the 18^th century.

Philippa Campsie teaches part-time in the urban planning program at the University of Toronto and runs her own writing and research business, Hammersmith Communications. Before starting her own business, she was editor-in-chief at Macmillan Canada. Philippa lived in Paris as a student and regularly travels to Paris and Normandy. She is interested in stories of famous Parisian women throughout the ages and how they influenced the Parisian style we have come to love and know.

You may also enjoy A Woman’s Paris® post, Ritz Paris: makeover for “la grande dame” by writer Kristin Wood who shares the incredible story of her stay at the Paris Ritz for several nights, when her college roommate “D” invited her on a European getaway. The petal-pink robes and slippers for a quick power nap, then to the piscine (pool) for a refreshing wake-up swim before embarking on their first adventure à Paris. 

Imperfect Perfection: The new French woman, by writer Kristin Wood who reminds us of the words attributed to Henry David Thoreau, the famous American author and philosopher who eschewed material excess and extravagance… “Simplify, simplify, simplify.” Kristin writes about the predicted trends of the “undone” makeup look, and the “de-blinging” of luxury items. What better place to introduce these two trends on a grand scale than in Paris?

Marianne: National emblem of France, by Canadian writer Philippa Campsie who tells about Marianne, the feminine symbol of liberty and republicanism in France. Originally, images of Marianne were created using anonymous models, but modern depictions have featured famous French beauties, such as Brigitte Bardot, Mireille Mathieu, Catherine Deneuve, fashion designer Inès de la Fressange, among others.

La rentrée: The September return to studies from les grandes vacances, by French woman Bénédicte Mahé who shares her perspective concerning the French custom of la rentrée (the first day of school, the return to school in the fall) and the excitement as everyone returned from their grandes vacances of summer to begin a whole new chapter. Bénédicte looks back with nostalgia as she has now left school and now longer gets to experience the rentrée.

French Crown Jewels: Empress Eugénie, by Barbara Redmond who writes about of the pieces from Empress Eugénie’s private collection and the French Crown Jewels that were split up by the national assembly and sold at public auction. Stories of Empress Eugénie’s famous Bow Brooch, Pearl and Diamond Tiara, and private jewels. Including Barbara’s favorite book about the jewels in the Louvre, Paris. 

French Empress Eugénie and her diamonds, by Barbara Redmond who shares the story of Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, who lusted after diamonds—the most bejeweled clotheshorse and stylish woman of her day. Stories of Empress Eugénie’s famous Eugénie Diamond, Great Diamond Cluster, Consort Crown, and “Regent” Diamonds. Including Barbara’s favorite book about the jewels in the Louvre, Paris. 

Text copyright ©2010 Philippa Campsie. All rights reserved
Illustration copyright ©2012 Barbara Redmond. All rights reserved.
barbara@awomansparis.com