What I Learned in Paris

There is a relationship between the title of this post and today's outfit.

On my last night in Paris while dining al fresco on Rue Montparnasse my purse was stolen.  Stolen right off the arm of my chair while I was sitting in it, stolen in such a smooth move that I didn't realize it was gone until I went to pay my part of the bill.

So the teacher in me is going to list some lessons I learned this trip.  Some of this I knew, but chose to ignore.  Bad idea, lesson learned the hard way.   I'm going to post them one at time so that the post don't go over long. 

Lesson ONE - Monday, June 10: Never, never, never --no matter how relaxed you've become--let your purse leave your person.  Put the strap over your body, place it in your lap, place it to your right on the tabletop, put your leg through the strap and place it between your legs.  But never place it over the back of your chair.

Despite the hiccup at the end, it WAS a fabulous trip, the Loire Valley, Versailles and Giverny were spectacular.  Shopping in St. Germaine was fun, the prices were high, the fashion lovely, the choices vast.  I'd return in a New York minute.

Now for the outfit connection.  If you have a body and age appropriate sense of style, you've made some effort to coordinate your outfit and you wear comfortable, but NOT gym shoes, you will look as if you belong.  If you wear oversized, poorly fitted, very casual, gym or gardening appropriate clothing along with your socks and Nike's, you will appear as the poorly outfitted tourist you are.  Many city dwellers, for the most part, whether they be from Paris on NYC, are stylish and chic.  Others are just nicely dressed. Tourists from many countries appear to just wear their most comfortable clothing, ill-fitting, poorly coordinated though it may be. Americans certainly embrace the gym shoe as their sightseeing shoe of choice.  I do think there are lots more beautiful and comfortable shoe choices in Europe, but even here in the US you can find a comfortable flat shoe suitable for walking that isn't an athletic shoe.  So while I might have not taken this dress along to Paris, thinking the print was perhaps too much, had I done so, it would have been perfect and comfortable.   

Outfit Details: Dress -  Talbots; Belt - Tory Burch; Shoes - Michael Kors (similar); Necklace - Banana Republic (old - similiar); Bracelets - Personal collection, nothing new.