As someone who recharges in direct sunlight, enjoys being surrounded by well manicured nature (love a formal garden.. do not love camping.. you know what I mean?) and strongly identifies with 1960s/70s aesthetics – Palm Springs feels like a personal oasis. This was our fourth time there and every time I arrive it feels like an exhalation. It’s a real treat to be able to find a place that makes you feel that way and an even bigger one to have the privilege to return to it year after year.
As such, I like to dress for the style I think that it deserves. A raffia dress (have you ever seen anything better?) and matching headband! Rainbow platform sandals! A punchy bag and lipstick! It’s all welcome here. Order a tiki drink and stay awhile.
In looking back through our (probably thousands) of honeymoon photos – I realized that I took some outfit photos along the way that were just quick snaps (not enough for their own blog posts/have maybe been shared on IG stories already) but that I still wanted to share here in a permanent place. Thought it might be fun to round them up together all in one. Here are 5 of them (for day) and I’ll do another post on some of the things I wore at night!
MORNING IN MONTMARTRE:
We spent a Saturday morning in Montmartre (just early enough that it wasn’t yet flooded with tourists) wandering the cobblestones, picking up crepes and taking in the sweeping views that all those hills afford you. It was cooler so I needed the trench until about noon and I’ll definitely be re-wearing this entire outfit to work here in New York.
On our last afternoon (in near 80 degree temps!) we grabbed a bottle of champagne, simple baguette sandwiches and found a seat along the Seine River with a great view of the Eiffel Tower for a little picnic lunch. I wore a vintage skirt that I’d bought earlier in the trip, tied my new Dior scarf onto my bag (it’s printed with a vintage map of the streets of Paris), an easy crewneck sweater and sneakers.
FLIGHT FROM NICE BACK TO PARIS:
With a short flight (and the rest of our suitcases waiting for us at our final hotel) I made the most of the comfort of these perfect wide leg trousers to travel from Nice back to Paris. I paired them with a cropped tweed jacket – which I’m loving with jeans too – and a vintage metallic gold St Johns Knits sweater tank that I found in New York this summer and is proving to be a very fun layering piece. Once we landed in Paris I was ready to hit the ground running and wore this straight to lunch.
BREAKFAST AT CAFE DE FLORE:
Red! I’ve forever been a fan of a bright cherry red, but it also just so happens to be having a major moment this fall. This sweater dress hangs beautifully and also is so comfortable you might as well be in pajamas. It was originally tamed by my trench coat but this was another nearly 80 degree day in Paris so after breakfast at a front row spot at Cafe de Flore (one of my favorite little traditions every trip), I had to shed some layers. Easy with sneakers and an oversized suede tote or with heeled boots and a smaller structured bag for a Fall date night.
Since getting back from our trip to Paris I’ve been slightly overwhelmed with wanting to share it all.. but not knowing where to start. So I finally figured – how about with the fashion? Some of these pieces I bought specifically with Paris in mind, but they’re just pieces for my “forever wardrobe” and thought would be fun to debut there. They each feel like they have a bit of a story and definitely have a few more to tell after coming on this trip with me. As always, I’m a sentimental shopper at heart. Below – everything I wore in Paris. In no particular order.
I changed into this as soon as we landed for a late lunch and stroll for pastries. I love this outfit as it feels very ‘New York meets Paris’ to me and definitely plan to repeat it often now that I’m home. The jeans are a rigid, high waist (I cuffed them under so they hit at my ankle bone) but they break in beautifully and the white tee is my new favorite. I plan to buy in multiples. The sunglasses – which you’ll see in a lot of these photos – are prescription, which is why they’re basically now the only pair I wear.
This was in Versailles. I wanted an outfit that was equal parts Marie Antoinette at the Palace, Marie Antoinette at Petite Trianon and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette – hence the Converse. I realize this is a very specific reference, but I studied Fashion History as a part of my college courses and so, this stuff thrills me. I ended up in this corset-like floral top, a slouchy sweater, big eyelet midi skirt and aforementioned Converse. It was a good outfit for the 7-8 miles we ended up walking there.
A pre-dinner walk along the Seine. The same jeans and tee as before, just swapped the jacket and the shoes for the Chanel look-a-likes.. until I can work up the nerve (and the savings account) to spring for the real deal. Grabbed this glossy little chain strap bag and a pair of hoops to finish it off.
This dress was the first thing I bought after our flights were booked. Pink, tweed, mod. Just so much fun. I wore it out and about on my birthday with a black leather backpack I’ve had (and been traveling with for years) and the same black slingbacks with a walkable block heel.
This is a little bit bold for me but I wanted something that felt sort of YSL/seventies glam for my birthday dinner and ended up really falling in love with this fuchsia draped dress. It’s by a designer that I wasn’t familiar with but after eyeing it on The Outnet (Net a Porter’s designer discount site) – I finally got it when it went on extra sale. Paired with chunky gold platform sandals and swinging disco ball earrings.
On our last day in Paris we went straight to the (fashion) source. 31 Rue Cambon.. aka Chanel’s Flagship since 1918 when Coco herself took over the space. I’m not sure that I fooled anyone inside Chanel that I belonged.. but I had fun pretending. I’ve had this dress in my closet for a few years now, but I found a similar option here. Paired with ladylike extras – a tweed jacket, top handle bag and silk grosgrain headband.
So many of the French girls I saw in Paris were wearing midi dresses and high top Converse. This outfit was the closest I got to feeling like one of them. The straw bag was a birthday gift from Adam I found in French boutique Sussan Shokranian – all hand-embroidered in Paris!
Baby’s first Blahniks! These Manolo Blahnik embroidered heels were a birthday present to myself. When I saw them on The Real Real a few months ago in pristine condition, in my size, for an absolute song – I knew it was fate. I pictured wearing them at this exact location with a super menswear inspired look. In style serendipity, I found this double-breasted jacquard vest at a Pearl by Lela Rose sample sale in April. And then I dug out a pair of black shorts I’d had since I was honestly 22 years old and grabbed an oversized button down shirt and chunky gold link necklace. This look is all the things I love about fashion – mixing high and low. Playing with texture and proportion. Old pieces paired with newer ones. It’s one of my all time favorite outfits.
A very sweet little date night look, worn on our second night in Paris. The dress has since sold-out so I’m linking a few similar options. Paired with that top handle bag and black slingbacks.
Excuse the grainy photo here, but this was the view from our AirBnB bedroom window! And I was just waking up! In Paris! Loved this little travel pajama set that came with a matching robe. It’s super soft and packed up nice and small.
I wore this on a Seine boat cruise and then on to dinner. The top was another Pearl by Lela Rose sample sale find (I really lucked out there!) paired with a super cheap midi skirt, ordered last minute when I couldn’t find quite the right thing to pair with that top. For what it’s worth – the quality and fit were pretty decent. Paired with these gold platforms again which were so comfy and a vintage YSL bag.
How could I not end on this?! I saw this dress last December (part of an exclusive collaboration between Nicola Bathie and Antonio Melani and was swooning over it) – but had no occasion to wear it and no excuse to pay full price. I thought of it by chance last month and took a quick search on Poshmark.. only to find one, new with tags, in my size for a quarter of the original price. More style serendipity! It was so much fun to wear for midnight drinks at Bar Hemingway inside the Ritz. When else can you be that over the top?! Paired with my favorite (and truly comfortable) black Perfect Pumps from Sarah Flint. Code: SARAHFLINT-BASTEELE gets you $50 off your first order.
I am trying to play it cool but I’m very excited to be heading out of town next weekend. Pre-pandemic (doesn’t that feel eons ago?) we had fallen into the habit of heading somewhere warm every year around this time and it really saved me from the winter doldrums that set in without fail by about mid-February. Our last trip was March 5, 2020 and I was so grateful we somehow snuck that in, but two long years later and I am absolutely in need of vitamin D, a pool and temperatures in the 80s.
Naturally I couldn’t resist picking up a few things for the occasion. While they’re technically for the trip, I know that I’ll be wearing all of these often this spring/summer. I’m especially excited about this swingy eyelet shirt dress that I’ll re-wear at the office with flats, this lace-up sweater that will be so cute with cut-offs on summer nights at the lake and these suede sandals in a walkable heel height that will go with virtually everything. And – in an effort to show restraint – just one of the books that will inevitably make it into my carry-on next weekend.
Half in a daydream, my bags already mentally packed – I’m a person that is always conspiring towards my next trip. In fact, our suitcases were barely back in the closet after an escape to St. Pete Beach, FL in late February when the world went into quarantine. And while, judging by Instagram at least, it does seem like people are moving about the country right now on summer trips – we have no plans to do the same (in the immortal words of JVN – “Just because you Ameri-CAN, doesn’t mean you Ameri-SHOULD”). And the rest of the world won’t even have us. Which leaves me without any travel plans for the first time in about a decade.
To fill the void, I’ve started to think about how I could bring the feeling of travel home instead. And here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
Escape into a Book or Movie instead. Dreaming of Paris? Pick a rainy afternoon, pop the champagne and have a movie marathon – I love Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn and Midnight in Paris (minus the connection to Woody Allen). Had to cancel your summer getaway to Italy? I read Call Me By Your Name earlier this year and then watched the movie all in one weekend and felt totally transported. I can’t wait to read ‘From Scratch’ a memoir set in Sicily next.
Cook a Dish from that Region. I think we can all agree that trying the local flavors is one of the best parts of traveling. And has there ever been a better time to learn something new in the kitchen? Try recreating that amazing paella you had in Spain, find the recipe for those biscuits you fell in love with in South Carolina or learn to make sushi before that dream trip to Japan. Admittedly, I am not the world’s most innovative cook, but I actually love doing this with cocktails. I whip up a French75 when I want to reminisce about Paris and 8 years after a trip to Arizona, I’m still trying to recreate a perfect spicy tequila cocktail I sipped there.
Sort Your Travel Photos. This always seems like such a chore – but at the beginning of quarantine I sorted through our travel photos to find all of my “front door” pictures and saved them to a separate folder in my phone. I plan to get them printed into a coffee table type book, but even now – just looking at them all grouped together makes me feel happy and takes me back to the places where the snapshot was taken.
Dress for the Trip You Want. I don’t think it comes as any surprise that I take a lot of joy in planning the outfits I’m going to wear on any particular trip. I like to try and add a little bit of the feeling of that destination into my wardrobe. And even if I can’t pack my bags – I could still dress up for a movie night at home in my favorite French-inspired look, mais non?
Do Your Research Now. Shy of actually booking your flight – now would be a great time to dig into researching some of the places you’d like to go in the future. I like to use a mix of Instagram (search hashtags of cities or tagged locations) and Google Maps (I star anywhere I want to visit and then plan each day of the trip based on what’s grouped nearby). It’s the equivalent of hitting ‘add to cart’ and then not going through checkout. I really do still get a little rush of endorphins just from the planning.
