Fashionable French and their Wedding Ensembles

Bonjour Blogsphere!

So, this post is a little late- like a week or two late. ;-) The whole buying an apartment and new job has sapped a lot out of me! Anyway...

Recently we celebrated my husband's birthday with the my in-laws. (Side note: did you know that the French don't use the term "step" or "in-law"? Instead, they use "belle famille", which translates directly as beautiful family. I think it is kind of nice.) We tried to have a picnic in Parc Monceau, near the apartment, but mid-dessert we got kicked and had to finish the festivities outside the gates. (We joked that it was a party homeless style, although I don't think many homeless are fortunate enough to have real champagne!) Good times were had by all.
Lapin a la Mode Tip du Jour

Kudos to Karen Millen by Lapin a la Mode featuring Karen Millen

As I mentioned in my last post, Thomas and I are headed to a wedding in two weeks. Like our wedding last year, this wedding is going to be quite the destination wedding event, this time taking place near the lovely city of Montpelier. But where to get a dress? Right now, the hottest formal dress designer (in the affordable mid-tier market) in France is Karen Millen, a British label that has absolutely taken Paris by storm. I know of at least three girls who will be sporting Karen Millen to the wedding, and more who are looking! The nice thing about Karen Millen is that most of the dresses are designed with matching shoes and handbags, making accessorizing fast and easy. (It's nice to not have to endlessly search for the perfect pair of matching shoes!) There are a few Karen Millen stores in the US these days and of course there is always the faithful online shop. The dresses make a definite statement- check out my lovely maid of honor Katie in her matching Karen Millen ensemble at our wedding last year. True class. :-) UPDATE: I saw at least four Karen Millen dresses, including two lovely ones sported by the lovely Iris and Katie.


Click of French (European) Culture
When Thomas and I were in the US, we were actually pleasantly surprised at how many people were watching the World Cup. It is true that in Europe, soccer (ie football to Europeans) is THE sport. One of my coworkers posted the following status awhile back, "Hello World Cup! Goodbye all work in Europe," and it's true that while the World Cup (which only takes place every four years) is on, a lot of people stop working, especially during the first week. As the French (absolutely no comment) and now the US are both out, I'm cheering for Germany.

Much like my beloved American football team (the Pittsburgh Steelers), the individual countries have their own songs supporting their teams. This year's UK Song is Shout featuring Dizee Rascal, which is essentially a ghetto remixed version of the classic Tears for Fears song. I personally prefer the classic Three Lions. Germany must have also decided that since the world cup is in Africa, they also needed a rap song as their official 2010 World Cup Song. Their old song (which I am searching for) was really cute. The overall theme song for the World Cup is Shakira's Waka Waka (This Time for Africa). I must admit I'm slightly disappointed that they gave the theme song to a non-African singer. (But then again, 2006's Dance with Somebody remix with Fatman Scoop and Lumidee is not exactly German either, nor was the Euro 2008's song, Feel the Rush, Swiss or Austrian.) This song, Wavin' Flag, better captures the spirit of the games- everyone in Europe is out waving their flags for their countries- it's the most patriotic time of the year!

Soccer's still growing on me, but I prefer more violent sports, like rugby. The Paris team's rugby music video may convert many of you female readers into fans with the nice shots of the players. But there's only one rugby player for this girl- my handsome husband!

A bientot!
-Liz Anne