Designer of Dreams

His name has just four letters -- D-I-O-R -- but when read or spoken aloud, thousands of images immediately flood your brain: dresses, suits, hats, coats, ball gowns, shoes, gloves, jewelry, perfume. The list is endless. A testament to the vast richness of Christian Dior's world. And here in Paris, where it all began, the Musée des Arts Decoratifs is currently celebrating 70 years of the work of his fashion house. Needless to say, it's a "hot ticket" to grab, and it's a sturdy soul who braves the dense crowds that are crammed into the galleries at all hours. Never one to shrink from such a challenge, I was one of those souls, although the following is just a sketch of this extensive, overwhelming show.

Born to a wealthy Normandy family in 1905, Dior grew up in a beautiful, tastefully decorated home, filled with flowers from the gardens surrounding it. His mother's artistic temperament created and maintained this world,  the memories of which stayed with Dior his whole life.  In 1910, the family moved to Paris where the exciting cultural life of the city lay at his doorstep. At age 14, Dior went to see a palm reader who predicted his future: "You will be penniless, but women will be good to you and it is thanks to them that you will succeed." 

Dior's plans to become an architect were dashed when his conservative parents refused to endorse him going to the École Beaux-Arts.  Instead, he opened an art gallery, which his father helped fund (as long as the family name did not appear on the front of the gallery!). Teaming up with a friend, Jacques Bonjean, they opened a small gallery in 1928, where they showed works by well known artists and young artists of their own generation.  This painting by the cubist painter Louis Marcoussis, "Les 3 Poètes", particularly caught my eye.

By 1931, Dior's father had lost his entire fortune, following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Dior himself ended his partnership with Bonjean, but two years later, opened another gallery with Pierre Colle, where they showed mostly surrealist and abstract artists. Salvador Dali's,"Buste de Femme Rétrospectif" had its first showing at the Colle Gallery in 1933...

 ...as did this work by Man Ray, "Perpetual Motive". It was an exciting time as this close-knit world of artists like Dali, Max Jacob, Giacometti, Man Ray and Jean Cocteau, and gallerists like Dior and Pierre Colle spent time together, sharing their ideas and hopes and dreams for the future. Before long though, the effects of the Depression began to be felt, clients became scarce, businesses closed. Including the Galerie Pierre Colle. Dior lost his own personal collection. The palm reader's prediction seemed to be coming true!

To keep the wolf from the door, in 1935 Dior studied fashion drawing, and signed on as a fashion illustrator with people like Claude Saint Cyr for whom he drew these hats in 1937...

...and with Lucien Lelong where he made many fashion drawings, including this one in 1942. The lines of this dress give us a hint of what is to come!

In 1946, backed by a wealthy textile manufacturer, Dior opened his own fashion studio on Avenue Montaigne. One of his earliest designs, "The Bar Suit" became a featured garment when Christian Dior presented his first haute couture show in February 1947. He was completely unknown to the public, but that would not last long.

This was the "New Look" that revolutionized the world of fashion, and thrust Dior into the stratosphere. After all the years of war and rationing, he created a world where women could once again have a supple and elegant look. Shoulders were soft, waists well-defined, skirts below the knee and flared, creating a swirling, dancing effect. Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar christened this movement: "It's quite a revolution dear Christian, your dresses have such a new look!"

Along with exquisite day dresses, Dior designed voluptuous evening gowns. This shimmering wonder is called the "Junon" dress, part of the 1949 collection. "Junon" is the French word for Juno, the ancient Roman goddess, wife of Jupiter and patroness of Rome. Juno is often associated with the peacock, which explains, perhaps, the petal shaped layers of the skirt, dotted with sequins, that almost resemble peacock feathers.

From the same year, this flowing velvet wonder is known as the "Sargent" dress.

Two years later, Princess Margaret wore another sumptuous gown from the House of Dior for her official 21st birthday photograph by Cecil Beaton. She was a devoted Dior client.

The fashion house at 30 Avenue Montaigne has a neo-classical facade, white and Trianon grey panelling, and a large selection of neo-Louis XVI chairs and furnishings, all reflecting Dior's love of the 18th Century. Here, Dior supervised a devoted staff. He was generous, touching and much loved. Here he is with his florist, Madame Dedebon, putting the final touches to a floor-to-ceiling arrangement of lilies...

...here, he gently adjusts the model Renée's collar before she takes to the runway...

...and here he sits with his close colleagues and collaborators, most of whom, it should be noted, are women. He was known to be extremely polite with everybody, always finding time for a kind word, no matter how busy he was.

The 1950s saw the rise of fashion photography, something Dior took great advantage of.  This "Day Dress" from 1950 was photographed by Henry Clarke...

...whilst in 1955, the glamorous model, Dovima, happily allowed herself to be  posed with elephants from the Cirque d'Hiver by Richard Avedon. Dovima is wearing the first evening dress designed by Dior's new assistant, Yves Saint Laurent!

Dior's love of gardens and flowers from his early childhood is reflected in one whole section of the exhibition called "Gardens", devoted to dresses and gowns with a floral connection. I especially loved this 1956 satin bustier evening dress, decorated with lily of the valley flowers and embroidered with Swarovski crystals, which was designed for Françoise Arnoul in Henri Vermeuil's film "Paris, Palace Hotel" from 1956. So pretty!

One more from this section that caught my eye was this 1960 faille bustier cocktail dress from Yves Saint Laurent.

This portrait by Bernard Buffet in 1954, shows Dior at the height of his powers and influence. People flocked to his fashion house on Avenue Montaigne. His business expanded globally, and by the following year accounted for over 50% of French haute couture items exported abroad.

Sometime in early 1957, Dior graced the cover of Time magazine, wielding a large pair of scissors. The leader of Paris designers. Then, without warning, in October of that year, he died suddenly of a heart attack, struck down at the very height of his success. He was 52 years old. At his request, Yves Saint Laurent took over his empire, followed in later years by Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons, and the current head of the House of Dior, -- and the first woman to hold the position --  Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Over the years, these designers have continued to bring breathtaking fashion to runways throughout the world, building on Dior's unique vision: his love of women, of beauty, of art. The exhibition has many rooms devoted to examples of their work -- many are flamboyant, tribal, some derivative of the works of modern artists like Jackson Pollock or André Derain, some highly decorative --  all seeking to have the same impact as when Christian Dior first stepped onto the stage in 1947. Although, to be honest, my eyes always seem to drift back to Dior's early work, with its fresh, clean and really quite simple approach to the art of fashion.

Because what I loved most about this show was the uncomplicated vision that Christian Dior held to throughout his life:  elegance. To him, this elegance was not limited to one particular garment. His aim was to dress a woman from head to toe. He insisted that everything from hats to shoes, jewelry to bags, perfume to make-up all had a part to play in the final perfect picture of this much-desired "elegance". This little flask of Miss Dior perfume (first introduced in 1950), displayed in a cabinet inspired by the "Temple of Love" at Le Petit Trianon at Versailles, pretty much sums that up. It's simple, it's elegant, it's classy (and I always did like the perfume!).

À bientôt!

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The Good...The Bad...The Ugly

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (The more things change, the more they stay the same).

Or, maybe, not! In the seven years we've been spending time in our little corner of the 2nd Arrondissement, there have always been changes in the shops and cafés on the rue Montorgeuil, old ones close, new ones spring up. But somehow, the neighborhood itself has always held on to its character of being a "village" in the heart of Paris, with its own unique personality.  This year, though, some of the changes signal an unwelcome shift.

I'll begin with some of the "Good":  There was, for about four years, an uninspiring natural beauty products shop, next to the Happy Flower Boutique at the top end of the street. I don't think I ever saw more than one, maybe two, customers in the shop.

Today, that space has become a fancy patisserie -- "Pouchkinette" -- aimed at people looking for a spot to have a nice cup of tea and something sweet.  And I do mean "sweet".

In a luminous interior, trays of "goodies" fill the counters, some small (one bite) petits fours, others...

...well, no words necessary!

For years, across and down the street, there has been a closed storefront. Only the symbol (a horse's head) above the door told of its history: a horse butcher, boucherie chevaline. This year, it is transformed into "La Chambre aux Confitures" -- a boutique devoted to jams, honeys, chutneys and condiments.

And no shortage of happy customers, by the look of it.

Looking at the other side of the street, "L'Eclair de Genie" has replaced a tiny little take-out food shop...

...with a much more tempting line of offerings...

...and a former really tacky dress shop is now a splendid Italian Gelato cafe, "Grom"!

Hard to resist the poster by the door!

But just a door or so down from that welcome new presence, we come to one of the "Bad" (and sad) things that has happened since my last visit. The beloved Point Presse news agency, that forever stood with its yellow awning proudly promoting what used to be the world's daily newspaper (International Herald Tribune) has disappeared! Gone! (Just like the IHT.) It didn't just sell newspapers from all over Europe, it also had every magazine, comic book, greeting cards, postcards, pens and pencils, little notebooks (carnets), the weekly Pariscope and l'Officiel des Spectacles that gave you details of every event taking place in the city for that week. You grabbed your newspaper from the rack outside, then squeezed your way around the tiny aisles inside to get to where Monsieur had his little cashier post. A sweet, gentle fellow, who always had a friendly smile and a "bonjour Madame", and once kept my iPhone safe for me for a few hours when I had carelessly left it on the counter. We think he retired (no one seems to know exactly), and when no one else wanted to take over, the store was closed.

 Another shop, further down the street, that also sells cards and calendars, has taken up the newspaper rack, including the New York Times, although unlike the Point Presse that always had a dozen or so copies, this place only seems to get two or three, so if you want to get your Weekend Edition, you have to be there when they open!

In place of the Point Presse news agency, a new take-out traiteur "Stevenot" seems to attract a lot of customers, who stop by on their way home from work to pick up a ready-cooked supper.

Rows of organic farm chickens and other meats turn slowly on the spit by the front door...

...whilst inside, opposite a counter of cooked vegetables, you can also pick up eggs, sausages, etc. The word is that it's pretty delicious, but I need time to grieve a bit for the late Point Presse before I sample anything!

Another newcomer to the street is "Jimmy Fairly", an elegant, chic eyeglass store, with its cute bicycle display wagon outside. (French eyeglass stores are the best anywhere!).

Alas, a couple of doors down from that welcome newcomer, is another "Bad", verging on "Ugly", change. This used to be our favorite pharmacy. It had two entrances, a spacious interior filled with lotions and potions, soaps and shampoos, tooth care, nail care, etc., and a friendly pharmacist to help you with medications. Now, taken over by some chain, it just has one door, the interior is jam-packed with so much stuff you cannot see anything, and the formerly clear windows are plastered with super-sale offerings, low prices, prix fou! We put one toe inside and fled, deciding we needed to check out one of the other two pharmacies on the rue Montorgeuil for future needs.

And now for the really "Ugly", not-to-be-believed, happening on the street. The arrival of McDo!!

For about four or five years now, McDonalds has been pushing to have a footprint on the rue Montorgeuil, right on the corner of the rue Reaumur, just steps away from a primary and an elementary school. Each attempt was met with determined local opposition, not just from residents and merchants in the neighborhood, but also from our wonderful Mayor of the 2nd arrondissement. We stood on street corners and banged saucepans and waved signs and wrote letters. And for a while, it worked. We thought we'd won, because each time we beat them back. But the weight of the mighty corporation, and multiple threats of lawsuits against the city of Paris, seem to have worn down the bureaucrats in the Hôtel de Ville.

The evidence is in the taped up "permit" now displayed in the windows of what used to be a dress shop, "Brighton", that sold really nice tailored shirts, amongst other things.

The thought of this prime, classic corner lot becoming a three-floor, "open until 3 am" McDonalds is hard to take in, but we see workers on a daily basis demolishing the interior, so don't really see any way that it's not going to happen. Alas, it will change the feel of the neighborhood, for sure. What a shame.

So we avert our eyes to that as much as we can, and take joy in all the familiar shops, people and offerings, including the "Palais du Fruit," with its amazing displays of whatever is in season...

...including, right now, a gazillion mushrooms!

Our favorite cheese shop, "La Fermette" is still packing in the customers eager to choose from their huge selections of this essential item in French life.

And then, at one of the excellent wine shops that we pass every day, what should I spy but a Portuguese wine with the "Dalva" label! Who knew our friends, Robert and Marcia, had a connection to Portugal...

And our favorite cafe, "La Grappe d'Or",  gave us a warm open-armed welcome...

...and brought us their lunch special vol-au-vent fruits de mers, so prettily presented and utterly delicious. It feels wonderful to be part of their regular clientele again.

One last thing that changes every year, and is always a question: what will be the color this fall?! We soon found out: Dijon Mustard Yellow!

From our seat at "La Grappe d'Or," in the space of 45 minutes, we caught glimpses of endless variations on what kind of garment you can wear in Dijon Mustard Yellow. Here are just a very few, starting with shorts over black tights...

...a nice coat disappearing round the corner...

...another one coming up the street...

...even the Gents are not to be outdone!

Clearly, Matthew and I have to sharpen up, in order to join the other fashionistas, although I believe Matthew has a Dijon Mustard Yellow scarf, as a starter.   I, on the other hand, will need a trip to les grands magazins to bring my wardrobe up to date! Now that the jet lag is finally receding, I may even get there this week.

À bientôt!

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