Dear GlamChic Readers,
Greetings from the far-flung locale of Montana! No exactly known for it’s sartorial splendor–though it must be said that snazzy cowboy hats and stellar vintage finds abound–the Big Sky Country is one of favorite my get-away destinations. But while I’m escaping the urban jungle for a few days, my fellow fashion-blogging pal, Elisabeth Fourmont–she of the clever, award-winning La Coquette –reports in on her favorite Paris shops. The Chicago ex-pat turned Belleville resident knows a thing or two about the City of Light’s hotspots after having lived–and blogged from–the French capitol for over three years. If Miss Fourmont’s picturesque lifestyle doesn’t inspire jealousy, her weekend shopping itinerary surely will. xS.C.

Ten French Stores That Make Me Happy
by Elisabeth Fourmont

Inside French Trotters

French Trotters
This shop in the Bastille shares a similar concept with New York’s Opening Ceremony in that each season the owners voyage to a city they’re interested in, cherry-pick their favorite designers
and local artists of that city, and bring it all back to Paris for your shopping pleasure. Always an inspiring mix of fashion and art here. 30 rue de Charonne, 75011 www.frenchtrotters.fr

Another view of French Trotters

Chez Mamie
What I like about this vintage store is that it’s full of
the type of classic things you want to wear, thanks presumably, to the finely tuned aesthetic of its owners. My most recent purchase? A small black croc bag with two straps: a longer chain and a shorter leather clutch. “Ca fait très Hermès Kelly,” said the saleswoman. Agreed. 73, rue de Rochechouart, 75009
01 42 82 09 98

A.P.C. Surplus
If you had a store that sold a constantly changing stock of discounted A.P.C. in your neighborhood, wouldn’t you visit all the time I can’t overstate how often I would lurk here when I lived in the area (it’s located just next to the Jardin du Luxembourg). I stalk marked-down A.P.C., it’s true. 4 rue de Fleurus 75006 01 45 49 19 15

Cadolle Boutique

Alice Cadolle
What is Alice Cadolle the woman is known for? Inventing the bra. What is Alice Cadolle the modern day shop is known for? Outlandishly priced made-to-measure lingerie. What a lot of people don’t know? They also sell off-the-rack bras for under 100 euro. Still not cheap, but these bras are so flattering and shape-changing that you won’t mind.
14, Rue Cambon , 75001 01 42 60 94 22

Free ‘P’ Star
This is my kind of thrift store. There is minor editing by the proprietors (most of what you see is on trend), but it’s still crowded, disorganized, and pretty darn cheap. It’s right in the heart of the Marais and open late by Paris standards (until 11 pm), so you can even go here to kill time before dinner. 8 rue Ste Croix la Bretonnerie, 75004 01.42.76.03.72

Guerrisol
This is where I head for true, down and dirty thrift shopping. At the beginning of the summer I stocked up on cotton dresses here, three euros each. 29-31, avenue de Clichy, 75017

Monoprix

Monoprix
When I’m traveling back to the states, I buy French candy and crackers that aren’t available stateside as gifts for my friends (lighter, cheaper, and more fun than jam). My favorite grocery chain stocks Berlin pizza apéritif crackers, Smarties, and Lions bars. All delicious. www.monoprix.fr

Maje
There are a lot of stores in Paris doing seasonal trends in this price range: Et Vous, Les Prairies de Paris, and Sandro come to mind, but Maje seems to be particularly good at the moment. www.maje-paris.fr

A find at Marche aux Puces

Le Marché aux Puces de Vanves
So much more doable than the famous Puces de Clignacourt, this particular flea market is very good for jewelry, tchotckes, and fabric. I got a chandelier here at the end of a rainy day for a steal.
Along avenue Marc Sangnier, between avenue de la Porte de Vanves and Avenue Georges Lefenestre http://pucesdevanves.typepad.com/

Le Bon Marche

Le Bon Marché
In A Moveable Feast, Hemmingway talks about going to look at Cezanne paintings to feed his soul. In the same way, I go to Le Bon Marché, the department store where all the brands I care about are under one roof. Don’t judge me!
24, rue de Sevres, 75007 www.lebonmarche.fr

Le Bon Marche

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As you can see from my Peach Geldof posting, I have a thing for stylish up & coming stars who haven’t been plastered all over the tabloids yet. When trolling through the many images from last week’s Daytime Emmy Awards, this darling young actress—All My Children’s Leven Rambin—jumped out at me. Sweet ensembles and could that be—gasp!—a genuine smile! How charming! And of course, how coincidental; After doing some quick research I found that one of our favorite fellow blogger Shane Cisneros was responsible for Leven’s darling look. I hit him up for his inspiration, styling tips, and asked him to name drop a few favorite designers:

Shane Cisneros

Leven and I worked with Jason Wu for several weeks on the creation of this stunning custom made gown for the 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. Since this was her second nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series, Leven and I both wanted something special that had not been seen or worn before. Jason showed this look with a skirt made of flannel for his fall 2007 show but changed the fabric to chiffon and bust color to eggplant for the occasion. I paired the gown with stunning Neil Lane diamond and onxy jewelry. That particular mix of stones is very hard to source so I was happy that I found the jewels that Leven and I had been hoping for. The Kotur clutch with Swarovski crystals and Giuseppe Zanotti platform peep toe pumps really completed the look.

Leven was presenting at this event and since we were going for bold evening glamour for the big Daytime Emmys we wanted to keep the look short and chic for the Creative Arts & Entertainment Emmy Awards. Leven looks amazing in color and this Valentino pleated tent dress was the only option we considered for this event. Paired with Larkspur & Hawk earrings and cuff, the look would be equally at home on a tropical holiday, thanks to Leven’s tan from St. Tropez Tanning Essentials.

Leven has a stunning figure which could not have looked better in this pleated chiffon, lace Colette Dinnigan dress at SOAPnet’s ‘Night Before Party’. What she and I loved about this LBD was it’s reveal/conceal quality, the lace showed just enough leg and shoulder without being vulgar. Paired with Caressa diamonds, she looked like a young Catherine Deneuve, thanks to the brilliant hairstyling by Anthony Cristiano and Australian makeup maestro Napoleon Perdis who worked with Leven throughout the Emmys press run.

Catherine Deneuve

All photos courtesy of Getty Images

Technorati Tags: Daytime Emmys, Leven Ramkin, Getty Images, Shane Cisneros, Red-Carpet, Fashion

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Much like the Oscars, the best part about the Costume Institute gala is hopping online or scooping up the paper the day after to assess what everyone wore the night before. I myself spent an good hour with my editor giving a thorough “post-mortem” as she calls it, of the night’s triumphs and terrors. But while most of us have to wait ’till the next day to see these and other party snaps, lucky Shane Cisneros has the pleasure of beating us all to the punch. In his role as Getty Images’ in-house style expert, Cisneros attends fetes and previews all the VIPs party picts—and thereby knows about all the trends and highlights long before any magazines or tabloid glossies get their hands on them. Hot off the press, here’s his take on the sartorial spectacle that is the Costume Institute Gala:

PS: Stay tuned for more picts of the event, and for more party pict previews and style tidbits from Mr. Cisneros, be sure to check out his blog.

Shane Cisneros

Who do you think was the best-dressed looking female this year?
Kate Bosworth in a short champagne silk Prada dress. She looked happy, healthy and looked like she having more fun than anyone.

Jennifer Lopez (in a silver Marchesa stunner) manages to always get it right always because she knows it is about a total look. Everything worked from her hair, to her makeup, and accessories (her Rodger Viver clutch almost outshined her dress!). She is not afraid to own the looks she chooses and be the fashion plate she is.

Lucy Liu was so dramatic in her jewel toned Zac Posen. If you’re going to wear a train and tiara (Fred Leighton), this was the event to do so and she executed the look with panache and grace.

How about the boys?
Miss Bosworth knows how to pick good arm candy! Although a model genetically superior to the rest of us, James Rousseau wore his suit well and was perfect complement to Kate.

Liev Schreiber cleaned up nicely in his Tom Ford bespoke suit and was aware that this was a major fashion event not do the scruffy actor-I-don’t-care-about-fashion look. I wish some of his colleagues at the event would follow suit.

Harry Connick Jr. looked like a gentleman that he is, not too young or too stuffy—
Just right.

And the designers? What successes did you see there?
I loved that Zac Posen did not wear a standard tuxedo but chose grey instead; the penguin suit needs to go. He looked very debonair, young, and hip and those are three adjective that are very hard to pull off at the same time.

Karl Lagerfeld only wears a palette of black and white, if a designer is going to wear tux well it would be La Lagerfeld—the shoes were shined, the tie was skinny (which makes men’s torso’s look smaller), and who can resist rocking some sunglass at night?

Vera Wang and Carolina Herrera both wore their own collections through the eyes of Poriet and did so with aplomb. They looked like women not girls showing their clients that they can look great no matter what age you are.

What do you think the ultimate fashion faux pas is for the Met gala?
The Metropolitan Museum Of Art Costume Institute Gala is considered to be “the Oscars of fashion” so celebrities have a tendency to be theatrical but just because something looks good on a runway that does not mean it going to translate well in a photograph. Case in point: Sorry Kirsten, while it was adventurous, in the end whole ensemble did not work!

What is one of your most favorite Met gala look of all time?
Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney in their one-shouldered “rock royalty” t-shirts at The MET’s Costume Institute Gala celebrating “Rock Style” in 1999. Tyler and McCartney looked like party girls who just rolled out of bed and showed up on the grand staircase. Everyone is so safe, so I have a soft spot for rebellious fashion.

Who is your Met gala dream date & why?
Karl Lagerfeld because he would be endlessly entertaining and he would make me some custom Chanel homme.

What’s been your favorite Costume Institute exhibit so far and why?
Since I am a Chanel-o-phile (see above), so definitely show celebrating Chanel. It was almost eerie to see how Karl has interpreted the sprit of Coco and how Mademoiselle Chanel was so modern. Her designs today were just as relevant as when she was alive.

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