Author: Diana

The Best from Maje’s Friends and Family 25% Off Sale

Published by Diana

Maje just announced it’s 25% off Friends & Family sale — and these are the best picks from it. Wouldn’t it be nice to get these recs directly in your inbox? So convenient! Sign up for a weekly dispatch about travel and Paris — or for our new weekly email about shopping, mostly French brands but a mix of everything! 1. Obsessed!! What would you wear this to? A goth ball? A five-star hotel on Halloween night? I love this. I would buy this now and hold on to it until the right event present itself, because it’s unstoppable. Those shoes FTR are a monstrosity, speaking of Halloween. Maje long sequined dress, was $565, with discount $423.75 2. Sometimes you just want to look like an Olympics-caliber skater going to her prom, am I right?? Why are those same shoes back?? I have only questions, and no answers. Maje short sequined dress, was $445, with discount $338.25 3. This is like the epitome of Maje to me: sexy dresses that would make sense at a magazine party in 2005 SoHo. …

woman wearing sezane earrings with white sweater

Sezane Earrings: A Regularly Updated Guide to the Best

Published by Diana

I love Sezane earrings — of all my Sezane purchases, they’re probably the ones I get compliments on most often. I personally break Sezane earrings into two categories: vintage glam and boho summer. The vintage glam are most of what you’ll see below: lots of gold (well, gold-plated brass, for the most part) and resins/glass — shiny! Feminine! Beautiful! The latter vibe is omnipresent in their spring/summer collections, when natural materials life raffia, thread and the like dominate. I like them both equally, though I’ve found that the glammier (read: metal-based) pieces tend to last longer. Let’s say there’s a third category, and that is: Sezane Earrings i Do Not Wish to Buy. These include too-basic shapes (which you can dupe with cheaper brands) and more delicate, demure pieces, which I think are done better by other brands, including Lou Yetu. I’m not paying Sezane earring prices for a pair of basic Sezane earring hoops. I’m getting those at H&M. If you’re looking for the Sezane earrings worn by Kate Middleton — the Dinas — I’m …

How To Dress Like You’re Going to the Gym at a Giant Division I Public University in the Midwest

Published by Diana

In this week’s edition of “How to Dress Like…”, we consider the fashion sensibility of gym-goers at a giant, fancy gym at a Division I public university in the Midwest (which might bear some connection to the University of Iowa). I did my undergrad in New York City, where our gym was literally underground, and a second bachelors degree at the San Francisco Art Institute, which…did not have a gym, or even some sort of deal with, like, the YMCA. So going to a school with a deep, deep gym culture was totally new to me. I’m here for it, though — and I’m obsessed by the very rigid dress codes enacted there. Here’s what they’re wearing at the gym (TL;DR: more Lululemon than I ever would have thought, that stuff is expensive!!) It all starts with the shorts! Here I am in my high-waisted leggings; there’s everybody else, in 4-inch Lululemon Align shorts — most often not in black, but in some other, often jewel-toned color. Also available in 6″, 8″ and 2″, but …

image of diptyque candles arranged on a shelf

46 Diptyque Candles, Ranked

Published by Diana

Diptyque candles ranked: Without a doubt, a Diptyque candle is one of the best souvenirs you can bring back from France (not least because depending on the exchange rate they’re about 25% cheaper there than in the US, for the same size). How, though, to know which one to get? Some of them are amazing — others, incredibly meh, and yet they all cost the same, so it pays to do your homework Below, all of the standard Diptyque candles, ranked, from 1 to 46. Feu de Bois will forever be my number one; I will forever despise Baies (note that many people think Baies is the best Diptyque candle; you will decide for yourself.) This ranking of Diptyque candles includes everything but special editions, like the city editions (which I haven’t had the good fortune to see in the flesh) and the holiday candles, with which I am completely obsessed and I love all of them. Diptyque Candles Ranked: #1-#46 46. Baies You may love it. I hate it. A dupe for all those redcurrant …

A Comprehensive Guide to Sezane Bags

Published by Diana

Sezane bags are excellent, stylish and well-made. Here’s what you need to know before you buy one — especially if you’re buying it from overseas. Sezane has a smallish assortment of bags: Right now, it has four leather bags (the Milo, the Romeo, the Victor, and the Farrow) in a variety of colors and finishes), as well as a capsule collection of woven summer bags, in natural fibers (primarily raffia). My opinion is that the leather bags are a good buy for the money, due to the quality of the construction and the durability of the style — they’re designed to last. The summer bags? I’m not as enthusiastic. Let’s get into it. Sezane Leather Bags: The Milo and More The leather portion of the Sezane bag selection is led by the Milo ($475): It’s 100% vegetable-tanned smooth cowhide leather, and made in Italy. It’s smallish: shorter and narrower than a letter-sized piece of paper (6.7 inches x 9.4 inches x 1.8 inches). It has a very satisfying metal clasp on the front, with a …

The Last Great Buys in Sézane’s Summer Sale

Published by Diana

Sézane’s annual summer sale is about three days from feeling extremely picked over. There’s like one piece of jewelry left. Tops are suffering. Dresses are hanging in there, so that’s where we’ll start. Note: Sézane organizes their sale pieces by size — it didn’t seem practical to sort through everything by size, so I just picked the size in the middle rather than focusing on the ends (32 or 48). If you’re coming to France in the very near term, don’t buy anything from the US — the same pieces are remarkably cheaper in France, so it’s like built-in Archives all year long. Note: The shirt above (which looks amazing from the back, iffy from the front (but amazing from the back) is the Katy (available at the moment from M-XXL for $50). I have this shirt and I love it — just get a size down, because that cotton stretches out. Ania top, was $100, now $70 I’ve tried this on and it’s incredible, just very body conscious — it stressed me out too much, but …

Ranking the Sézane Shops in Paris

Published by Diana

Depending on how you count, Sézane has about a half-dozen shops in Paris — but they are not created equally. Let’s rank them so that your shopping time may be well spent. A few things to note: I was surprised by how bad the reviews are for the shops on Google — they all hover around 3.5 stars — and I think most of it is international shoppers colliding with French customer service. For what it’s worth, I actually think Sézane staff is nicer than average. Oh, also, the lines: When I complain about lines below, I don’t mean the lines to pay; those move pretty fast. I literally mean the lines to get in. If you hate lines, go straight to #3. We publish two great newsletters: Sign up for a weekly dispatch about travel and Paris — or for our new weekly email about shopping (mostly French brands but a mix of everything!) Several of the Paris shops are closed on Mondays, and many close for big chunks/most of August, so be forewarned. …

8 Picks from Sézane’s July Vacation Capsule Collection

Published by Diana

Sézane’s July vacation-themed capsule collection debuted this morning at 9:30 Paris time, and a few things are already sold out! (TBH we like what’s here better.) Below, our top picks from the very summery vibes. You might look like a giant marshmallow in this, but I’m still interested — even if those pleats look like a lot of work to take care of. Gloria dress, $195 Ohh, this is just very cute, with those shoulder ties. Aria top, $70 I would love more information on how well this is constructed, but it’s going to be the first thing I try on in Paris. Love the shape, love the color. Calanques swimsuit, $130 The average piece of French denim is always just that little bit more tailored than the average piece of American denim. And so: Niels shorts, $125 One of the last pieces from the Farm Rio collab. Bikini, $150 (sold separately as top, $85, + bottoms, $65) I love Sézane earrings, and I particularly love these little flowers in resin and gold-plated brass. Also …

7 Picks from Maje’s Summer 2023 Sale

Published by Diana

I think of Maje as a meeting point between Sandro (a little primmer/properer) and Zadig & Voltaire (a little more rock ‘n’ roll.) I don’t like everything (like this — what is happening here?), but every once in a while I’ll get something I love here, like my favorite winter coat — not cheap but made to last. Prices are deeply changeable: These reflect a 20% off for the Fourth of July, so who knows how long that will last. FYI the dress above is not on sale, but it’s here if you’re interested. I am hesitant to call this, as Maje does, a “playsuit,” but I guess it’s better than when they were called rompers. Wow, those cowboy boots. Sequined playsuit, was $415, now $199 As a past Maje coat-buyer, I love this coat, though note it’s made from a “wooly fabric” (78% wool, 22% polyamide). Maje single-breasted coat, was $645, now $361 A (pink) variation on a theme. This one is 67% wool, 33% viscose. Maje pink coat, was $715, now $400 Another …

The Complete Guide to Lille

Published by Diana

Let me convince you why you absolutely must visit Lille, the capital of France’s North. Beer. Mussels. Friendly people. Things that don’t exist in Paris are available in excess in Lille. I’ve been to Paris more than I’ve been anywhere else in France — but in second place is not Bordeaux or Lyon or Nice or even Marseille (which I love!) but Lille. I’ve been to Lille more than anywhere else I’ve been in France except for Paris. This is mostly because every Labor Day weekend, I head to Lille for its huge flea market, possibly the biggest and oldest in Europe. (Operating for nearly 1000 years, it only stopped a handful of times, including the Nazi invasion of France during World War II and after the terrible truck attack in Nice in 2016.) Lille is only an hour from Paris by train but its location, bordering Belgium, hints at its very different identity: It’s beer, not wine, and moules et frites instead of steak tartare. It’s friendly! I know I already said that, but it’s worth …