Author: Diana

How to Move to France

Published by Diana

If you’ve ever dreamed of moving to France, I want you to know: You can do it. It’s the question I get most often (uh, besides whether or not French guys cheat): How did you move to France?  There are a million ways to do it, but I only know mine — and it’s worth talking about, because it’s the easiest (in some ways). When I first went to Paris, I only expected to go for six weeks. Then I fell in love with my Airbnb host. (LOL, but true.) Going back to New York was no longer an option. But as an American, I couldn’t stay in the Schengen Zone for more than 90 days out of any 180. Unless.  In my case, I needed a visa: a long-term visitor’s visa. For this, you need a bunch of stuff — but really only two things: – You need to swear you won’t work in France. What you do outside of France, they don’t care about. My professional life is conducted entirely in the U.S. I have a French bank account, …

does sezane do sales

“Does Sezane Do Sales”, You Were Wondering

Published by Diana

Does Sezane do sales? Short answer: Yes, sort of. They’re called the “Archives.” Here’s the long answer. Most French labels do go on sale — at least twice a year, every January and July, during the national period of les soldes, a fixed period of several weeks set by the government. Sales everywhere — up to 70 percent off. So what’s up at Sézane? Sézane’s approach is much more limited. A few times a year — a quick look through my email from last year shows Archives events in January, July, and Christmas — Sézane offers a very small amount of previous-season stock and late returns for a limited-duration sale, with 10% of the proceeds donated to support philanthropic organizations. My experience is that these “sales” aren’t like traditional sales — these really do seem to be the blooper equivalent of a regular sale, with the odd pieces here and there. If when I say “sale” you think of a constant “9 thongs for $7” situation at Aerie, you’ve got the wrong company in mind. And you …

flixbus review usa

Flixbus USA: Guess What, It’s Terrible (But Here’s Why I’ll Keep Using It)

Published by Diana

Here’s my Flixbus USA review: It’s terrible. But: It’s cheap! I love public transportation. Every large community, in every state in the U.S., should have inexpensive, fast, and reliable public transport. I am an adult person, who knows how to drive a car, but who has however never owned a car, because I’ve been lucky enough to live in cities that don’t require them: New York, London, Paris. I want to live in cities where people work together to make something better as a community than they could on their own. The New York City subway, the London Tube, and the Parisian métro are, for all their problems and delays, absolute wonders. But what to do when you’re traveling outside of them? Give me a choice and I’ll always take the train, but in some parts of the world, this just isn’t an option — for example, part of central and eastern Europe, and Los Angeles. Last summer, when I was traveling from Venice to Zagreb, I ended up on a Flixbus between Trieste, Italy, …

Wondering How To Get Sézane Cheap?

Published by Diana

Sézane is my go-to French clothier for going-out clothes. Their denim lacks the requisite amount of American stretch (it’s for the Tostito’s), and their athleisure line reminds me of an American bakery trying to recreate a croissant, but their going-out tops are wonderful, their sweaters are a-ight, and their cropped T-shirts fit me (and other shortish people) better than, say, J. Crew, which refuses to make T-shirts in any length other than “to my knees.” I love me some Sézane, especially when it’s Sezane cheap. About that: Sézane’s not expensive, but it’s not cheap, either. Clothing is generally much more expensive in France than the U.S., which is in line with cultural ideas about how long a new purchase should last, both from a material-durability perspective and trend-wise as well: They, generally speaking, expect clothes to stick around longer than we do. That in part accounts for why everything is so much more expensive; higher operating costs account for much of the rest of it. More to the point: Sézane doesn’t do sales, a fact …

The First Trip: A Four Day Paris Itinerary

Published by Diana

Bienvenue à Paris!(!!!). This is your four-day Paris itinerary, de luxe. Paris is one of the world’s best destinations. It is also one of its busiest, and while definitely not one of its biggest, it can be the most overwhelming. Like, it’s Paris!! How can you possibly decide what to see and what not to see? If you want to just skip to the recs for our four-day Paris itinerary, go here: Day 1: Arrival + Louvre + crepes + more Day 2: Batobus + Eiffel Tower + Le Perchoir + more Day 3: Versailles (or Giverny) + BigLove + more Day 4: Vanves + Montmartre + more And let’s make reservations at: Breizh (not necessarily except for peak times), Septime (100% necessary), BigLove (do it) and Boite aux Lettres (probably not necessary mais pourquoi pas?) The first time I came to Paris, I came for three days, the second time for two days (both because I was living in London, not because I owned a private jet and could travel hither-thither as I liked.) …

jeanne damas shoes

Jeanne Damas: Her 19 Best-Ever Pairs of Shoes

Published by Diana

French model/designer Jeanne Damas wears some pretty terrific shoes. These 19 are our favorites. If you’re not familiar with her, this & Other Stories video should provide a very strange introduction, and excellent practice for wandering through a fancy mall store and saying “J’aime ça” over and over.

Caroline de Maigret: Her 20 Most Fashionable Moments

Published by Diana

Caroline de Maigret is one of those French women who makes me happy that I live in France: Do we even have an American analogue? She’s over 40, modeling for Chanel, and seems to be consistently on tour with her musician boyfriend. I remember my therapist once asking me: “Are you the sort of person who — when you walk into a room — people would say, ‘She looks like she knows how to have fun?’” Uh, now that I look at that, it seem a little inappropriate, but that might also be because the answer is of course not!!

beautiful villages near paris

The Most Beautiful Villages Near Paris

Published by Diana

Paris, c’est belle. (Ou c’est beau. Qui sait?) But it’s not everything, and it’s certainly not all of France. The most incredible thing about Paris is that just a few miles beyond the city limits is some seriously rural countryside. Here and there you’ll find beautiful villages near Paris — maybe with a train station, maybe with a boulangerie, maybe just a post office. There’s nothing nicer than taking the train to a small town like l’Isle-Adam and setting off across the meadows for another, even smaller village. It’s a necessary part of visiting France.

paris equivalent of target

What Is the Paris Equivalent of Target?

Published by Diana

Wondering about the Paris equivalent of Target?  I did too, when I first moved there. The truth is this: Just like there’s no real equivalent to CVS in France, there’s no real equivalent of Target. Of course, they have plenty of amazing things we don’t have, like proper croissants and baguettes. But Targets — in the sense of humungous one-stop-shops for basically everything under the sense, including the latest Target X Random Designer collabs? Mais non. I would say, though, that the closest you can get are the biggest of the Monoprixs. Monoprix is great, and Target-like in that they usually have a large range of clothes as well as a fairly comprehensive food selections — I mean, not Wegman’s-level, by any stretch of the imagination, but you’ll be able to find most everything you need food-wise there. Monoprix also hosts the occasional — and sometimes excellent — design collaboration, like with Maison Chateau Rouge. So in the sense that Target is a giant store that offers both food and (relatively inexpensive) clothing, Monoprix’s your …