My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

Description

"For readers of How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are, My Paris Dream is a charming and insightful memoir about coming of age as a fashion journalist in 1980s Paris, by former Vogue and Harper's Bazaar editor Kate Betts, the author of Everyday Icon : Michelle Obama and the Power of Style"--;Seeds of the dream -- Just go -- 17, rue de Grenelle -- Dual citizenship -- 87, rue Saint-Dominique -- Douce France -- In the forest of Brocéliande -- L'entretien -- 5, rue d'Aguesseau -- The daily metamorphosis of exterior things -- Follow the money -- Flâneurs -- Le bizutage -- Inside the tabernacle -- The Cour Carrée -- 29, rue Cambon -- Leaving the station -- 3, rue Ernest Psichari -- Saying goodbye -- Coming home -- Up in the attic -- Epilogue: 12, rue des Barres.;"As a young woman Kate Betts nursed a dream of striking out on her own and discovering who she was meant to be in Paris. Upon graduation from Princeton and not without trepidation, she took off, renting a room in the apartment of a young 'BCBG' family and throwing herself into Parisian culture, determined to master French slang, style, and savoir-faire, and find a job that would give her a reason to stay. After a series of dues-paying jobs, she began a magnificent apprenticeship at Women's Wear Daily and was initiated into the high fashion world at a moment that saw the last glory of the old guard and the explosion of a new generation of talent. From a woozy yet enchanting Yves Saint Laurent to the mischievous and commanding Karl Lagerfeld, to the riotous, brilliant young guns--Martin Margiela, Helmut Lang, and John Galliano--who were rewriting the rules of fashion, Betts gives us a view of what it looked like to a young American girl, finding herself, falling in love, and exploring this dazzling world all at once. Rife with insider information about restaurants, shopping, travel, and food, Betts's memoir brings the enchantment of France to life--from the nightclubs of Paris where she learned to dance Le Rock, to the lavender fields of Provence and the forests of le Bretagne--in an unforgettable memoir of coming-of-age"-- Seeds of the dream -- Just go -- 17, rue de Grenelle -- Dual citizenship -- 87, rue Saint-Dominique -- Douce France -- In the forest of Brocéliande -- L'entretien -- 5, rue d'Aguesseau -- The daily metamorphosis of exterior things -- Follow the money -- Flâneurs -- Le bizutage -- Inside the tabernacle -- The Cour Carrée -- 29, rue Cambon -- Leaving the station -- 3, rue Ernest Psichari -- Saying goodbye -- Coming home -- Up in the attic -- Epilogue: 12, rue des Barres.