In these coming entries it will be difficult to explain how I lose instead of gain weight on this trip (but I do walk A LOT when I’m roaming) because just looking at windows in these patisseries around Europe is enough to pile on the pounds. I know, it’s easy for you to say stop looking inside the windows then, but how can I resist any place with a canopy just begging to provide shade from the sun and treat for the eyes?
All I know is that a whiff of the sweet scent triggers a Pavlovian behavior in me…the salivation begins and before I know it, I’m inside the store–in today’s case I’m at Demel, the famed chocolatier and pastry shop–induced into some sugar frenzy where my mind can justify paying an arm and a leg for a tiny box of chocolates meant for people with elfish appetites…
but judging from the crowd of other zombies…er, tourists…it seems I’m not the only one on a candy high. Honestly though, who can resist these types of pretty displays:
I should say the candy boutique is to the right of the entrance, which I suppose most people may miss because when you first come inside the store, you are mesmerized by the pastry display that immediately catches your eye. I tell you, the choices are so varied you just want to weep because there are not enough hours in a day to eat everything…though I’d like to give it a shot!
If you can pry yourself away from the pastry counter, you will see a beautiful mahogany bar ahead, where you can order any kind of coffee (I prefer the strongest expresso possible) to go with your sweets:
You can also grab a quick lunch here…
but who am I kidding…let’s get back to the sweet stuff, shall we?
Geez, I’m drooling now just looking at the pictures again. But I digress. Walk past the bar toward the back of the joint and magic will find you. For it is here that you get a glimpse of the bakers in their white uniforms working on the sweets:
Is it wrong to want to live in this kitchen? Do you see all those chocolate cakes on the counter in the last photo? More about that tomorrow.
By the way, here’s a cake rendition of me falling into a pastry coma, courtesy of Demel (like my shoes?)…
Please don’t wake me up.
Vienna is a very cosmopolitan, multi-cultural town. It has its own sense of fashion vibe like any city secure in its identity:
So on one of my days here, I thought I’d chase down the shopping scene while touring the historic center. I get to the Kohlmarkt area first, where all the fancy stores are…
and my first pit stop is Hermes. Wouldn’t it be fun to buy this bicycle and see the rest of Vienna Hermes style?
Where there’s Hermes there’s usually Chanel…
In fact, I spot quite a few Chanel bags on the arms and shoulders of many ladies including this one:
By the way, the sorbet I’m enjoying is from this tourist favorite:
Did I say how warm it’s been here in Vienna? What better way to fight the heat with a nice cold glass of Austrian beer?
If you love pretty sweet treats and gorgeous architecture as much as I do, I’ll have a very special entry for you soon. I’m heading across the border again today so if there’s no wifi where I’m going, I’ll see you in a few days and I’ll pick up the story from Vienna then.
So once back outside after a heady fashion rush at the MoMu, I get to loiter the cobblestoned streets of Antwerp. On this particular day it is a national holiday so the stores are closed and crowds are minimal, which actually makes it quite fun to windowshop…
and pretend to know what’s going on behind pretty doors…
The best part about Antwerp is that no matter how many times I’ve been here, there are always new corners to discover…
and random churches that harbor hidden gems such as displays of antique lace:
Best of all, even the well traveled spots in this town never get old to me!
My mind’s eye is all about colors like mustard yellow, Peruvian turquoise, clay orange, and avocado green. But by far I favor the color black for all practical intents and purposes. So Antwerp’s ModeMuseum (MoMu)’s current exhibition of BLACK. Masters of Black in Fashion & Costume (running through August 8, 2010) is right up my alley.
I’ve always liked the city of Antwerp because roads like these…
lead to the MoMu:
Beyond its traditional façade are a modern entrance
and a sunny, lofty interior:
Before you enter the main exhibition, there is a display of the MoMu Award 2010 winner Mariel Manuel’s quirky collection:
Then it’s on to a fantasy world where the color of night rules…just as I like it. Zwart is Dutch for black. And what better way to meet zwart than to be greeted at the door by this first piece, a Givenchy couture gown by Riccardo Tisci…
followed by provocative groupings of black clothing,
accessories (I especially love the leather harness in the first picture of the series below), and jewelry
by Belgian and international designers like Olivier Theyskens, Ann Demeulemeester, Victor & Rolf, and Junya Watanabe to showcase the history, evolution, and art of fashion in the context of the color of black.
I really enjoy this comparison between a McQueen and an 18th century gown…can you guess which is which?
Now you can’t possibly let me leave this entry without a nod to my favorite designer who made black de riguer, do you? Next to the simple black Chanel sheath dress, there is a quotation from a 1926 Vogue review: The Chanel “Ford:”…the frock that all the world will wear–its model “817″ of black crepe de chine…it will become a standard wardrobe component for all women of taste…” . I can’t think of a more apt or prophetic description for the little black dress.
It’s truly impossible to photograph the color of black, especially when flash photography is not permitted, so I’ll leave you with this one last shot that I tried to take a few times to capture all the details of the lace and beading used in the capes:
Tags: Ann Demeulemeester, Antwerp, Chanel, Givenchy, Junya Watanabe, Mariel Manuel, McQueen, MoMu, Theykens, Victor & Rolf
1. No vintage bags.
2. No lambskin bags.
3. No children-sized bags.
Those have been my longstanding rules in collecting bags. However, there’s an exception to every rule.
Now, you’ve seen me drag a Gucci bag across the Sahara and a Balenciaga through the snow, so you must know the road does not make a friendly companion to more precious bags, particularly the Chanel kind. So in anticipation of this summer’s trek that will involve planes, trains and automobiles, I found a couple of mini flaps that I believed would be more suitable for traveling.
This first one, a quilted, semi-circle goody from the 80s, was a no-brainer purchase since the price was just too good to resist. It has been lovingly broken in yet immaculate on the inside, so I know it will be perfect for sweltering, rainy, or any other kind of day when I don’t want to carry the Hermes I posted about the last time.
The chain is not quite long enough to wear it messenger style, but the lambskin is supple enough to hold a lot more than expected. They sure don’t make bags like this anymore! Here’s an action shot of it on some random street in Antwerp (more about this in the next entry):
It’s also a great size to double as an evening bag. I suppose after this trip the bag will get sent in for “spa services” and hopefully it will come out looking even better than ever. But the one bag from a seller in the UK is the one I had written about before I left LA…
When I finally picked it up here and saw it in person for the first time, I was hooked. How is it possible that I never gave these vintage bags a second look simply because they were not made…like yesterday?
This particular bag is probably over 15 years old and yet it looks like it’s been held maybe twice. It is in better shape than some display bags I’ve seen at the Chanel boutiques. I can wear it messenger style, by the arm by doubling the chain, or in the hand as a clutch if I hide the chain. And you know, all those lovely ladies I see around Europe in their vintage Chanel bags that show a whole spectrum of wear and tear…I’m starting to become a believer that there’s an amount of charm–a je ne sais quois if you will–to carrying bags that show as much life lived in them as in the faces of the women who wear them. If every laugh wrinkle on my face records some fantastic memory from a trip, then why not carry a lambskin bag that will witness and commemorate those memories as well?
So those are my reasons for breaking the first two rules. As for the last, I’d like to think that by carrying a smaller bag that may look more like a full-sized bag on say, a ten-year-old, I will save my shoulders from the weight of a jumbo-sized classic flap (you gals know what I mean here!). The smaller the bag, the less temptation there is to fill it up with unnecessary things that we women like to schlepp around on a daily basis.
PS: I guess this means I brought 3 bags on this trip. And yes, also an extra pair of sneakers 
.
Tags: Antwerp, Balenciaga, Chanel, Hermes, vintage bag
