DORÉ

Bises Garance! T’as l’air en effet de plus en plus en accord avec toi-même… si on pouvait tous en arriver là…

This feels good. I missed your personal voice. I can’t wait for more, if you feel like sharing

your honesty is so moving and encourages us all to be ourselves . can’t thank you enough x sending huge love

Grazie!

Such a true statement, “We have the ability to push ourselves past our limits and to be self-sacrificing, which can be wonderful, but also toxic.”

Yes, this feels good and we miss your voice. So very happy when we hear from you. Life is way too short not to be able to look up from our current day-to-day lives in work, pursuit or routine and evolve into a bigger or different part of self that promotes our inner health, creativity and dreams. We need to take care of that sparkle in our eyes and feel gratitude for all the blessings and people in our lives.

xox

the main reason for me to read your posts is the braveness you show in sharing with us the surprising path of your evolution as a human being, neither concealing obstacles nor false starts.
It feels like you’re writing not to “your readers” but to each one of us, like we were real friends

Thank you so much for your words, it is your personal voice I come here to read.
Nothing against the Atelier but it does not interest me nearly as much as you do; nor is it remotely relevant to the life I am leading. I have completely changed everything in the past few months. I got married, left my career, moved to a new city and I am exploring my way into a new me. So this post is incredibly perfect today.

And thank you for sharing one more time!

Hope we all become whoever makes us happiest. We listen to others, watch everything that is out there, but have the sense and courage to do what makes us happy, and contented. The idea of having it all is a myth. And once you’ve checked the boxes, even that does not result in happiness. So its ok to miss out on a few things, and still find happiness in others. Having children is great, but this mythical idea that it completes women needs to be addressed again and again. Women and men can feel “complete” in multiple ways, and its ok to not have everything!

Authenticity. The day I started to live by it, i finally found out what it meant to take care of myself, and guess what, people loved me more for it; as a result, I have enhanced relationships, friendships, because of it. And I feel happier even through warts and all. Thank you ever so much Garance, you do speak with your heart and inspire each time.

Garance, I would just like to thank you for this update, these little gems your write are why we love you so much. You have a real gift.

You are just the best, Garance. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I am 22 now and they have been accompanying me since I was 16. I didn’t get everything you talked about then, cause I was a teenager lost in drama, but as I grew up I am able to appreciate your articles and thoughts more and more.
Your are so brave and so brilliant and I can’t start to express how much I appreciate you <3

Oh Garance you’ve done it again, your message has gone straight to my heart and made me tear up. Thank you for your honesty and willingness to confront real struggles. It’s what I appreciate most about your blog. I get so tired of the glossy coating on everything these days, it feels so fake and superficial. I am still trying to find my self and my authentic path post baby. My daughter is now five and a little dream come true, but I definitely lost my way during her younger years and felt overwhelmed by the amount I was trying to give. I am making an effort each day to address what I actually want and what makes me happy. It’s hard, I constantly fall into the trap of giving too much and caring for others first. Society demands so much from women and we are expected to do it all with grace and a smile on our face. You are amazing and it’s a real treat to share your journey, don’t ever stop being yourself! We will always love you : )

As a fellow “good girl,” I empathize. I was talking to a friend whom I haven’t seen in ages. She is very bohemian and follows her heart in all things. Her authenticity has brought her a lot of success, though not so much materially. And she doesn’t care about materialism, so it’s fine. She is off on another adventure, and she told me “I’ve never been afraid of failure.” And I realized, I have always been afraid of failure, of letting down my parents, my friends… She inspired me yesterday to shake things up, and you have come along and repeated that message while it’s still ringing in my ears. Thank you.

So happy for you that you’ve had the courage to be true to yourself and slowly step away from fashion and pursue other interests. L.A. seems to agree with you!!

I have just had the funniest discovery. I read all your posts and remember Chris mentioning that he had lived in Jacksonville, FL. I live just south in a beach community called Ponte Vedra. I just discovered that he played at my wedding.
I had a hunch because he always seemed familiar, but I just looked it up online. Groove Pocket!! Anyway…I remember loving him and everyone still talks about what a great band I had at my wedding in (2002). I will look to see if I have any photos of him!!

Garance,

I’ve been struggling for a few years post-University for everything to ‘click’, to find the job I feel like I ‘should’ have, make a certain amount of money etc. It’s been a very paralyzing feeling, the pressure I feel (mostly from myself, let’s me honest) to do things a certain way. I’ve been trying to take more deep breaths, more walks by the ocean, be more reflective and in tune with myself so I can discover what I truly want, away from all the noise of ‘supposed to’. Basically, what I mean to say is thank you so much for always sharing and being open, it is a huge encouragement, you are endlessly inspirational to me!

Emma

Dear Garance! It’s my first time i comment on blog posts and I really want to thank you for your honest thoughts. Nothing happens by accident, all the best ahead whatever you dream about. Big big hug from Russia. You are incredible!

Merci Garance pour ce post inspirant et plein de sincérité ! Ce changement dont tu parles, de ce voyage qui est la vie, ta vie, je crois que tes lecteurs l’ont perçu en lisant le blog au fil des années. Je suis ton blog depuis très longtemps, mais je n’avais jamais laissé de commentaires… Mais là, il fallait que je te le dise, tes mots me sont allés droit au coeur. Je ne te connais pas personnellement, mais là j’aurai envie de te prendre dans mes bras, comme je ferais avec une amie proche et de te dire tout simplement merci !

This and your book and what you’ve said in podcasts before rings so true for me. A lot of expectations from a young age and pressure to do the expected which made me so unhappy in my early career (law). After having kids and taking time off completely from that world I have no desire or interest to go back so am at that crossroad of what to do next, but with that worry of judgement always there and of letting people down. ?It’s really hard to shake. Well done to you Garance, you seem really happy x

Thank you for this. You’ve seriously been one of the best mentors from afar. I’m so grateful for your voice in internet land! I felt like I couldn’t read it fast enough. Thanks for all the feels and reminding me it’s one step at a time. Also, writing this, “whatever you do, whether you’re really in tune with yourself or not, there’s never a moment when you finally “make it” and you can just let go of everything because you’re “perfectly happy.” Life is so much bigger than clichés, life is a journey” on a post it(or2) and putting it on my mirror along with my other affirmations!

xo Janelle

Thank you Garance! I have loved and identified with you all through your journey (going wayyyy back to your street photography days ha!). And I think now more than ever! Thank you for sticking to your gut, taking the time to explore your most true self and being brave enough to share it with us all. xo.

Garance, I have been reading you since you first started your blog on fashion when you were based in New York. While about your life, you have also expressed sentiments of so many women. Well done! We expect so much of ourselves as we see ourselves in a light of comparison to others. To let go of expectations in that intense way that many of us have lived our lives…is a blessing. Thank you for being the authentic presence you are as someone whose work it is a joy for me to read. My own writings–while in a different voice–also reflect the journey we find ourselves on, together. Thank you, Garance.

Dear Garance
Thanks to be so honest ! I think it’s difficult to leave a good live when you feel that it’s not yours anymore. It’s a kind of neverending process. Everybody speaks about goals and getting the happyness, but sometime it’s only about learning, knowing ourself and getting experiences. The richer you feel the more you realices you’re living, especially after the difficult experiences. A big hug !!

Mais Garance qui veux tu devenir? que tu ne sois déjà?

dear garance,
oh my…perfect – thank you so so much. i’m old enough to be your mother – and totally relate to what you’re talking about. after a long, challenging career, two children, house, etc – i find i want to retire from my demanding work life – read more, garden more, paint more, “yoga” more. i want to relax – let go and do nothing sometimes. (so hard in this hard-driving culture we live in). you’ve echoed what i’ve been feeling – and i want to tell you how much i appreciate you for it!

J’appelle ça le “syndrome première de la classe”, je connais bien, j’en souffre aussi. Purée que c’est dur d’en sortir! C’est tellement facile d’enfouir la petite voix tout au fond pour la faire taire…
Merci pour tes mots qui disent si bien les choses.

Oh wow, this was just so great and refreshing to read! Such a great opinion on how everybody is able to change and how that is a good thing. I totally agree to the thought, that you can become whoever you wan’t to be and that you can even change that once a while, personality is so not set in stone. As a 16-year-old, soon graduating and looking for my future place in life (as you called it so well), i feel like I really had to read this. So thanks for opening up and saying this. Really grateful.
Lots of love as an truly admirer of yours,
xx, Franka

(PS: I’m very sorry for my English, I also thought about writing in French, but that seemed to end up even more mixed up, soo… ;-))

Garance ta voix est la tienne – unique – mais elle fait écho à celles de nombreux/ses d’entre nous qui te lisent toujours avec autant de plaisir. Tu trouves les mots justes et cela me touche personnellement même si nos vies et nos univers sont si différents.

I love how you describe the important views of life and evolving! Nothing is ever perfekt. Thank you for sharing. Bisous!

Garance je te lis depuis si longtemps mais n’ai jamais vraiment osé commenter. Mais là c’st obligé :-) des vies on en a plusieurs et j’en témoigne il faut savoir suivre son instinct et se jeter dans l’aventure (même si par moment on se demande pourquoi on se met à tout remettre en cause ) et je ne l’ai jamais regretté car fondamentalement cela m’a permis de me construire et de bâtir une vie qui me correspond. je vis actuellement dans la ville que j’ai toujours rêvée (oui je rêvais Paris notamment grâce aux romans, magazines..) à savoir Paris, et je vis avec l’homme que j’aime et avec qui je suis en phase sur le projet de vie. je n’ai pas d’enfant par choix après avoir fini par m’écouter et accepter que fondamentalement je n’en avais pas l’envie mais plutôt la fameuse peur “de regretter un jour” que tout médecin, bonnes copines ou famille te serine à longueur de temps quand arrive les 35 ans.. et puis j’ai su m’entourer de gens qui ont des vies différentes, des femmes plus âgées en couple avec des hommes jeunes, des gays garçons ou filles, des gens qui ont changé de vie en quittant des jobs de dingue pour des petits commerces ou devenus artistes et finalement ce que je peux retenir aujourd’hui du haut de mes (un peu plus de) 40 ans c’est que la vraie conquête est la liberté : liberté de vivre, d’aimer qui on veut, de construire la famille que l’on veut (et une famille peut être un couple), d’être entouré de gens qui vous font du bien .. dans ma vie personnelle je pense que je suis arrivée depuis qq années maintenant à cet équilibre serein. Reste le job … qui m’envahit encore trop (d’ailleurs il est 22h à Paris et je bosse encore meme si je fais une petite pause avec ton post) c’est l’étape suivante : arriver à se détacher d’un job valorisant qui est la suite logique de belles études mais finalement qui me bouffe la vie. Encore un effort vers la liberté à faire finalement. En tout cas merci Garance pour ce partage sur tout ce qui t’anime et les changements que tu vis et assumes, une belle source d’inspiration et de réassurance quand par moment je me dis que ma vie n’est pas un fleuve tranquille mais qu’est ce qu’elle est riche ! bisous de Paris (et je te trouve de plus en plus belle)

I celebrate so much being a woman at this moment in time when we can share our struggles and not feeling alien and alone. I am thankful for you G and this space, it felt always a safe place. Not only I enjoy reading you but also reading the comments from women all over the world that might be experiencing the same life changes, there is an invisible thread that connects everybody. I have had also experienced a personal revolution last year, and now I am in the state of what I learnt is called “liminal space”. What I only know is that I am in the right direction. Bisous!
Mercedes

un bacio grande garance <3

Great post. Cultivating that joie de vivre comes when we let go rather than striving and pushing to be perfect. It’s when we let go when life begins to open up.

Merci Garance ! Hâte de lire la suite !

Thank you for sharing, what a lovely message. This part in particular really stuck with me: “I didn’t feel good, and that’s probably why my friendships were shaky.” I have struggled over the past few years with forming deep relationships due a constant fear of not feeling “interesting” enough (pretty enough, smart enough, funny enough…) to have someone else want me in their life. An overall lack of self-confidence that slowly creeps up without you really noticing it until it’s overwhelming. Your writing reminds me to forgive myself for where I am (and who I am), and to reconnect with the people and activities that give me energy. xxx

Chère Garance,

Merci, pour être ici, je te trouve très courageuse e j’adore ton authenticité, pour moi, c’est le plus importante de la vie e tes articles m’inspirent beaucoup.

J’espère que tu continueras, je te trouve un example très belle et j’aime bien ton sens d’humor aussi:-)))!!!

Bonne chance!

Des bisous, Djoeke

Hi Garance, I missed reading about you. Thanks for the update, and for being you. True and authentic. You truly inspire me in your pursuit to find what makes you happy, not what the world wants you to be :)
Warmest,
K.

Garance, quel joie lire votres mots, parce que la honnêteté faire toujours du bien – elle emmene un sens de liberté.

Lire vos mots me faire sentir à l’aise avec qui je suis, avec moi même.

Merci :)

Cela fait désormais des années que je te suis, quasiment depuis les débuts, j’ai désormais 27 ans, et je suis impressionnée du parcours que tu as pu avoir. On a pu percevoir (à un millième de la réalité probablement) les chamboulements de ta carrière et de ta vie à travers ce blog. Et il faut le dire quelle beau chemin et quelle belle leçon… On te retrouve toujours telle que tu es. Une femme inspirante. Merci

Merci !!
Je suis moi aussi particulièrement tes posts car ils reflètent ou un travail de fond, ou des joies de vivre, ou des partages dentrepreneuse, et le tout me parle fort.
J’ai envie de te dire un grand bravo pour ta page de vie NY+ monter un business qui marche, et un grand bravo pour avoir osé tourner cette page pour en vivre une nouvelle (ça ne veut pas dire couper avec le passé mais faire des chargements suffisamment importants pour que la vie soit vécue différemment ). Je crois qu’en réalité j’adore les changements de vie dans la vie, et j’aime faire pareil.
Je suis en train de tâter le papier pour tourner la mienne actuelle que je vie depuis 10 ans, je me réjouis de ce que je vais découvrir
:)

Amour toujours. Depuis février 2008 que je te lis, tu as tant changé, j’ai tant changé… Et pourtant j’ai toujours l’impression que nous sommes presque amies, même si je ne t’ai vue “IRL” qu’un bref moment en 2010 ! Tes conseils, tes confidences, tes dessins, ton exemple continuent de beaucoup compter pour moi.
Merci pour ta sincérité et vivement les prochains posts, drôles ou touchants ! Les lectrices de la première heure sont toujours là (et pas près de te laisser tomber).

Honest, raw, authentic. This crazy social media age perpetuates and amplifies the ‘comparison game’ ‘perfectionist’ and ‘people pleaser’ in our modern day society. To live an authentic life, we must let go of all these self-limiting beliefs and expectations in order to create a life that lights ‘you’ up; and supports and nourishes your creativity, mind, body and soul.

Thanks for sharing,

Ali x

alipeat.com

Sometimes i do wonder, the more modern times are, the more backwards our quality of life is. To me, perfection wasn’t even a concept that I knew growing up in the 90s. There was no need to really ‘show off’ as life was as it was. Life was simple but good. We were more ‘ok’ with not having it all. Nowadays not having it all almost seems like a curse that needed to be rectified. Worse still, a curse that we are rectifying at the expense of a lot of more important things. Being ok with one’s circumstance felt like he/she’s not trying hard enough. By the end of the day, my conviction is that as long as you’re living life with love, purpose and intent, you’ve won the race.

Thank you Garance!
It’s so true that we women are able” to push ourselves past our limits and to be self-sacrificing” , it’s true we are losing ourselves, but at the same time it’s not easy to go and do what your hart is telling as we all living in this materialistic world. Specially if I’m in my late 30s and I feel my career/life path went a little crooked..I don’t need much but I still need money to live and it’s not easy to let it go unless I had financial support which I don’t have. Unfortunately it’s so much of financial part what keeps me away from finding myself again:( and I don’t know how to overcome it.

Merci Garance. I love this post. You are so strong and honest – with yourself and everyone else. You are a true inspiration. ??

Bonjour Garance.
Quel plaisir de vous lire.
Pas seulement pour vos messages si justes et si honnêtes mais vous avez une fluidité d’écriture. Une petite musique très douce.
Le vrai changement et cette chance.
Je l’ai immédiatement senti.
C’est d’avoir rencontrer un homme magnifique, si vrai et vous vous ressemblez physiquement et dans les projections de vie.
Il vous a emmené vers ce que vous êtes profondément et depuis toujours.
Bon voyage ??

Your article is so unusually honest and touches many of us who got stuck in places where we no longer want to be, for all the wrong reasons, with health suffering for it. Thank you for making us feel less lonely and for the inspiration and hope it gives us. Un grand merci!

Merci Garance pour ce post qui résonne beaucoup en moi. Je traverse cette étape de réflexion en ce moment avec un job haut placé mais épuisant, une ville qui ne me plaît plus, pas assez de temps pour soi… c’est dur de se remettre en question quand on a enfin de job de rêve et que l’on se rend compte que la seule chose que l’on veut c’est juste un peu de temps pour profiter de la vie !
Merci pour ces posts sincères que j’apprécie tant de lire.
Julia, une fidèle lectrice depuis 10 ans !

Thank you for this post. Now I am reading your book “Love Style Life”, and it is so inspiring as long as another information you have shared with us here. Life is a journey and it is exciting to observe how we change during it :)

Wow… your article really resonates with me. Thank you. Been on my own “revolution” this part year…. and it is not easy.
Have to keep challenging myself, and Trust the Process. Sometimes a lonely journey so good to know others are going trough something similar.

Wow… your article really resonates with me. Thank you for your honesty !
Been on my own “revolution” this part year…. and it is not easy.
Have to keep challenging myself, let go of the things that does not serve me anymore and Trust the Process. Sometimes a lonely journey, so good to know others are going trough something similar. Suppose the trick is to try and enjoy the ride and all that unfolds with it.

Thank you for this post!!

Ton point de vue sur les réseaux et ce qu’on attend des femmes est intéressant. Je t’invite à lire l’article du Monde paru ce we sur l’écrivaine Virginie Despentes, justement à propos des femmes ! Fracassant. Plein de bonnes choses pour toi :-)

Dear Garance, thank you for this honest post. As a orientation coach, what touches me the most is the idea of struggling to find your place in life and then, after a few years, discovering that we are stuck there and that maybe we want something different after all. My own life experience has taught me that life is organic and that we are allowed to change our mind even about our dreams. And that we should not judje ourselves or others when that shift happens! thank you again

I’ve always loved your honesty and today the fact that you’ve mentioned that pregnancy didn’t happen for you has meant the world to me.
Love,
E.
http://www.theslowpace.com

Thank you for such an encouraging and comforting article. Reading such a text after an exhausting day at work, it really relieves. First time leaving comment, just would like to say it’s enjoying reading the articles here!

“I tried to get pregnant. It didn’t work.”
I hope you know that so many of your readers – like me – know how much might be hidden behind those few words: the hope, the pain, the sadness and heartache. Thank you for sharing them.

Bravo!!!! A real, wise, honest, brave and eloquent person on the internet writing about actual life. Thank you Garance, you are always an inspiration but perhaps no more so than today! Living it well and keeping it real. Keep shining darling! No less worthy or inspiring, just more so. ?

Yes ! Merci pour ces nouvelles et pour mettre des mots sur ces choses. Je viens de passer quelques mois un peu durs à me flageller de ne pas être multimillionaire à trente ans, ni à la tête du carrière flamboyante. Mais j’ai trois enfants en bonne santé’, je vis an mon rythme et de ma plume et je commence à accepter que ma réussite ne regarde que moi et doit avant tout se mesurer à mes critères. Pas ceux des autres. (J’avoue je suis curieuse d’avoir de tes nouvelles perso, on te connaît depuis tellement longtemps que tu nous manques un peu quand tu t’absentes)

Thank you for sharing that! I’m going to listen now :)

Bonjour Garance, et merci de partager tout cela avec nous.
Je ne m’explique pas le parallèle de nos ressentis, sinon par une proximité en âge. C’est souvent bluffant, tu mets des mots sur ce que je vis.
Moi aussi j’essaie de renouer avec mes besoins et envies et ce n’est pas facile…
Toujours portée cependant par la conviction profonde que nous avons l’incroyable chance de vivre à une époque où on peut avoir plusieurs vies dans une vie.
Beau cheminement à toi, ta capacité à te réinventer le rendra riche et surprenant sois-en sûre!

Wouaw, je suis admirative. Il faut oser envoyer ce message si touchant et authentique complètement à contre-courant. Tu ne peux pas savoir à quel point cela me donne de la force…

Et, bien sur, je comprends ce que tu dis sur la vie être une voyage. :) Mérci pour cette généreuse leçon.

Je pense que quelques fois on se perdre dans le clichés, par peur, pour être, on aussi, perdu.

Tu m’a pappelé que tous sont chapitre du voyage. Mérci!

Avec amour ??

Grand, Garance. Many people are obsessed by perfection, perfect manners, perfect job, perfect team, perfect reputation, perfect marriage…the only what is behind is playing perfectly exorbitant farce. And the most important answer to the question of these perfectly scared people: What will happen if…I leave all of this, because I am not happy? Usually nothing than closing one chapter and finding something much better, not visible before due to bubble of small world of fabulated perfection around.

While I don’t want to discount the possibility that at one point the yogi has spoken these words, the quote is also attributed to Charles Du Boi.

I did a google search on the quote to find the source of the quote because I thought the quote was such a great quote that I wanted to find the text and or video, etc that the quote was originally from.

I encountered this wiki page on Charles Frédéric Dubois, which states that the quote is wrongly attributed to the Belgian naturalist as opposed to Charles Du Boi (the French critic).

Searching the quote via Google Books, the oldest text displaying the quote is in 1974 that attributes the quote to Charles Du Boi.

Since the quote was initially written in French (“…premier tressaillement vital; surtout il s’agit à tout moment de sacrifier ce que nous sommes à ce que nous pouvons devenir”), I did a Google Book search using the quote in French, and I found a book on Charles Du Boi from 1951 that directly cites the quote from Du Boi’s Approximations.

Beautiful Garance, more of this please! It’s wonderful watching your story & your style evolve. I’d love to know more about how you shed your extra skin (aka that uncomfortable, emotional weight) as I am going through something similar. With love x

Thank you, Garance!

Damn strait!

I find myself constantly unlearning what I’ve been taught to believe about myself, my life, my relationships with others, getting deep at the root of what I believe and feel. The journey toward a purity. It truly is a process.

It reminds me of the quote I will paraphrase and botch in the process, from Nelson Mandela, about how when we let our light shine it liberates others to do the same.

Celebrating imperfection feels light, and beautiful, and joyful. And yet, the celebrating comes from incredible strength.

Hi Garance, are you sometimes surprised by the great response you get? I love your posts. It is so true how nice it is to taken the pressure off yourself. I recently retired and initially felt guilty about doing only what I wanted to do! Now It’s feels great, it’s like being a kid again. Some people bang on about having a purpose, isn’t enjoying life enough xx

Alors moi qui suis en ce moment dans une espèce de detox (j’ai viré Instagram de mon téléphone, et je pars en week-end avec un 3310 ces derniers temps…) je ne peux qu’être d’accord avec toi. Je me rends compte que je me suis mise une pression de dingue sur des trucs qui finalement ne me faisaient / font plus vraiment plaisir en ce moment (comme démontrer que j’ai du talent, “documenter” ma vie , en fait passer mon temps à attendre l’approbation du monde), pour finalement me rendre compte que j’avais réussi un truc qui n’était pas mon objectif premier mais dont je suis finalement extrèmement fière. Donc c’est génial et déconcertant à la fois (aussi bien pour moi que pour les autres…)

Je suis contente de lire l’un de tes articles en tout cas ;-)

Thank you for this wonderful post Garance. Reading through the comments there is definitely a universal thread of women feeling lost and unsure about who they are what direction they want their lives to take – me too! Which made wonder if you’d consider doing a post on how to get there? I’m sure you’d know some wonderful people to provide guidance.
All the best :)

Loved this post. ‘ In my opinion, trying to force yourself into that mold is the complete opposite of success.’ Couldn’t agree more.

Dear Garance,
it is truely amazing that you seem to have the ability to look into my head and my heart. Every word is true for me, although I never could express my thoughts and feelings with such elegance and beauty in style. You should never again worry about career, your talent for writing is a gift that makes your readers happy and helps them to lead a better life. I can’t even think about a bigger career.
Your words found me in a perfect moment, I’m 50 and menopause suddenly hit me, which is a real challenge. I always regarded myself as stable and full of energy, family, job, friends, I managed everything. But now, I can’ t go on that way and the harder I try the bigger the mess gets. I simply loose control. But maybe that is not that bad. It might be a real adventure to see what I could become as an aging women.
Thanks for all, have a great time!

Stephee

I gave notice at a job I love for a shaky new thing yesterday, and really needed to read this! Merci Garance

Tu es géniale.

Always have been a fan and can never give a rat’s arse whether you’re at fashion shows or not. What I mean is that I’m a fan of your personal take on life so I’ll follow your blog wherever you go – fashion shows or not, whether you’re resting or not.
But of course, I can only do that if you keep an online presence – in whatever form it takes lol. Just give a head’s up if you’re going offline, just so I know whether to check back haha.

Merci Garance,

you make me realize that i might be in the same situation you were in. Constantly pushing myself but not taking the time to reflect on what i really need. I think it’s time to give myself some time apart and some rest.

This is so refreshing! Your vulnerability and honesty are brave in a world of perfection. Love this. Thank you. ?

Mercí! I came to the same realization this year. It has been a very tough and trying year. At the end, I was sick of trying to be perfect ‘my whole life.’ No more. I was hurt by the constant subtle personal criticism and constant envy by my friend of many years. No more. I was tired of rushing around everywhere for everyone but me. No more. I let people say what they want and always tried to be the perfect daughter. No more. I neglected my husband for many years, until shockingly he told me we were hanging on a thread. No more. I know longer could do this to my kids, my husband and myself. I no longer try to be perfect. I no longer look at Instagram/Facebook etc on an hourly or daily basis (I don’t care where or what anyone is doing or thinking). I put my phone away now, and spend real time with my kids and husband. I removd myself from my friend. I speak up (that’s it). I fell in love again with my husband. It is a work in progress. There are good and cloudy days. But overall, the days are getting sunnier, and I am happier.

Toujours surprenant de lire de vrais ressentis exprimés avec justesse. Effectivement tu résonnes, tu fais sacrément echo. Pourtant je n ai rien accompli au sens où on l entend la plupart du temps, du moins professionnellement. Ne me suis jamais sentie embarquée dans un engrenage car je mène réellement une vie simple à l’écart des différents diktats que tu connais tant. Malgré tout tu me parles aussi et c est tellement chouette de te lire que je ne peux que t inciter à continuer de nous écrire. Pour autant, si tu ne le faisais plus, si tu disparaissais loin d internet sous ta pergola ou en Corse dans les montagnes de Corte il n y aurait pas de sentiment d abandon il me semble. Tes lectrices te plébiscitent mais c est justement parce qu elles t aiment qu elles n exigent rien de toi que tu ne pourrais plus nous donner de ton plein gré. Ta sensibilité, ta perception, tes illustrations, tes mots, le foule de choses que tu nous as gracieusement offertes sur un plateau pendant toutes ces années de partage nous ont tant apportées. Tu ne nous dois pas davantage. Bien au contraire. Nous te sommes redevables. Suis si contente de savoir que tu t inscris désormais dans un chemin de vie qui te comblera pleinement. Elisa

Thank you for sharing this, and letting me know I’m not alone.

Beautifully written, as always.

So sorry your journey to parenthood is proving difficult. It seems so common now. I am a grandmother, so not affected directly, but I think too many women still think they can put off pregnancy to follow other paths, and it will be easy once they are ready. Sadly, that usually isn’t the case.

It does seem to me that perhaps we may be looking inward too much. If you are not fulfilled, change your circumstances if you are able. Alternately, look outward to improve other people’s lives. That may result in enough satisfaction for you, and you may find peace.

Merveilleuse Garance!

Ma vie serait plus terne si vous n’existeriez pas. Merci pour ce texte profond et vrai, de nous en partager le contenu et de mettre des mots là où les miens me manque.

Bises du Canada

Merci Garance pour ce post qui cette fois-ci me parle plus que jamais…

J’ai eu un méga souci de santé diagnostiqué il y a un mois et demi et depuis ma vie a été bouleversée. C’est ainsi je sais que je n’y peux rien mais c’était difficile pour moi de rebondir.

Une amie m’a alors dit : “N’attends pas que l’orage passe, apprends à danser sous la pluie…”

Cela ne sert à rien effectivement d’attendre CE moment où tout sera enfin absolument pparfait dans nos vies comme on l’a toute imaginé.

On doit faire avec tout ce qui nous tombe sur la tête et danser sous la pluie en attendant le retour du soleil.

Pleins de bises à toutes.

Encore un post tres inspirant ..je vous suis depuis le début et j apprécie votre plume, vos mots font écho à l intime de chaque personne . J aime aussi beaucoup votre manière d interviewer , vous créez très naturellement un lien avec votre interlocuteur et savez lui laissez la place de s exprimer ..par contre , je me permets une ” critique ” …parmi ces personnes que vous interviewez , il me semble que beaucoup d entres elles véhiculent justement cette course à la perfection dont vous parlez ..
A l époque du début des street photographes quel bonheur , quel plaisir de voir des personnes non issues de la mode s approprier celle ci …
Alors j espère qu à l avenir vos talents vous mèneront et nous mèneront vers des rencontres encore plus vraies ..

“There is never a moment when you finally ‘make it’ and you can just let go of everything because you’re ‘perfectly happy’.”

This really opened my eyes. Maybe deep down I kind of already knew this, but it just feels so important to hear this from someone who in my eyes definitely “made it”. You’ve been one of my biggest heroes/idols for several years Garance. I look up so hard to all that you have acheeved with your blog and always admired your honest voice. And that is why I absolutely love you opening up about your struggles here. I often find myself in a negative spiral of beating myself up for being not succesful enough with my blog or not having a more interesting job/career. So reading that having all that (at least in my eyes) isn’t a garantee of happiness or feeling like ‘you made it’ is very refreshing. I agree with you that exploring what we love is the most important thing in life, and whish you all the best of luck and happiness on your journey. And I so look foreward to reading more from you!

It’s inspiring to hear someone that you admire speak so openly about the things that all of us go through. As rich as I think your life is, to know that you go through the same feelings and insecurities as I do is freeing for me. Thank you so much for being so vulnerable.

This is so true and very refreshing to read. After having completely exhausted myself trying to reach the ‘perfect’ life, my new strategy is to judge new things by whether they give me energy or not… The life that results is perhaps not instagram perfect, it definitely doesnt follow the traditional career path …. but it creates some amazing opportunities!

Merci Garance, bisous !
PS: joli dessin

Bonjour Garance! Vraiment, la lecture de ton texte m’a fait du bien et tombe à point pour moi! Je te lis depuis au moins 8 ans maintenant je crois bien… Étant une illustratrice qui débute, je te trouve réellement inspirante! Merci de ta générosité et de partager tes expériences de vie sur ce blogue.

Last week I started writing about my life in love, fashion business and parenthood. I started my first post with the sentence: ‘In a world filled with super-perfect-filtered-lives, barre-bodies, #greathairdontcare, I’m pretty much… well.. not.’ I also wrote about sitting on the floor super glueing the front of my Ferragamo ballet flats. And it pretty much sums it up. I am the opposite of a saucy-glamazon minx living in a marvelous world where pores don’t exist and one starts the day with a big glass of water. Unlike the average influencer, I have 123 followers on Instagram of which 1 is my husband (and business partner). Yet, I am also an entrepreneur, a CCO, a mom, answering to a wide range of questions about fabric and fit in different languages. At the same time I answer to ‘mommy, I pooped on the toilet seat, can you help me?’, while being on the phone with buyer X in Paris. I finally felt ok with embracing who I am, and documenting the good, bad, and by times crazy life, of my husband and I, trying to build both business and bébé. http://obermeierandobermeier.com/us_and_another_city/

Lundi matin, j’ai lu un article concernant le décès d’Anne Dufourmentelle, philosophe et psychanalyste, quelques lignes d’hommages qui résument son ouvrage ” l’éloge du risque” rejoignent ton post. Vous mettez toutes les deux des mots sur ce qui m’attend ce soir, la signature d’une dernière étape de ma vie. Ce saut dans le vide il y a deux ans est résumé au travers de cet extrait et illustré par tes mots. Merci Garance pour le partage de ta vérité, sincère et honnête. “je pense qu’il n’y a pas de “petits risques”, que souvent une révolution intime vient d’infimes changements, et quels que soient les domaines dans lesquels s’inscrivent ces changements, couple, famille, travail, ils sont la première brèche d’un beaucoup plus grand bouleversement. C’est la liberté qu’il nous est douloureux de choisir, car elle implique un chemin de vérité (et jusqu’à quel point supporte-ton la vérité ?) et la perte de repères assurés, elle nous demande de commencer par faire le vide, parfois, pour retrouver ce qui anime notre désir au plus profond. Tel est le risque, peut-être en son essence, être intensément vivant, c’est-à-dire s’exposer à des vraies émotions, des vraies pensées, un vrai amour, et cela ne se fait pas sans traverser fragilités et épreuve d’une certaine solitude, mais pour une amplitude plus grande, plus vive, dans son rapport à la vie et à l’amour. “

Hello Garance (j’adore ce surnom qui te va si bien),

C’est “marrant” car je suis actuellement en train de rédiger un mémoire sur les e-influenceurs, leur origine, leur avenir, etc. Bien sur tu occupes une grande partie de ce mémoire puisque tu es pour moi et pour beaucoup la référence en matière de Blogging, l’une des premières à avoir réussi à en faire ton métier.
Et à la recherche d’informations sur ton histoire et ta position actuelle dans ce monde de blogueurs je suis tombée sur cet article et j’en suis ravie. Ravie de lire que tu es et restera toujours entière et transparente vis à vis de ta communauté. Ravie de voir que ce monde d’apparances et ce besoin irrépressebile de vouloir rendre sa vie parfaite et parfaitement Instagrammable peu en éttouffer plus d’une.
Tu es vraiment une source d’inspiration pour beaucoup.
Tu es là où tu dois être !

Belle continuation :)

Thank you ! I love hearing your thoughts. You push me to just embrace being me , and realizing that I’m enough and everything should not be “picture perfect “

Venue ici suite à la lecture du post de Sophie Fontanel. Bravo et merci pour cette honnêteté, révéler l’autre face du miroir parfois plus sombre, plus triste, moins glamour n’est pas si facile en ces temps de vies instagramées en apparence si parfaites et si fun. Il est encore moins facile d’évoquer le sujet si tabou, sensible et intime de l’infertilité et encore moins d’emprunter le chemin du renoncement… Que la nouvelle voie/voix qui s’ouvre soit sereine et joyeuse ! Il y en a mille dans une vie à découvrir sans doute

Dear dear Garance,

I’ve been a follower of you for quite an extensive time and without sounding like a cliche or complete weirdo (you know those words will be followed by that exact thing, right??) I truly feel like Ive changed and grown with you. When I first read your blog I was a little puppy dying to make it in the so called fashion industry and was a secretly admiring your work and all the crazy things that came with it. (the weird parties, the book launches, etc etc) Without ever getting a ticket to a show I’ve also managed to sneak into a few (ok, a lot actually) and taste a little of the magic.

I grew up a little, life happend, things happend, a bad break up for example, and I also felt less connected to that once dreamland called “fashion”.

And then I became ill. Like seriously ill. Stuff you only read in magazines type of ill. The “we dont know if we can fix you” kind of ill. It did a lot to my body with a lot of not so pretty, not so nice side effects. Still trying to find some way to deal with it I all of a sudden read your very personal story last week and now your personal note. It just hit me, Im not the only one out there. (thats the cliche, I’m sorry) but all I wanted to say is thank you for being brutally honest, it makes you even more like-able and it really really helped me a lot. You sometimes really need someone to burst that bubble called life without making you feel like you are the one who lost.

So long story short: thank you.

Bisous,

Manon

Chère Garance
Je vous lis depuis très longtemps et je me permets de vous écrire après avoir lu l’article sur l’horloge biologique sur Rue89. Je voulais simplement vous dire que je suis passée par tout ça aussi et qu’aujourd’hui (à 45 ans), je sais que ne pas avoir eu d’enfant a été la chance de ma vie. La chance de ne pas reproduire l’éducation névrotique, chaotique, catastrophique que j’ai subie. La chance de pouvoir me reconstruire et m’occuper de moi – beaucoup – et de mon mari et de mon couple – aussi. La chance de faire une belle carrière: mes amies devenues mères ont toutes payé très cher le choix de faire des enfants ET de travailler. La chance de disposer de temps et d’énergie pour faire autre chose que du gardiennage, des soins, de l’écoute, de donner de soi, encore et encore, et cela uniquement parce que la société (ça existe?) ou les gens (mais qui s’occupe de savoir ce que pensent les gens?) considèrent que les femmes sont là pour ça. J’ai toujours refusé, absolument, cette injonction (bien qu’ayant essayé d’avoir un enfant), et je sais que cela a été et reste une source de liberté absolue. Je vous souhaite encore beaucoup de belles histoires, votre travail est extraordinaire, merci pour tout.

Garance, thank you for writing this! I’ve been following your blog when you first started and fell in love with your honest, beautiful, funny, witty, engaging (I could continue) style that speaks to the heart of reader :) I wish you could write here more frequently (or maybe publish another book?!) You writing is pure joy :)

Dear Garance

I have just read your article in The Times about the period of your life in which you tried for a baby. I have read many happy ending stories about this. Nothing I have read before (and I have read a lot) describes so perfectly how I felt about my own experiences of this (also with no happy ending). Thank you for being so honest.

So needed this Garance! Started doing my own thing about 3 months ago, and I’m creatively fulfilled and happier than ever, my business itself is taking SO LONG to get going. So while I feel so happy, I also feel like I’m failing a bit as well. You are so right – I don’t think you ever feel like you’ve ‘made it’, no matter how successful you are.

You look/sound really happy, and the snippets you do post seem to confirm this, so as just 1 of your loyal fans, that’s all I need :) Who you are permeates everything in Atelier Doré so much that it never feels like you’re too far away. But loved the update too.

http://the-completist.com

je me retrouve complètement dans les dernières lignes, le voyage ne s’arrête pas, il dure toute la vie, les bifurcations, changements de direction, ratés et bonheurs font partie de la vie, il n’y a effectivement pas un moment où l’on est arrivé, sauf à la fin… !
http://www.my-mixed-up-world.fr

Hello Garance, thank you for this post. It truly spoke to me and to the issues I’m facing today. Ive been wondering why I feel low so often, and why I seem to be getting sick or hurting my back or whatever and you’ve really hit on th causes behind all that. You’re amazing and thank you again for sharing. Can’t wait for more.
Love, Debbie

My dear… i haven’t been in touch with you for a long time now and the other day i started reading an article from your diary and could not stop reading until i finished them all. You are addictive !!!
Congrats for the courage you have to end things that don’t align to your values anymore and be able to share them to the world. A real act of bravery!