8 years ago by
It’s kind of like our stay in Los Angeles put my life into perspective. “We have no life anymore!” Eva Chen was saying to me earlier today at the Phillip Lim show, and I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know how it is for you, but sometimes I feel like I’m completely absorbed in my phone…
And in New York, you get the impression it’s normal to do everything at 200 miles an hour. You have so much going on, you don’t even notice the days going by, and even so, you still go to bed at night thinking you didn’t get enough done. So Los Angeles really calmed me down, made me ask myself lots of questions about the direction my life was taking, and all of that translated into…way fewer posts on Instagram.
That’s how it always is. Every time something really interesting happens, my social media goes mute.
But even so! There were a few times when I managed to break out of my Insta lethargy. Like the long hours I spent working at Butcher’s Daughter in Venice, for example, “a highly Instagrammable place!!!” which is exactly my type, in terms of decor.
Which is everyone’s type, I know, I get it. The white-slightly-hippie-vacation-home-with-plants-and-hammock thing. But since it’s been my type forever and it will stay my type even when it’s not trendy anymore, I’m sticking to it.
I have to tell you, in Los Angeles, I felt like I got to reconnect a little bit with my french southern roots. It must be because of the slower pace of life there (New Yorkers always say: Angelenos just hang out all the time. No one works!) or the fact that you drive everywhere, which makes life a lot easier (New Yorkers always say: you spend your LIFE in traffic!!!) or the weather (New Yorkers always say: well…actually they can’t really say anything about that, haha)(IT WAS 1 DEGREE BELOW ZERO IN NEW YORK YESTERDAY) but I felt right at home. And that might be one of the reasons why the only photos I posted on Instagram were of decor. I started dreaming of a big open house, decorated just how I like it. I thought about putting down roots, and it was kind of overwhelming.
And the fact that I never really feel totally settled in New York. I like the apartment where I live now, but… there’s always a “but”.
So I’m finally dreaming about a place that really looks like my dreams.
So there I was in my sunny little bubble, when I ended up getting on the plane for New York. When the plane dropped through the clouds and I landed in the gray, cloudy weather, I have to admit, I teared up a bit.
And not only was I landing in New York, I was also landing right in Fashion Week.
Of course, Fashion Week isn’t what it used to be for me. I started out taking photos in the street and now, I only go to a very small selection of shows. Earlier today, just before arriving at a show, it was snowing, and I saw my photographer friends in their parkas with their faces tucked into their scarves, running after girls wearing colorful outfits (spring/summer shows, right? Totally normal in this weather!) trying to get their photo.
It reminded me of some great times (remember this video? There I am, running around in the snow trying to take photos, IN HEELS, oh my gosh) and it also reminded me how much work all of that is. It’s difficult, uncomfortable work, and it’s not always very rewarding. Half your photos don’t really turn out, you’re outside in all kinds of weather, and for those who don’t have a site like mine (most streetstyle photographers these days work on commission and sell their images to photo banks or magazines, they have to pay for their own flights and hotels, or share apartments – it’s far from the glamorous life on the other side of the lens) and you’re not even sure anyone will be interested in your favorite images.
Anyway, I stopped by the J.Crew show on Sunday, and it was kind of the place to be. There were tons of photographers outside, all the fashion people were inside, and Jenna, cool as ever, spent her Sunday saying hello to everyone.
Wearing all pink, one of my favorite colors (light green khaki, pink and gold, if you want to know the others), we love Jenna, as always.
It was Valentine’s Day that day, so my Valentine and I decided to spend the night in a hotel, and it happened to be a great idea. Even though one second before we left home, I swear we both said: “Wouldn’t it be better to stay at home?” But we decided to go anyway and suddenly found ourselves in the Soho Grand, and I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels really good to leave home as a couple while still being in the same city.
Anyway, without too many details, it was a total cliché of a romantic night, but at one point, we were both sitting on the bed, and there was a mirror in front of us, and it was really pretty, so of course, I took a photo.
Chris said: “Are you going to post that on Instagram?”
I responded: “No way, are you crazy?”
Then I thought about it for two seconds, and I said why not? It’s pretty, it’s us, and well…sometimes it’s okay to show a different side of yourself, right?
So I did what I always do in these situations, which is think too much, and I texted all my friends to ask them what they thought (oh, you didn’t know? In my entourage, I’m known as “G who doesn’t know how to make her own decisions”) and other than one friend who said “it doesn’t really fit the rest of your Instagram feed!” they all said “yeah, so cute, post it!”
At that point I had spent almost half an hour on my phone answering my friends (my Valentine was also on his phone, SO WHEN I SAY IT WAS A PERFECT, ROMANTIC NIGHT…) when suddenly I started thinking about the caption I could add to this kind of sexy, suggestive photo, to show I still had a sense of humor and wasn’t taking myself too seriously like all those other people on Instagram. No idea what to write, I’m terrible at short texts, I specialize in flooding the page with words. So I re-texted all my friends, and they offered up a few suggestions:
“Me and my Valentine all sexy and warm in freezing NYC *emoji* *emoji*”
Yeah, okay, but it doesn’t show that I have a sense of humor, I answered. So they suggested:
“Me and my Valentine right before we…
watch TV all night”.
Not bad, right? Yeah, okay. But then I received this one from my friend Marcela, which I loved:
“Don’t you think Chris has the most gorgeous legs?”
Which made me burst out laughing, but Chris didn’t like it too much, I have no idea why…
By then, we had spent almost an hour debating about one photo. Sure, okay, it was kind of hilarious to read everyone’s suggestions, but at the same time, you can’t deny the ridiculousness of the situation. Especially considering what I told you at the beginning of this post about slowing down. It was VALENTINE’S NIGHT after all.
I ended up posting it with this comment (my own idea, in fact):
“We got a room!!!”
After that, I’d had enough, threw away my phone, and never thought about it again so I could get back to my romantic evening, argh, what an Instagram victim I am!
In conclusion: No clue!!!
Big kisses!!!
Translated by Andrea Perdue
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Garance
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Awesome pic! So natural and authentic! So right for having posted it!
Xxx
Julie, Petite and So What?
http://www.petiteandsowhat.com/
i try to not post my private life on social media: bf and all friends included! :)
http://littleaesthete.com/
sometimes it’s good to have another better relation with the social medias !
http://www.heroika-magazine.blogspot.fr
I really like it that we’re finally learning to slow down a bit and really live. The past few years with social media growing and growing were just hectic and way too much for all of us, I think.
Also, when I saw your caption the other day, the thing I thought was precisely “oh, Garance has such a great sense of humor” – so you nailed it ;)
http://www.appelezmoiana.com
Cette photo est sublime ! On dirait une photo de magazine, quel talent !
Amélie
http://charlesrayandcoco.com/
Ouf la vidéo n’est meme pas en HD ! :)
Toujours un plaisir de te suivre, de découvrir tes secrets, et de m’inspirer de ton esthétisme permanent…
Bisous de Marseille
Wait.. who’s legs are those? I thought they were yours!
Anyway, the photo of you two is sweet. :)
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.com
Lmao loved this one – although I love all the stories written by you, Garance. I thought your caption was hilarious when I saw it on Intstagram initially.
I’m glad you and Chris got to relax in LA. I actually didn’t know LA was so laid back as you say it is until you started writing about it. I only thought it was laid back in terms of fashion rather than also lifestyle. I need a vaca…Paris soon in May ;)
http://www.dressupchowdown.com
As I said previously but in French, LA is so multiple that you’ll find there everything you are looking for. But I find that Garance’s vision of LA is just one snap of it on a short period and in one neighbourhood and it can be misleading. She sees LA as laid back because she was laid back.
LA is laid back when you have money to enjoy the place, but start needing to support yourself financialy and work on a daily basis and you will see….
Love it <3
______________________
PERSONAL STYLE BLOG
http://evdaily.blogspot.com
When i hear you saying that fashion week have changed…i am thinking that it’s exactly what i thought many years ago ..and that every time that a person have reached a saturation.. he feels that the fashion world have changed ..my theory is that we change..first we are fascinating from everything ..than we start to see that it’s all the same.. just different players…
but actually it’s us who have changed it’s our point of view our life that changed..there will be always new people in fashion that will see this world with a shinning eyes …and than…
i believe that in every city we can live like tourist and enjoy or we can be absorbed to everyday life and feel that we have no life..it’s up to us to put boundaries!!! it’s up to us to define which life we want to live…and all over the world it’s the same thing…
with love
Yael Guetta
http://www.ftwwl.com
Hahaha, his legs)))
OMG that VID! so great… welcome to LA! ; )
C’est chouette de te lire depuis 10 ans maintenant parce que finalement, je n’ai rien appris que je n’avais déjà senti … Un peu comme l’an dernier quand tu étais partie en Corse (et Croatie je crois, et camping). Bref, chaque retour à la nature te ramène à ta raison d’être j’ai l’impression. Et chaque fois, ce sont les posts que je préfère, authentiques, profonds, beaux. Où on te sent vraiment. Celle que tu es. Celle pour laquelle nous sommes tous si nombreux à te suivre, et il faut le dire, à beaucoup t’aimer !
Mille bises, continue car je crois que tu es sur la bonne voie, et avec la bonne personne pour te ramener encore et toujours à l’essentiel :)
Great inspo. I’m hoping to visit LA this year x
http://www.wonkylauren.com
Haha, I love your personal posts and this one made me really laugh…I kind of had a similar scenery on Valentine’s Day. We really are victims of social media, and I don’t even know what to do about it… :D
xo Stefanie
http://www.thefashionrose.com
Thanks for the reminder to New Yorkers, “slow down”. We will try, and work on rearranging our lives to move with more ease and comfort. It’s hard because it is expensive and that’s the way city life works. But thank you!
http://www.pippihepburn.etsy.com
Your LA dreams are waiting for you…and they miss you, too.?????
Uh, that’s so sad. I’m happy I don’t have instagram. I’m way too much a private person, plus, let’s face it, most photos on instagram are not all that beautiful and/or inspiring. And sorry, neither is this one. Reminds me of prison and I don’t see its point.
Booking a hotel where you live sounds wonderful, though. Once I’m rich, I’ll afford it ;)
Hannnn moi je dis faut arrêter instagram c’est ringard (vaut mieux vivre sa vie que de dire “regardez moi vivre ma vie”)!!!! Et putain quand t’as un mec comme ça dans ton lit t’as beaucoup mieux à faire quoi merde !! ah ah
http://www.mode9.fr
I feel the same way about Paris. I love the city, I love walking down the streets and running all the time is what I do, I’m used to it. Every time I take a few days off though, it’s like breathing again x
http://jessicawoods.fr
Je crois qu’il n’y a pas pire que les résaeux sociaux pour passer à côté de sa vie ! Quelle invention http://mademoiselleglamour.fr/blog/
Je ne saurais mieux dire !!!
pareil!!!
I love reading your posts, Garance. They always make me laugh! I’m a bit addicted to Instagram myself, but I’m not sure my boyfriend knows how it works exactly. He only gets annoyed sometimes when we’re at a restaurant and he has to wait for me to take a pic before he can eat.
http://stylestandpoint.com
Garance, tu sais que tu vas partir de NY n’est-ce pas ? Grand mais alors grand max. 2 ans. Et ça sera bien. Pas à cause de NY mais parce que le prochain chapitre se tient autre part pour toi. <3
Finalement ça fait presque envie d’aller habiter à LA ! Je n’aurais pas pensé à quel point c’est si différent de NYC. J’aime beaucoup ton regard sur cette ville et ta comparaison entre les deux. J’ai hâte de découvrir la Californie :)
http://mademoiselleglamour.fr/blog/
I’m waiting with baited breath for your move to LA. How soon will it be?
I think that we have to go back to this kind of authentic instagram post. Great Letter !
https://stylishwishes.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/how-to-experiment-with-your-style/
Garance and Chris,
I loved this instagram photo of you too, it was very beautiful. Reminds me a bit of one of your illustrations excepts its real in the way your legs are actually that beautiful and (long)elongated…and I thought it felt you two were unified/changing each/metamorphizing/submitting to compromising/lots of metaphors here. I thought it was bold, but still an image. Must be complicated to be a public figure through honesty/innovation and try to remain private/hidden/ and hold an honesty a piece for yourselves and the present. Have courage for art, newness, the moment, and know what is dear with sometimes exposing(but this is silly-its reminding us of intimacy and that is beautiful. all good for sharing with others and then us. I loved this image, I can’t stop looking at how pretty it is! Like a painting!
J’adore la photo de vous deux! Elle est si spontanée!
I totally understand you! I am currently living in Australia and I have everything that I used to dream of, but there is always a “but” like you said.. I think we have to start focusing on what we have and be happy in the moment! xx
http://kajahoglund.blogg.no
Merci Garance !
Tu m as evite de parcourir tout un chemin … J en ete sure qu il ne Valait pas vraiment la peine !
La vie c est autre chose !
Quel bonheur quand tu dis que …
a froute ! C est cette deco que j aime !
Oh how I´ve wanted to do that many many times, but I also thought it was a strange idea to be in the same city. Still, spending the night in a hotel makes it sexy and different.
Loved it.
I would have loved the picture with you alone in it. Chris looks very awareand totally posing, you look cool, natural and skinny.
I dislike the white-slightly-hippie-vacation-home-with-plants-and-hammock thing. It’s overdone. It’s everywhere. Your whole instagram is becoming white-with-green-plants. I go to Giovanna Bat for relief.
I always look forward to reading your personal posts!
http://theavantguardian.com
Merci de parler de ces photographes qui continuent à photographier des beaux streestyle, ce serait sympa que tu nous les fasses rencontrer et discuter avec eux de l’évolution de ce métier que tu as connu au tout début. J’adorerais. Enfin c’est une idée !
ps : j’ai adoré cette photo, vous êtes sublimes. Tu ne peux pas nous raconter votre rencontre et votre demande en mariage sans pouvoir nous glisser des photos de vous deux, ça n’aurait pas de sens !
Ah Instragram, parfois j’ai l’impression d’avoir mon téléphone greffé à ma main. Comme un besoin systématique de voir combien de likes, ce que font les autres, ce que je pourrais mettre comme photo. C’est chronophage et parfois intrusif dans sa vie privée. J’ai même vu qu’il existait des cures de désintox digitale! ah ah ah je serais curieuse de voir ce qu’on y fait!
I think your looking to ‘nest’ somewhere and find a place to call home,you and your partner’s proper HOME.Maybe for a baby to come into!!?
I feel that our priorities change throughout our lives and sometimes a change of place and pace is required.New York suited your running around career/fashion life but now is may be time for a new chapter in your life.Having worked in London for many years I moved to the countryside in Northern Spain and found the peace/pace of life I was looking for to live the other half of my life.We do get older and hopefully wiser and need other experiences,people and environments to compliment that evolution.
Half way through your post I thought “are you moving to LA Garance”? I feel like this about London more and more. The relentless pace that doesn’t slow down even when I’m on holiday. This year in the summer for the first time in 5 years I will be able to turn my phone off for two weeks. Which of course won’t happen because I’ll be on Instagram the whole time. I used to go home and my father would say “put the phone down”. Now he’s got his own account (he’s a photographer so it kind of makes sense) so we both hanging out, both on our phones with my mother saying “you both, put your phones down”!
Ana
http://www.champagnegirlsabouttowm.co.uk
L.A. is more laid back if you don’t work in Hollywood. If you do, you have no life. None. It’s all about the “industry.”
I live in Rome now which suits my Caribbean island background more.
I love New York City but don’t think I could live there again because of the unrelenting pace. Rome is crazy but even in the chaos there are moments of peace. People here are not defined by their job. It’s actually considered rude and kind of boring to be at social gathering and talk only about work.
You’re the best. I love the photo. And I think you should move to LA for a bit or at least get a second apartment there. :)
You don’t need to move out of nyc to get out of the rat race, you just have to make a decision to do it. You can create any life you want here, build your own nyc, there’s plenty of diversity for you to find your tribe and niche. I made that decision 4 yrs ago and don’t regret it. But I learned though, that getting yourself out if the race has a price, in some people’s eyes you will be a “failure” since you won’t be reaching for these almighty goals we are all supposed to aspired to (well though luck) and you might have to change some friends, etc since you will have a different lifestyle from them and as such won’t have a lot of things in common. in any case, the location has nothing to do with it. It’s something that comes from within and a choice you make on your priorities and how you want to live your life and spend your time.
So true! … and not only for NY … But sometimes it is easier said than done, but on the other hand it is always worth to try it, right? … it’s our life…
Hi Garance,
I am loving all these posts about LA. it is really nice to hear about your experience there, and see all these lovely snaps of California life. You have inspired me to visit there! You mentioned in a few earlier posts that you rented a bungalow/apartment in Venice Beach during your stay. Do you mind posting a link for the rental if it’s still available?
xx
Ce post est excellent, spécial merci à Marcela qui m’a fait hurler de rire !
Très très jolie photo… Etait ce bien utile de la partager sur Ig ? Je ne sais pas, j’ai un doute vu son caractère si intime.
j’apprends tardivement à connaître ton univers et ton parcours et je dis RESPECT !!!! Incroyable … Génialement fantastique !!!
Cette photo confirme à quel point tu es douée…
C’est ton taf d’être sur Instagram.
Si finalement si tu mélanges un peu vie privée et ton boulot y a rien de mal. Ca rend les deux choses plus agréables. C’est juste mieux d’assumer dès le début et c’est pas nécessaire de mettre les copines en branle bas de combat pour ca. Le texte soit bon ou pas c’est vraiment tes amies donc elles aimeront et/ou comprendront le post.
Dernièrement je trouve que trop monde est ds l’autojugement et l’ autocensuration juste pour se donner l’impression d’être quelqu’un de qualité, un peu à part de la mouvance massive, mais sans pouvoir sans passer en même temps.
Alors que dans le fond tout ca n’est qu’une question de fraicheur…
you’re both adorable. if you need some good interiors inspiration (she’s really knowledgeable about the history of decorative arts, super funny and dying) read http://www.havesomedecorum.blogspot.fr
marcelita’s caption was hilarious but yours is also great :) incidentally, my hubs and i frequent the soho grand even tho it’s a 20 min walk from our apartment. we love staying there on a sunday night! recognized that mirror immediately ;)
J’ai remarqué que je suis de moins en moins active sur les réseaux sociaux. Je suis venue à me demander: faut-il vraiment raconter jusqu’à ça, faut-il montrer jusque là… Je crois qu’il faut retrouver une certaine pudeur, nous les narrateurs et nous les lecteurs. Parce-que ce n’est pas du virtuel ce que l’on expose sur internet. C’est bien notre véritable intimité. Réapprenons à nous préserver… Et à ne pas faire de l’étalage… Parce que la web a bouleversé nos repères et maintenant on s’y perd facilement. Et on croit qu’on fait des choses extraordinaires… Et loin de sublimer le quotidien, on est entrain de le banaliser. On dégrade en quelque sorte notre vie. Je trouve tout de plus en plus banal et il n’y a plus de place dans la vie pour le mystère. Et le mystère c’est pourtant bien le moteur de notre existence… Bonne nuit à tous!
Love you! xoxo
I hope you come back to LA soon!
Yeah, i like the chris words, to let it viral on insta for the reason though.
Comme c’est vrai ma ch?re Garance, mais dis-donc tes postes il me font toujours r?flechir..;) j’adore tu es vraiment une personne passionée..Chouette. Bises Monia
PHOTO MAGNIFIQUE! tout simplement. Il n’y a rien du tout de choquant, si ce n’est deux belles personnes.
Votre site est consacrée à la beauté, sous toutes ses formes, et quoi de plus beau qu’un couple?!
MERCI de l’avoir partagé.
bonjour!
somehow i missed this lovely post, and would love to find out where you shot the beautiful tile floor?
i must track down those gorgeous tiles~!
love you blog.
merci~!