8 years ago by
The Dress
Every now and then, you find a dress you like and it happens to fit you really well – and that right there is a feeling like no other. Well, a fashion feeling like no other, anyway. Especially since for me, it happens very rarely. A dress is made up of some kind of super complicated alchemy between a design and a woman’s curves, so basically, once every leap year, I find one I love.
It happened when I was in LA – I’d received some clothes from Iris & Ink to wear for the recording of my podcast, I slipped into the white dress, and boom, it fell perfectly. Obviously, it made me happy for the rest of the day. And of course, it made me start dreaming a little bit about the dress I’d wear for my wedding. I of course have no idea what my wedding dress will look like. I think deep down, I’m still getting used to the idea that I’m engaged. It’s great being engaged. It’s such a new sensation for me, I’m happy to make it last a little while. And that way, maybe without even having to look, the right dress will just come to me?
Girls Lunch (ok, ok, Ladies Lunch)
Even though I love being around men, there’s something I really like about moments that are exclusively feminine, and I’m not sure I understand why, exactly. It has nothing to do with competitivity around men I think it’s because women let go a little more when they’re together, and it’s so enjoyable. On Thursday, I was at a dinner with a group of about twenty women, and I sat down next to a woman I didn’t know. Three minutes later, we were already bursting out laughing talking about blowjobs. Haha.
The photo is of a lunch I organized for my friend Camille Seydoux at Maman to celebrate the launch of her collection in collaboration with Roger Vivier – it’s really pretty. It was all women, and we could have stayed there talking for hours.
The Coat
Nothing makes me happier than the arrival of spring, that magical moment when you can wear a coat with sandals. It’s my favorite fashion moment of the year – because otherwise in New York, between winter (glacial) and summer (suffocating), you’re just surviving. It’s too bad we only have a few days of mid-season weather here. Time to move to LA.
So this coat – I’ve had it for a few years. I bought it at Stella, and season after season, it’s still just as sublime. And I just wanted to say that even though I love buying new clothes, nothing makes me happier than the things that have followed me through the years.
… And the Tangos
By the way, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m slightly obsessive when it comes to clothes. If I like something, I’ll buy several, in several different colors, and I’ll wear it for years. I think it’s kind of a French attitude, actually. I tell myself it’s fine because most of my style idols had the same neurosis – Jane Birkin with her wicker basket, Serge Gainsbourg with his Zizis, Lauren Hutton with her army hats.
So here is my third pair of Valentino Tangos, but this time they’re white and patent leather.
Francesco Clemente and Christy Turlington
One of the most beautiful stories I’ve seen in a magazine in a while, these paintings of models by the New York artist Francesco Clemente for Bazaar. I never talk about it here, but I have a true deep love for painting, and my dream for when I grow up is to be a painter. I’d do portraits, exactly like that (but in my style) and I’ll have a big atelier, exactly like that (but in LA ;)
The Slides
At Studio Doré, we all have a pair of comfortable shoes under our desks. Here are mine – they’re super cute and come from the Charlotte Olympia + MAC collection.
My Favorite Bouquets
I love big bouquets full of wild flowers, preferably white, with a mix of sprigs of things like eucalyptus, and I dream about signing up for a service to deliver them to me each week.
At the same time, I also dream about signing up for a massage service, manicure service, grocery service, a chef to come cook at my house, a coach, a therapist, a… If I had my way, I’d spend my life waiting for people to deliver things to me at home. Wouldn’t you?
In Russian! The book is still making its way around the world and is being translated into lots of languages. So crazy.
Shoes (Part II)
I few years ago, I bought these Gucci shoes on a whim, and also because they’re so pretty. At the time, I called them my 1970s pimp shoes and all my friends liked to make fun of them. What are these shoes, Garance?
But I persevered, I kept them, I even continued wearing them. And now that Gucci is having that huge moment people run up to me in the street to find out where I found this “exclusive model”. Hahahha I’m totally bragging. Mostly because this kind of fashion redemption absolutely never happens to me. Usually when I buy weird things on a whim, two years later, they end up pitifully on Real Real.
Dinner with my Dude. My Fiancé!
Did you / will you take your guy’s name when you get married?
I really want to, but I like my real name, my pen name and Chris’ name equally. I think we’re going to try out some kind of hyphenation. I asked him if, by chance, he might like to take my name, and he said no, thanks, hahaha. Hmmm, traditions, men, life. We’ll see!
The Mini Video
If I could, I’d spend all my time making videos, podcasts, and things like that. I think if I could, I’d have my own reality TV show, actually. But a good reality show, of course…!
In the meantime, I can’t let you go without sharing three little secrets Diane Von Furstenberg taught me. As the years go by, I apply these rules more and more: whenever there’s a camera, face the light. Wear bright, vibrant colors – that makes your skin look smooth and your face brighter. And finally, smile all the time. There’s nothing simpler, and it makes the people around you happy (which makes you happy too!)
Big hugs and kisses!
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ha j’adore cette rubrique ! Elle a un coté rafraîchissant.
Amélie – Charles Ray and Coco
https://charlesrayandcoco.com/
i love those white shoes you’re wearing! :)
http://littleaesthete.com/
Je pense que c’est ma rubrique préférée sur ton blog, une espèce de condensé tous azimuts qui part dans tous les sens ,j’aime , j’adore ! Et merci pour les conseils caméra, j’y passe bientôt, je vais tacher de m’en souvenir ;)
Yes, girl I too have fantasies of living in a posh hotel and having everything delivered, but my hotel would also have to have a secret garden………xo
Puisque tu aimes faire des vidéos et le concept télé-réalité, pourquoi ne postes-tu pas plus sur Snapchat ? ;) J’aimerais beaucoup voir les coulisses de ton métier, mais pas la version hyper léchée et retravaillée, juste la réalité, ou du moins les morceaux choisis. A moins que d’autres personnes de ton équipe aient déjà des comptes snapchat que l’on puisse suivre?
Et sinon j’ai déjà lu quelque part que Garance Doré est un pseudo mais j’ai complètement oublié ton vrai nom ^^, tu veux bien nous le redire stp ? (smiley tête de chat qui fait les yeux doux)
Des bisous de Paris
Céline
Oui, moi aussi c’est une de mes rubriques préférées de ton blog. Un beau résumé Garanceique. Tu es super inspirante, tu nous donne envie d’être une meilleure version de nous-même. Merci. :)
Congrats on your book being translated into Russian and other languages! So exciting!
http://www.lerablogs.com/
j’adore les deux paires de chaussures. Exactement le style que je cherche !
concernant le changement de nom après le mariage, je n’y songe pas: ça doit être étrange de porter un autre nom après tout ce temps (j’ai 35 ans). lorsqu’on m’appelle Mme suivi du nom de mon compagnon, je mets toujours 1 minute à réagir et à me rendre compte que c’est à moi qu’on s’adresse !
Love reading about your life in your Updates! Regarding changing your name…the first time I married was in 1974 – I was 22 and I changed my name. When I divorced 28 years later, my cousin (who was coaching me through it) recommended I change back to my maiden name. I did not – my married name had been mine much longer than my maiden name…and it was the same as my (grown) children’s names.
When I was dating my now husband, he called me one day at work to ask me, if we married, would I change my name to his? I told him I would…and I did…since I think it would be strange to have my ex-husband’s name while married to a new man. Of course, his ex still uses his name, even though they have been divorced for almost 25 years, but she has never and will never re-marry.
But…you will do what is right for you and your future husband!
Garance je confirme que la manie de décliner en plusieurs couleurs ce que nous aimons est très française. J’ai la même manie. Cendrillon Repetto en 25 couleurs (oui, oui…quoi il faut que je me soigne? ;-)), Tango en 4 couleurs, bracelets Sainte Anne La Contrie en 4 couleurs (mais il porte mon nom en même temps, c’est un signe!!)… quand on aime et que cela va parfaitement, pourquoi chercher plus loin?
Et pour le nom post-mariage et le nom de monsieur, notre tambouille a été d’accoler nos 2 noms. Je porte le mien + le sien, lui le sien + le mien, les changements ont été faits sur nos pièces d’identité, nous adorons.
Mon amoureux est fantastique: il m’a immédiatement dit qu’il refusait que je change mon nom pour le sien, car lui ne le ferait pas et trouvait ça hyper rétrograde. Avec deux noms pas trop longs ça marche super bien, et le côté création de la chose est génial.
Ces chaussures !!! (pas les chaussures de pimp, non les autres !), elles sont trop chouettes !!
Je sens que tu vas bientôt déménager définitivement à LA, toi ! Tu as raison. Déjà à Paris, la météo et le côté serré comme des sardines sont super soulants, alors à NYC, encore pire…
Pour le nom, mon cher et tendre et moi allons bientôt nous marier, et nous prendrons chacun les 2 noms !
xxx
Irène
http://www.cookinginjune.com/
Question indiscrète ;)
Chris / tes amis / ta famille, t’appellent-ils Garance ou Mariline ?
Ca fait un moment que je me demandais, du coup, j’ose la poser, puisque tu parles de ton nom / ton pseudo dans cet article !
I wish we saw more of your own style on the blog; of all the women featured here, you are my favorite and the closest to what I aim for.
It must be hard to be so close to the fashion world, where everything is “what’s the latest new thing.” So I applaud your devotion to good choices like your coat and your shoes, that survive the seasons.
BTW, I didn’t take my husband’s name….either time I married. It causes so many hassles in France. The bank refuses to put my name on our account (even though I’m the one earning–husband lost his job). Just insane.
Good luck with the dress. I think most dresses are made for women’s curves, but every woman’s curves are different. It’s a matter of finding the right match.
Keep your name!! Huge part of your identity, you’ll regret giving it up.
I feel similarly about dresses haha. And I’m excited to see how your wedding and your last name situation will go.
http://www.dressupchowdown.com
Yes, keep your name. I regret not keeping mine even though for most Americans it’s unpronounceable.
http://www.lookforthewoman.com
And the white dress suits you so well! Love your book x
http://www.wonkylauren.com
So great to hear about all these things.
And I also have a tendency to buy many of the things I like.
I think that some traditions are nice so I think it is nice to have the same name with your husband. After all you’re married and one family… :)
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.com
I have hard time with tradition …when you get married and you have been “carried “your name for so many years ..it seems to me no point to change your name…and in todays life where people get married and divorce…how many different names are you going to call yourself…i don’t mind in the official paper…but i don’t think you can become someone else..so what’s the point? i feel it is a schizophrenic situation ….i am also a big believer of women power…and how we women should help each other and be more sister to each other than b**….more like men are…they help each other…in business… Vive les femmes.
From The World With Love
Yael Guetta
http://www.ftwwl.com
je me suis mariée en décembre et j’ai décidé de prendre le nom de mon époux…. Mais j’utilise encore mon nom de jeune fille! Je jongle entre les deux et parfois j’oublie lequel j’ai utilisé… Comme lorsque je réserve au restaurant….
Great post Garance! I kept my name, my husband kept his and our children bear both our family names, as is the norm in Portugal. Its a matter of traditions and personal preference, but to me it felt weird to change my name half way through my life and the tradition seemed outdated to me.
Trop chouette cet update, et j’adore tes Charlotte Olympia, elles sont trop choues!
Mon fiancé non plus ne veut pas prendre mon nom de famille pff, comme toi je suis aussi attachée à mon nom même si j’aime le sien !
Des bisous Garance ?
Mido @ http://www.bowsome.com/
Loooove your Insta updates! They inspired me to make my own series called Art Updates :)
I too thought your shoes were from a some kind of exclusive line haha! And I love those Valentino shoes, I want a pair of those, I hope they are comfy as well!
Lots of LOVE,
Maria xx
http://www.rodikveron.com
No, really, why would I change my name? I just don’t get the whole concept of it. I saw the point back when women were not able to exist independently outside marriage because they had no education, no proffession, no money apart from the one belonging to the family….it sucked, but it did make sense isuvh circumstances. But now?! Why on Earth would anyone need to give up a part of her or his identity when getting married? I just don’t see any reason to do so. I guess “everybody does it” is not a good enough reason for me.
Well said!
Nice post! ;)
______________________
PERSONAL STYLE BLOG
http://evdaily.blogspot.com
I like the idea of sharing his last name! In my opinion it doesn’t mean a woman giving up who she is, it simply means that you have found the person you love! I totally understand the business side of it and I definitely think your name is beautiful but so is your love story. Enjoy making decisions! We will all still love you matter what your name is!
La robe: Moi je rêve de te voir en pantalon à ton mariage. Et je rêve d’y assister, mais ça c’est une autre histoire.
Le déjeuner: Si tu veux un jour organiser un repas entre filles à Portland, OR, je suis dispo. C’est à un saut de puce – en avion – de LA, tu verras, tu auras parfois besoin de quitter l’été permanent pour une petite bouffée d’air frais et de paysages verdoyants.
Le dîner avec ton fiancé: Maryline Norton c’est pas facile à prononcer. Chris Fiori, pourquoi pas? Trop de Fiori dans le monde de la musique? Moi j’ai gardé mon nom, pas moyen d’adopter celui d’un autre.
Bisou!
Chloe | Conscious by Chloe
Merci pour cette rubrique qui se lit avec plaisir! Je suis également fiancée et comme toi je n’ai aucune idée de ma robe et nous avons aussi la fameuse discussion sur le nom de famille. Je veux garder le mien mais c’est compliqué… les hommes et leur virilité mal placée!
Ces updates sont fun comme d’habitude. J’ai porte le meme style de mocassins dans les annees 70, mais pas des Gucci ! :-)
Garance, when you open that studio in L.A. to paint portraits, sign me up! I promise to recite lines from Curb maintain a smile from constant laughing. Plus I’d have to write about it for CultureShockArt ;)
About the last name? From my experience, it was not as big of a deal when your first name is unique. To me you are simply Garance. xoxo, Colony
My husband I compromised: I had him sign a prenup he wasn’t thrilled about (he thought it was unromantic) and I took his last name, which I wasn’t thrilled about. Once the paper work (there’s SO MUCH paperwork) was over, it was quite nice to share a name. Having a separate professional and legal name just gets confusing (and you have to be SO careful when booking flights!). Good luck with your decision.
That beautiful coat. I’ve seen you wearing it for several years. It’s refreshing that you know your style and don’t buy a new expensive model every year. Very French!
Janine Claire
http://www.noworriesparis.com
I hyphenated my last name when I got married. If I had to do it again, I would just keep my last name. My first name, plus my hyphenated last name are too long. And at times, it is such a pain to explain and spell out…especially when ordering food!
I actually love dresses but feel lack of opportunities to wear them. this post reminded me of my resolution to make more events for wearing dresses. well where I live it will be considered over dressed but I think I will wear a dress on my next museum outing.
I have a double barreled name but in reality everything is all over the shop. I use my husband’sname for court because it’s easier to pronounce (and because it being a French name, it does sound pretty awesome :), I called my firm by my maiden name, my business cards are all about double- barreled :)
My wedding dress “came to me ” two weeks before the wedding byvwsy of Ralph Lauren evening one shoulder gown. I had it shipped from the US and had no plan B if it didn’t fit. But it did! :)
Ana
http://www.champagnegirlsabouttown.co.uk
I am in the same talks with my partner and to be honest I dont think its the worst idea. I mean cummon. He’s French and I’m South African. But I also have a public image that knows me by my current name. The solution for us now (because I already have a double barreled surname) is to have his surname on official documents i.e. passports, ID etc but on my social pages and in my work keep it the same. Also we want to have kids and kids in South Africa and here the kids automatically take the fathers name so I want to share a surname with my kids, but still keep my public persona intact. I think in the end what ever you feel works. There are no rules anymore, we get to do what ever we want and what ever makes our hearts flutter.
I cannot understand why a person , woman or man would even consider to change the name just because he or she is married. Your name is the first piece of your identify, follow us as a presentation card from birth and ahead. We can regret episodes of our lives but not our birth names.
I am a scientist and we do not use to changing names because it would also mess up our authorship in our publications.
The white jeans, red top and tan coat are just gorgeous on you- and that little punctuation of black in that bag is so cheeky.
I’ve kept my name and added my husband’s name — so, a double-barrelled surname is mine. At first, I didn’t want to even adopt my husband’s name, using only mine. Now, I have my previous and present names side by side, just like my husband and I stand side-by-side in our relationship. It’s nice to show my son that he’s the product of both his Zmother’s and father’s respective lineages; and I like that I carry the same last name as my son.
Names can be all about power, or to show affiliation – and as I’ve grown older, I’ve found that my combined last names are both to me.
Having said that, last year, a revelation about what my last names mean to me happened when I finally took the plunge to have my initial heat-stamped on my LV Speedy’s vachetta patch. There was space only for three initials at most. And I chose not to have AGB, for my first-name, family name and husband’s name (as my husband had suggested) – and I decided to forego having ACG (my first name and unmarried last name). Instead, I chose ACB- for both initials of my first name, and my husband’s last name. It was at this point it hit me that my first name is what I now feel expresses and and embodies – rather than defines – me perfectly. Whacking my husband’s last name initial on that bag, instead of my own unmarried last name touched my husband immensely- and also showed me that I now no longer feel defined by any familial ties per se- that my first name (it is a very odd first name, mispronounced 99.9% of the time – including other fellow Chinese- but interestingly, always pronounced perfectly by Germans!) is most important to me now.
Those Gucci’s are da bomb!
I love my last name. It’s easy to pronounce, top of alphabet and I’ve grown up with it so It’s my identity and who I am, How can I all of a sudden be someone else with a different name?
T’inquiète la robe viendra…, je pense que la “dentelle” te vas très bien, je t’embrasse :) !
I got married last spring and I had a bit of an internal struggle about taking my husband’s name or not.
On one hand, my maiden name was MY name up until that point… on the other, thinking into the future, I knew 100% that I wanted to have the same name as my children. And, we will be applying for my husband’s permanent residency and were thinking that one name will be simpler for that process. Our names were far too long to hyphenate… we actually combine them as a joke into Perramaker (Perramant & Shoemaker) for social media and the like… so ultimately I chose to add my maiden name as my legal middle name (my husband, being French, did not understand this middle name business…). Drivers’ licenses only allow one middle initial, so for anything like that my initials are SSP. According to the social security agency, I’m SASP. I think adding my maiden name in there was worth it, even if it’s a bit of a hassle, because it helps keep the link from old documents and records in this highly digital age.
I don’t really feel like I gave up the history that was associated with my old name and I definitely like having one family name. For us, my husband’s family name was a bit more poetic than mine, so we went with that. If we hadn’t, I’m guessing we would have found another common-name solution. I guess I’m a sucker for solidarity?
When my husband and I married, we made our last names into a double last name and both changed. It made sense to us to keep a bit of our old selves, to unite and both change and also to be the meeting point between our two families. I was surprised how much my family loved having him take their last name, like he was REALLY part of them now and vice versa with me and his family. Now we have a daughter who bears the same double name so it’s our little family name, with homage back to both sides. I know it’s not so common, but I think it’s lovely.
Garance je n’ai qu’un chose à dire : je te kiffe !!!!!!
Tu es tellement rafraîchissante, ca fait un bien fou merci ! Pour ce qui est du nom de famille j’ai pris celui de mon mari et puis on est partis vivre à Bruxelles et en Belgique tu gardes ton nom de jeune fille pour tous les papiers officiels. Donc en fait je n’ai jamais changé….et ca me va bien ! Si on revient en France un jour je crois que j’aurais du mal à prendre son nom. J’ai l’impression de changer d’identité et que ce n’est pas moi quand j’utilise le sien. Pour le moment j’ai la chance d’avoir les deux, je choisis selon les circonstances. Pour nos filles on a opté pour les deux noms. Et j’aime bien.
I’m quite shy when it comes to commenting but I felt I had to share my story about weddings and tangos :) By last december my boyfriend and I started hearing about an interesting work project in Qatar, by mid december we knew the project was ours and we had to be in Doha by the beginning of January so we started investigating about the country. We discovered in order to live together we had to be married and just in a couple weeks we organized the most amazing and fun wedding ever. I didn’t have time to assume my ‘engaged’ status, before realizing it i was already married! I chose my wedding outfit in one day, a wedding skirt and a handmade sweater knitted by a good friend, when you have no time to doubt between options you make the best decisions. I’ve never dreamed about my wedding but, if I had, it certainly wouldn’t have been a day after NYE but it was and i loved every bit of it thanks to all my wonderful friends and family. Oh, and i wore golden sparkly tangos :)
And just because i’ve been a few months in Doha and talking about the wedding made me feel nostalgic, here is the link to the pictures:
http://www.paulagfurio.com/sara-luis/
Ahahahah, tu dois nous parler de cette robe “qui viendra à” toi ! J’adore les histoires où une mariée cherche sa robe et j’imagine que la tienne sera très drôle :)
I find it hard to fathom that in this day and age that the topic/question of women taking their husbands’ name still comes up. Why does it have to be the woman that has to give up her name? Why can’t the man? Is a woman’s name less important than a man’s? Why is it even necessary? It is really disappointing that so many women in the West (mostly Anglo-saxon. This doesn’t happen in South European countries such as Spain and Portugal) part-take in this very sexist tradition.
Ha, ha c’est trop marrant combien de fois j’ai voulu t’écrire que l’orientation qu’ont pris tes posts c’était de la téléréalité par écrit…