Q. Our family recently returned from a very nice but costly vacation in Italy. Although I am grateful to my husband for giving us this opportunity, the trip was one more example of what I consider his constant overspending of our resources. Our children are young, and I can’t work here, so we have only his salary and bills, bills, bills! Putting money aside for our kids’ education, a down payment on a home, extra retirement income – to say nothing of possible unemployment one day – all that is a foreign language to him. He just laughs off my concerns as being premature or fuddy-duddy, and says we have plenty of time to worry about all that later. I toss and turn nightly with frustration and worry, wondering how to get him to face reality and get down to some serious financial planning.
I’ve Had It With House Guests
Q. This issue must come up so often in Franco-American couples such as mine that I’m amazed no one’s written you about it already, or did I miss something? It concerns the visitors, including in-laws, who stream continuously through Paris – and my apartment – during the summer. Yes, my wife “sacrificed” home, friends and family by moving here to marry me! Yes, her parents have the right to see their daughter and their grandchildren! Yes, Americans take pride in their tradition of hospitality! But after ten years of running a “pension de famille” for my wife’s compatriots – who, granted, obligingly thank us with Bloomingdale’s placemats or coffee table art books, plus the obligatory dinner out – I’ve had it! My wife tells me I should move to a hotel when guests come, but isn’t that “le monde à l’envers?” Some advice, and quickly, please! Continue reading “I’ve Had It With House Guests”
Loudon Wainwright “Mr. Ambivalent”
One of the best tracks on Loudon Wainwright III’s latest album with Virgin Records, “Little Ship,” is titled “Mr. Ambivalent” (“Make a little movement or get off of the pot”). Given that Wainwright is a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, actor and social satirist, is the song a reflection of a career dilemma – a case of too many hats and not enough heads? “It was more the Freudian idea of ambivalence: loving and hating the same thing; my inability to choose. But as far as my career’s concerned, I don’t think of myself as an actor or comedian or social commentator. I think of myself as a songwriter and performer.” Continue reading “Loudon Wainwright “Mr. Ambivalent””
When Saint Germain Swung
A wealth of jazz material recorded in mid-century Paris has recently been re-released and like most voices from the past, these evoke conflicting emotions: nostalgia and sadness on one hand, a sense of wonder and celebration on the other. Continue reading “When Saint Germain Swung”
On Getting Married in Paris
It should come as no big surprise that for foreigners getting married in Paris this is no Las Vegas-slam-bam-thank-you-mam-you-may-now-kiss-the-bride affair. Continue reading “On Getting Married in Paris”
Stanley Karnow’s Paris
“Why do people come to Paris any more?” asks Stanley Karnow, Pulitzer prize-winning writer and author of a new book, “Paris In The Fifties.” He lights another Gitane and sips his café crème. “When we came here, we were kind of searching for the belle époque of the ’20s, the Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein era… I’m told that young people today come here searching for the belle époque of the ’50s. Everyone looks backs and says wow! Things were better then. Who knows, maybe they were.” Continue reading “Stanley Karnow’s Paris”
New Voices In Style in the 90’s
With all the hullabaloo over the retro-inspired looks dominating the headlines these days, one has the impression that professionals in the rag trade are ignoring the challenge of the impending new century. The fact is, most of the garments photographed and televised today are designed for the media and the purpose is to hawk perfume and leather goods rather than anticipate or suggest what we might wear at the turn of the century. For a glimpse of what the future may hold, you have to get away from the big names and go off the beaten track where young designers are experimenting with new concepts and materials for the 21st century.
American Artists in France
Paris is a city for lovers … and artists. American artists are particularly drawn to the history and romance of Paris as an artistic mecca. Since the late 19th century American artists such as Mary Cassatt and, much later, Man Ray have succeeded in establishing their place in the French art world. This autumn the Mona Bismarck Foundation is highlighting a wide range of works produced over the last 50 years by contemporary American artists who have lived and worked in France. Continue reading “American Artists in France”
Paris’ Wine Tradition (from archives)
Parisians turn Dionysian the first weekend in October with Montmartre’s annual Grape Harvest Festival. This year’s Vendanges à Montmartre will see its queen, film star Sophie Marceau, christening this year’s brew “Cuvée Dalida,” after a beloved Egyptian-born singer, who before her death 10 years ago lived in Montmartre. Along with wine tastings and a parade, the festival will feature the inauguration of place Dalida (where rue de l’Abreuvoir crosses rue Girardon) by the mayor of Paris, Jean Tiberi. Continue reading “Paris’ Wine Tradition (from archives)”
Puttin’ on the Glitz
Once upon a time, fashion week in Paris provided a sneak preview of the style trends for the upcoming season. However, after a blitz of frocks for the boudoir and creative ideas that never completely gelled as real clothing, many experts are currently pondering the purpose of fashion, or more specifically, the point of fashion shows. More than ever, it is apparent that there are clothes and there is fashion. Clothes are what we wear. Fashion is a whole ‘nother animal. Continue reading “Puttin’ on the Glitz”
France’s Power Women
Last month, L’Express did a cover story on France’s most powerful women. Based on a recent publication titled “Femmes en Tête” (Flammarion, 534 pages, 139 F), the weekly news magazine’s article focuses on “100 women who keep France on the move,” (“100 femmes qui font bouger la France.”)