Danielle Steel's Blog, page 54

I’m Late….I’m Late!!!….

Hi Everyone,

I owe you an apology for not posting my blog on Monday, and being late this week. That hasn’t happened very often, but I have been so swamped with work and projects that for once I just couldn’t catch up!!! I really am sorry!!!

Last weekend, I spent time with my children in two cities for Mother’s Day, and this week I had so much work to do that it was like a giant snowball gathering momentum, the mountain on my desk just kept growing. We’re in the last stages of getting the music album I did ready to go online, I’m working on an art show I’m curating in August, I wrote an article for a magazine, a speech for a benefit, I’m starting a big re-write on a book tomorrow, and I’m thinking about an idea for a new children’s book, and working on an art project “for fun”. It has been a crazy week, and I looked at apartments with two of my daughters last week. Usually, I’m pretty good at multi-tasking, but even I get overwhelmed sometimes, and I didn’t want to write my blog to you until I had some peaceful, quiet time to do it, and it just didn’t happen. I worked a couple of 22 hour days, and last night fell asleep on my bed with the lights on and my clothes on. Some weeks are like that, but fortunately not too often.

I hope all is well with you!!! I went to my oldest son’s birthday party tonight, and the theme was ‘Caddyshack’——there were some pretty weird outfits! But everyone seemed to be having fun. And I also went to the opening of an art fair before that. I feel like I should do that sometimes, and usually enjoy it, since I like keeping a hand in the art world. There were a lot of very strange outfits at that too!!! Sometimes I forget how eccentric art lovers and artists can be. I still miss my gallery, and the art fair I went to was a very eclectic scene!!!

Other than that, I’m still playing catch-up on my desk, but I promise not to be late again!!!  Much love, Danielle

Slow Month

 

Hi Everyone,

May is off to a quiet start with weekly holidays (May Day, which is Labor Day here last week; Armistice Day this week; religious holidays), long weekends, and a two week long school vacation, which has pretty much shut everything, or a LOT of things, down. Many restaurants are closed, my favorite auction house is closed, and the city is pretty empty, and the weather bounces back and forth between slightly warmer and seriously chilly, sunny and cloudy. It’s a good month to go away, go on vacation, or stay home and catch up on things, which is what I’ve been doing. I’ve done things like going to the vet to pick up supplies, the pet store for a new leash and harness for my ridiculously small dog (she weighs 2 pounds, is a long haired white teacup Chihuahua named Minnie Mouse, and I got her a shocking pink leash today and some new sweaters. They had a pair of pink underwater goggles that tempted me severely, but I figured she’d never forgive me, so I didn’t buy them. But I did see a poodle dyed shocking pink at the pet store (where they also do grooming).

I’ve gotten some things repaired, and refurbished, I’m looking for a new hall rug, and fixed some antique pillows. And for once, I’m not reorganizing my closets, I’m too lazy right now to even do that. Because so many people are away, and there are so many holidays, May is a good month to be lazy (which doesn’t happen to me very often). I’ve had lunch and dinner with the few friends who are in town, watched some more Downton Abbey reruns (my favorite pastime!!) and caught up on some reading. It’s nice to be running at half speed, and not racing through the days, juggling a million calls, emails, and projects. I had lunch with a friend today, dinner with other friends last night in my kitchen, and tomorrow am seeing a friend I haven’t seen in 20 years. It’s nice having the time to catch up, after a winter of going at jet speed.

I managed to get through my late son’s birthday on May 1st, and had friends over for dinner, as I always do. Those days are always hard for me and my children.

And I’m starting to think about summer, and everything I want to do.  Although I grouse about how difficult it is to have a weekly holiday here in France in the month of May, it is actually nice moving at a slower pace, catching up, and checking one’s direction. And it always feels strange to me when I’m not working. I’m so used to working all the time.

I hope you’re having fun and that the month of May is unfolding nicely for you too…..more soon, love, Danielle

 

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April and May in Paris

Hi Everyone,

This year anyway, April in Paris has lived up to all the songs and movies about it. The weather has finally gotten warmer and gentler, after a freezing cold winter, and it has been absolutely wonderful to be here. All this week it’s been sunny and beautiful, the kind of weather that makes you fall in love with Paris all over again, as you sit having lunch or dinner on the terrace of a restaurant, or an outdoor cafe, watching people stroll by. Definitely a slice of Heaven.

May on the other hand is ‘hell month’ in France, or at least I think so, from a work/business standpoint, and others agree. From a work standpoint, it’s hard to get anything done in France in May, not just because of the enticing weather that makes people slow down, but there are 4 long 4 day weekends in May. People call them ‘bridges’ here, wherever the holiday falls, they make a ‘bridge’ to the weekend, and take 4 days off. For French Labor Day on May 1st, Armistice Day on May 8th, and 2 religious holidays, which means 4 lonnngggg weekends in the month of May. And French schools get more frequent and longer vacations than in the States, so although there is a 2 week school holiday in April, there is another 2 week vacation in May. So people with school age kids take off, and it’s so hard to get anything done, that businesses and even some/many restaurants close too. I defy you to get anything done in France in May. No one will come to do repairs, you can’t find people in their office, deadlines are delayed, and work is generally slowed down. Even people who don’t have kids often take a break, because you can’t get anything done anyway, with everyone else on vacation. It’s extremely frustrating to try and get anything done in France in May. Things will pick up again in June, and then slow down again in July and August, when the entire country goes on vacation. By law, workers get 5 weeks off, and most take their vacations in July or August. It adds to the quality of life here, people are much less stressed when they get that much time off, and have a whole month’s vacation to look forward to, and a month of holidays before that, but it’s hard to get much work done at this time of year.

I’m currently working hard on finishing the album of 10 songs, that 3 composers and I have been working on for 2 years. We are doing the final ‘mixing and mastering’ now, a final polishing process, and the songs should be on the internet at the end of May. I’ll give you the details closer to the time, of how to find them on the Internet. It’s exciting for me to see the project come to fruition, finally, and to have learned something new. I wrote the lyrics and the composers wrote the music. Each song tells a story, the way my books do. Six of the songs are in English, and four in French. The album will be called “Love Notes by Danielle Steel”. And I really hope you love the songs!!!

May is also a tender moment for me, as the month begins. May 1st is Labor Day in France, but it is also my late son Nick’s birthday. I give a dinner for close friends on that date every year. It is a sweet reminder of a day that was a happy one in my life, and Nick loved his birthday. And in France, people give each other little sprigs or bouquets of Lily of the Valley on that day, for good luck. Lily of the Valley, and its delicious smell always reminds me of Nick…..so Happy Birthday, Nicky…..and happy May Day to you.

Love, Danielle

Textomania

Hi Everyone,

I went to the dentist today, and rode up to the 25th floor in a crowded elevator in a busy Medical-Dental Building, and although texting is part of our everyday life now, and very convenient at times, I looked around the elevator, and realized that of the ten or so people in it with me, I was the only one not texting. Everyone was staring intently at their cell phones and texting away. Two missed their floors, no one made eye contact, and not a word was spoken. I’m not normally chatty to strangers in elevators, but often people exchange a nod, a smile, or occasionally even a “have a nice day”. But this time, there was only texting. It really made me think how texting has taken over our lives, and how completely. Personally, I’m not a big texter, but think it’s super convenient for short messages: “stuck in a meeting, will be half an hour late”, “please remember to pick up the dog”, “can you come to dinner tonight?”, “can you send me so and so’s phone number”, “flight delayed, will be at the hotel an hour late”, or even a quick “I love you, Mom”, if I know one of my kids is having a bad day. But when I think about it, I have not seen ANY of my children (5 of them in their 20′s) without their cell phones in their hands in recent years, and every face to face conversation I have with them, is interspersed or interrupted by a flurry of texts they send and receive while talking to me, or each other. Sometimes it’s impossible to catch or keep their attention. Whether my family, staff or friends, people talk to you now while texting. Are they paying attention? I’m never sure. Even during my staff meetings, my office staff text during the meeting. It’s not about manners (although sometimes it is), but more importantly we have grown accustomed to not focusing our full attention on anyone, and writing or reading messages to and from others at the same time. It’s like having two or more conversations at once. Which one are you really paying attention to? A man I was involved with romantically several years ago conducted most of our relationship by text, confronting major issues in abbreviation by text, with messages often so long they had to be sent in four or more segments. The relationship fell apart by text, ended several times by text, and once or twice was revived by text. It became surreal, a virtual relationship conducted by text. And I’ve heard from several young friends that some of their romances have started by text, and worse they got dumped by text, without even the courtesy of a face to face meeting and conversation.  What disturbs me is that we don’t even hear the sound of each others’ voices now, or the inflection of a voice (happy, sad, angry), it all comes through by text. And even if convenient, I think we have lost something important to technology with so little human contact.

There are worse tragedies as well, one of my daughters’ friends was killed in a car accident a year ago, because she was texting, slipped into another lane, and lost control of the car. Texting is even more dangerous on the road than talking on a cell phone, because while writing a text you’re not even looking at the road.

No question, it is convenient. I travel a lot, and am often in other time zones, so it allows you to send a short message to someone at a time convenient for you. But are we so impatient now that we can’t wait to call someone, that we can’t wait til we arrive somewhere to send a text, that we can’t sit through a meeting or a conversation without communicating with someone else? Is it a barrier against feelings and emotion, that people actually think it’s okay to dump someone by text (and I hear that often)? In a way, it’s a way of hiding, of not dealing directly, neither with the person you’re texting, nor the one you’re standing in front of, while texting someone else. In any restaurant, office, elevator, meeting, you see people texting constantly. Is this really who we are now, and who we want to be? It’s a little too space age high-tech for me. I am notoriously non techie and get teased a lot for it, I don’t even have a ‘smart’ phone, and use an old cell phone I like. But I think the whole philosophy about it is worth some thought. Are you talking to me, sending a message to your vet, hairdresser, or best friend, or ending your latest romance? I think we need to give texting a rest, use it more judiciously, and even look people in the eye while talking to them. It would be nice.  

Love, Danielle

Again

Here we are, mourning the victims of violence again. This time at the Marathon in Boston, so many innocent people injured, several killed, and even children the victims of yet another act of violence. We’re all shocked, and it always shocks me even more, when children are involved, though it is certainly hideous to think of the adults injured and killed too. It gives rise to the same questions we face every time one of these incidents happen. The endless why’s, the how could it be’s, the how could they do it’s. The focus shifts only slightly, this time not gun violence committed in a school against 6 year olds, but a bomb explosion that has impacted so many people. And once again, we are stunned by malevolence focused on innocents.

As a nation, we need to ask ourselves, why are guns so easy to access in our society, and apparently one can even find instructions on how to build a bomb on the Internet. It’s been done before. This brings to mind shades of Oklahoma so many years ago. And just like the innocent children who went to school on December 14th, in this case people came from all over for the marathon, well-wishers stood by to cheer them on, and expecting only good clean fun, they sustained life altering injuries or died instead. There is something particularly heinous about attacking people where they least expect it, where they have come together for innocent fun, watching or participating in a marathon, or in a movie theater, a first grade classroom, an Amish one room school house, or on a college campus. We have no idea if this was a highly organized act of terrorism, or the work of a single person gone berserk with an axe to grind of some kind. But why is it so easy, how do these crimes get perpetrated and go unobserved until the damage is done? And now we are left to mourn those who died, and pray for those who are injured.

What is it in our society that breeds this kind of violence? Hard times? Political extremism? Untreated mental illness? Laws that really don’t protect any of us? Is it what people see on TV, or the violence of video games as some people say. It is hard to imagine what causes some people to act out in this way, taking lives and ruining others. How do we feel safe after incidents like these? How do we drop our children off at school and believe that they will be protected and come home at the end of the day? How do we walk across a college campus and not remember these incidents, or walk into a movie theater without feeling a shiver of fear? Or go to a marathon, or participate in one, realizing now that our lives might be at stake as spectator or participant? Where can we still feel safe? At times it seems that we are at risk everywhere, in theaters, on the street, in airports, or hotels. The world seems to have become a sadly dangerous place, not just with personalized violence, but general violence that can touch any of us, in a restaurant, a hotel, or at any public event. And if a marathon was the venue this time, any major sports event could be the opportunity next time. How do we sit in a sports stadium now and not feel panicked? And this time it is more than just about gun control. How do we protect ourselves from people who have so little value for human life? And at what point do we become (or have we already?) a society out of control, a constant target, a violent society which no longer values its fellow man, with total disregard even for the lives of our children. It is somber food for thought, and once again, I extend my heartfelt sympathy to all of those affected, and my prayers. We are all the victims now, our very way of life is affected, our image as a responsible nation has been impacted, and as a result, our country no longer feels safe to any of us, and with good reason. I mourn for us all, and what we lose each time this happens, not just lives, but our very humanity towards each other is in question. I am deeply sad for the victims in Boston, and for all of us.

Love, Danielle

Play Ball!!!!

Hi Everyone,

I had SO MUCH FUN I had to share it with you!!! My youngest son is an avid sports fan, particularly baseball, and he thrilled me by taking me to a playoff game last fall, before the San Francisco Giants went to the World Series, and won!!! I was in Europe during the World Series, and there was a friend I called several times during every game, at crazy late hours for me, so I could follow the scores. And I was ecstatic for the team and my son when they won!!! It was a major moment for the Giants and their fans!!! And I was sorry not to see those games because I was away.

Well, my son just thrilled me again and invited me to Opening Day of the Giants, and I had just as much fun as I did with him at the Playoffs!!! There was lots of fanfare, since it was the opening of a new season, after their big win at the World Series. The 2010 World Series Trophy was already on a pedestal on the field when we walked in, and as part of the opening ceremony, they put the 2012 trophy on a pedestal next to it. All the players and coaches were introduced, the largest American flag I have ever seen was walked in, carried by what looked like 100 people, the Pennant was raised on the flagpole, a fire boat was shooting spray high into the air, the sun was shining, the National Anthem was sung, and people looked ecstatic. I haven’t been to baseball many times in my life, but what strikes me every time is how wholesome it all is, how happy people look, how many kids are there, and what good clean fun it is. It’s a wonderful opportunity to be with one’s children, even grown up ones like mine, although my youngest son isn’t very old, but he’s an adult. It is just great family time, and a moment in time when all of one’s worries or problems seem to disappear, and one concentrates on the game. I ate a hot dog, and looked longingly at the cotton candy, but didn’t eat any (next time!!). My son’s girlfriend was there, and a school friend of his, and I felt very honored that he had used one of his precious seats for me. And I diligently wore orange and black again this time, and my son gave me a wool Giants scarf to wear next time. Some of the outfits were pretty amazing, with everyone in orange and black. There were 43,000 people there, as messages flashed on the scoreboard, wishing people Happy Birthday, and even one proposal of marriage. And the team held up their end against the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Giants won 1-0, as cheers and screams of delight erupted from the crowd. All in all, it was a perfect day. And I came home, like a kid, with all my treasures, the Giants scarf from my son, a calendar, a pennant, and the ticket, which I will save, in memory of another fantastic day. There are moments in life when everything goes right and you feel great, and you know you’ve had a special magical day. Today was one of those, and I’m soooo grateful to my son for taking me to the game with him. I’ve come to really enjoy baseball, and actually understand the game, but it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without him. The real fun is going to the game with him, I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks, and it was even better than I imagined. Thanks to him, it was truly a perfect day and a very special moment!!!

Love, Danielle

April Fool!!!

If I really had a sense of humor I would of course leave this page blank…..April Fool!!!

Instead I always reminisce about what a hideous day that is in our family. I am blessed or cursed with children with a sense of humor, who think that April Fool is a perfect opportunity to terrorize me, and still think it is a hysterical event. The family favorites over the years have been “Hi, Mom, I’m in jail, can you come and get me” and “Mom, I’m pregnant!!”.  Worse yet, I ALWAYS believe them.  There have been some truly tasteless ones that were considerably worse, which I will spare you. And the worst of it is that I ALWAYS fall for it. I get busy, or am writing or distracted, and forget what day it is, the phone rings, and one of my kids is either in jail or pregnant. By the second or third Get Me Out of Jail call, I finally get it, and some of them had me going until nightfall with the “Mom, I’m pregnant!!”, this of course always from an unmarried child in their early to mid-teens. By now, it would be far more normal, so much less fun for them. Some of my children are truly pranksters, and have even played April Fool’s jokes on their bosses, which didn’t always go over so well. Not everyone is as amused or as gullible as I am. What do you mean the IRS is outside and they have a warrant for my arrest—-or our biggest customer cancelled 500 orders???  We definitely love funny holidays in our family. Actually, we love ALL holidays. Christmas is our favorite, but Halloween is a biggie for us, even now, they still wear costumes, very clever ones. We love Valentine’s Day: Never mind love, it is a holiday about chocolate, a personal favorite for me. We get pretty wound up for Easter and Thanksgiving, and we all wear large, ridiculous bunny ears for Easter brunch, and have wind up bunnies and chicks on the table. I guess I’m the culprit here, I over-decorated everything when they were kids, and I still do a Valentine’s dinner table, with little candy hearts on it….and the Halloween trick or treat candy seems to last for months. I am addicted to Peeps in every color, for every holiday. I started the Peeps early and ate about a dozen bright yellow marshmallow chicks yesterday.  I was planning to start on the shocking pink ones today. What can I tell you, we’re holiday addicted. But it’s so much fun. I had a very serious childhood, and have been making up for it ever since. And come Monday, April 1st, I will be innocently answering the phone, and who knows what they’ll come up with this year. Those messages work particularly well at 4 am…..I think this year I’ll tell them that I’m  pregnant, AND in jail, come and get me…..it’s time to turn the tables on them!!! Happy April Fool!!

Love, Danielle

Serious Saturday

Hi Everyone,

Life is certainly always a mix of many components, happy, sad, silly, serious, absurd. (Personally, I always like the absurd moments, which make me laugh. And after 2 weeks of high fashion fun in Paris with my daughters, followed by 2 weeks of intense writing, I finally emerged this week to get out, see some friends, and take a breather, before going right back to work.

In the intermission, two events caught my attention which are thought-provoking today, and worth sharing with you,

Several of my friends are close to a woman I’ve heard about and never met, she sounds like a nice person, and although we have mutual friends, our paths hadn’t crossed. Everyone always said she was a lovely person, was left by her husband (for another woman) several years ago, and she was a kind person, good friend, and supposedly wonderful mother to three young children. Since it’s ski vacation time here, during Spring break from school, she and her children were in the mountains last week, for a fun vacation. She must have been a good skier, and had a guide and went off skiing with him last week while her children skied other trails without her, and she and the guide were overwhelmed by an avalanche while skiing, and both she and the guide were killed. Even in a big city, there are small communities and pockets of friends. Within a day, I heard about the awful story from several friends, all cried when they told me about it, this apparently lovely, kind woman, in her early 40′s died, leaving 3 young children. Everything about it was saddening and shocking, particularly given the extreme grief of her friends. And the ensuing days were full of heartbreaking stories, at the funeral home, the service (where one friend spoke), the grief of her children, and finally spreading the ashes at sea today. It makes one solemn and pensive to think of it. We all hear stories like it, of car accidents, illness, and strange accidents that happen to those we know or have heard of. Always shocking when it is someone young, and in this case, someone who leaves three children without a mother. A fun afternoon turned tragic will change their lives forever.

There is a group of women I particularly enjoy, good friends, we try to have dinner together, kind of ‘girls night out’ since they’re all married, about once a month. We go to a little restaurant we all love, where they make delicious soufflés. We had dinner there last night, and were catching up on news after we sat down. (All of them knew the woman who died last week in the avalanche and were greatly saddened by it), and we barely had time to exchange the personal headlines of the last month, whose kids were behaving, whose weren’t, what had happened good and bad in the last few weeks, when ten minutes after we sat down, a woman at the next table, slipped out of her seat and onto the floor, unconscious. The restaurant is small, the tables jammed together, and she lay within two or three feet of our table. Everyone was shocked, as her family tended to her (a husband, several children, grandchildren), and the fire department arrived within minutes and got busy. Someone said her heart had stopped, CPR was administered as we all stared in horror, feeling helpless, close enough to reach out and touch her. Again only a few minutes later, the SAMU arrived, it’s a French, ultra medical team of emergency doctors, and the theory is that they treat you where you are, so as not to move you until you’re stable, rather than rushing you to the hospital to treat you there and perhaps lose precious time on the way, or cause more damage by moving a dangerously sick person in crisis. (After what I saw last night, I like the rush me to the hospital theory better!!). There were about 12 members of the medical team, 6 or 8 firemen, and equipment flew, orders were called, most of them were kneeling on the floor, working on her, squeezed between the restaurant tables, as we tried to back up in a minute space to give them room. The poor woman’s heart stopped three times and was started again three times. Hoses, pumps, respirators, defibrillators, monitors, she never regained consciousness as they fought for her life and restarted her heart each time it stopped. Her relatives looked distraught, the restaurant went silent and everyone stopped eating as they watched in horror. It went on for two hours, and apparently eventually they felt they could move her, and a dozen medical people, holding a mountain of equipment surrounded the gurney as they left, with a second gurney carrying more equipment and beeping machines, and the family followed them out in distress. I have no idea if she made it or not. She was in her 70′s, and was clearly in extremis. And for the bystanders it was shocking, in the tiny restaurant, to be on top of her, and as she was sprawled literally in the doorway, with the mob of medical personnel around her, no one could leave. You’d have had to fight your way through the crowd around her, and literally climb over her to get out, not possible. No one ate, no one talked. Eventually, not knowing what else to do, my friends and I prayed, and they were the longest two hours I’ve experienced in years, hoping for the survival of a stranger, it was like being trapped in a nightmarish reality show, watching medical procedures none of us want to know about or remember. We were all badly shaken when it was over. And particularly upsetting was that she had been talking and laughing at a family dinner five minutes before her heart stopped. I felt sick for hours when I got home, I am terrible at medical stuff, even though I have 9 children. The last time one of my daughters cut herself badly in my presence, she bandaged it bravely and I passed out cold. Do NOT call me for a medical emergency, I am a total wooss!!!

But what struck me about both of these incidents was how suddenly life can change, in an instant. How quickly over, how suddenly we can lose someone we know or love. In my late son’s instance, he had years of suffering with bi polar disease, and even his heartbreaking suicide was not a total surprise. My ex-husband’s death happened in six weeks, which was shocking and sad for us all, but we still had 6 weeks to try to understand how sick he was, and it seemed sudden to us. But in 5 minutes? Your heart stops at a restaurant on a fun Friday night dinner? An avalanche on a ski trip? A car accident, something…..and suddenly it’s all over. We all complain about our lives, and get caught up in the details, of workmen who do a bad job or don’t show up, bosses or employees who fall short, friends who annoy us, the drycleaner loses your favorite sweater, children  misbehave in trivial ways. I think we all forget sometimes that we’re not here forever, that we never know how soon it will end and we will lose someone we love, or our own lives, and that the little stuff just doesn’t matter. Faced with these two instances, with people I didn’t know and had never even met, it still shocked me, and reminded me of how grateful we should all be for every single day, every instant, every precious second in lives we are so lucky to have, despite our problems large and small, and with people we love, however imperfect they are and sometimes disappointing. I came home from the restaurant last night, feeling dizzy and sick from all I had seen but sobered by a much bigger realization and so grateful for all the blessings in my life. These strangers had given me a gift, and it is a sobering reminder to us all to be grateful, to enjoy every minute, to do the things we always mean to do and don’t take the time to….Events like that really make you think, and take stock of your life……I am so grateful, and I send all of you my love, Danielle

Music, Music, Music!!!

Hi, I’m back to recording again, on the music I’ve been telling you about for about a year and a half. I was asked to work with a group of French composers, and write lyrics in both French and English. Sometimes I write the lyrics first, and they match the music to it. And sometimes I write lyrics for compositions that they come up with. It has been an exciting collaboration so far, which I’ve been able to do in breaks in my writing, when I was in France. All of the composers are French, and very talented. They are musicians as well as composers, and we have worked with three very talented singers so far, a man, and two women. And we are finally getting down to the wire here, with results that you will be able to listen to on the Internet, and download, to check them out, in May. I will give you the information, when we are a little further along. We hope to have 10 of our songs available on the Internet, 4 in French, and 6 in English. And we are doing the final recordings now. It has been a very exciting project since we started it. And writing lyrics for songs has opened up whole new horizons for me, and has taught me a lot about the music world.

We’re recording in a studio just outside Paris, and the technical aspect of recording is fascinating, it’s also very exciting for me to write the lyrics and then see them come to life with the music, and a singer expressing what I’ve written. We watch the whole recording session, while the arrangers and technicians make corrections, and mix the music and songs on enormously complicated panels, and we spend hours in the studio making corrections and changes, until we all feel we got it right.  We will have several more recording sessions before they add final musical touches, eventually it will go for ‘mastering’, and then in May, hopefully you will be able to hear the results. I hope you love it!!!   I’ll keep you posted on our progress as we get closer to the time.

Love, Danielle

Paris Fashion Week, Part 2

The second part of Paris Fashion Week was even busier for me than the first, racing between fashion shows, and joining up with my daughters whenever possible, and visiting two of the showrooms where buyers place orders. The week seemed to gain momentum as it sped along, with hordes of editors, journalists and buyers flying in, parties every night, and some beautiful runway shows to see. I enjoyed them all. The whole event ends today as I write this, and all I heard for the past two days was how exhausted everyone was. Going to fashion shows all day, racing from one location to another, placing orders or writing articles, and partying at night until the wee hours is fun, but tiring and ‘hard-work’. I was just an observer, not working, so I can’t complain, but after more than a week of going to shows and events, I’m tired too, my ears feel like they’re about to fall off from wearing tight earrings, and my feet are aching from trotting everywhere in high heels. I was ecstatic to put on jeans and flats after the last show.

Last Monday, I saw the Giambattista Valli fashion show, which was a first for me, and it was a beautiful show of ladylike clothes with a ‘twist’, interesting details here and there, great colors, embroideries and some pastel and brightly colored fur details. The show was held in a space on the Place Vendome, and I sat next to the American Ambassador and enjoyed talking to him. And I loved the show.

And that night, I attended the Givenchy show, in an enormous warehouse in a more remote part of Paris, which looked like an airplane hangar. There was a singer and live band which played during the show. And Givenchy went a whole different direction, with an entirely different look. The trend for next fall seems to be sophisticated looking very chic, high fashion clothes (Balenciaga, Celine, Dior), instead Givenchy went young and kicky with floral fabric, lots of gauze thin see-through skirts, and a kind of gypsy look. It was young and fun, and unexpected, and unique among the other shows. The other shows were more what I would wear, but it was fun to see the whimsical floral fabrics and gypsy look (worn in the show with little short red and purple wigs!!).

On Tuesday morning bright and early, thousands of people (possibly two or three thousand, most shows are smaller, and some are more intimate) marched into the Grand Palais, a beautiful old glass domed structure, to see the Chanel show. It was in a vast space, and the decor at Chanel is always impressive (as compared to minimalist at Givenchy, in a huge concrete space). This time Chanel had put up a GIGANTIC black globe which reached almost to the top of the Grand Palais, with countries outlined in gold, and illuminated flags to indicate where the Chanel stores are throughout the world. I can now tell you that there are none in Africa, only one in South America, a ton of them in the States and Europe. And as the globe revolved slowly, the models circled it, so everyone in the entire hall could see the clothes. Since it was the fall collection, there were lots of tweeds and wools, many coats (short in front, long in back), and boots with chains. As always it was a dazzling selection. It was a huge show, with endless combinations and outfits. There was something for everyone in that collection. We were each given a little bag of makeup samples on the way in, which is always fun. (Some houses give out their perfume). And Karl Lagerfeld, the brilliant designer who creates Chanel took a bow at the end, as all the designers do.

And three hours later, my daughter and I were walking through the Tuileries gardens, right in front of the Louvre, to line up at a tent put up to house some of the fashion shows. We were there to see the Valentino show, the final one for us. And there again they went ladylike with a young touch, and beautiful simple dresses in great colors. There was a lot of white in all of the collections for next fall. The Valentino show was very beautiful and very elegant, and a great finale for us.

And I have to tell you, by the time we left Valentino and hiked back to our car, I couldn’t wait to take my shoes off, get out of dressed up clothes and park my earrings. I was so tired of wearing clothes and getting dressed up by the end of the week! And everyone was saying pretty much the same thing. Having to look put together, and fashionable every day is a lot of work. With my solitary isolation as I write, no one sees me and I don’t leave the house, and I can wear torn jeans and comfortable old sweaters. I don’t have to wear stilettos and makeup and look great every day. But with hundreds of photographers around at all times, particularly at the fashion shows, you have to look your best all the time!!

And for us, that was the end of Fashion Week. My daughters went out with some friends on the last night, to several parties, and I was happy to stay home. I was ready to collapse in a heap!! And quite amazingly, even though we were exhausted, we weren’t tired of clothes yet. We saw so many beautiful things on the runway that it makes you excited about what will be in the stores in the fall, and about wearing pretty clothes. It becomes a challenge to keep up the fast pace during Fashion Week. And there are lots of men who attend the shows, to see the clothes and the models. Some are buyers, some celebrities, and some just enjoy seeing it. We heard every imaginable language around us. Fashion Week is a very International event. We also went to two showrooms between shows, where American designers had rented spaces to take orders from European buyers. We saw the beautiful collections of Proenza Schouler, really gorgeous things, and in a more casual vein Current Elliott/Equipment/Joie, which do casual informal wear. Current Elliott are my favorite jeans and very ‘hot’ in Europe. Great stuff and fun to see.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. My girls have gone back to work now and I’m back at my typewriter. It’s a little bit like being Cinderella after the ball. The party’s over, the beautiful clothes packed up or in showrooms where the buyers will place orders. And in the next day or two, everyone will be home again, where they started, and the collections seem like a dream…until we see it all in stores in the Fall. It’s an exciting preview of what’s to come, and for me it’s a privilege to be there with my girls!! Now, back to business as usual, just like Cinderella! After the ball, it’s back to work…

Love, Danielle.