Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [45]
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THE SHOW OF SHOWS
The Paris fashion haute-couture shows are scheduled in late January for the spring/summer collections and early July for autumn/winter ones. However, most established couturiers present a more affordable prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) line, and many have abandoned haute couture altogether. Prêt-à-porter shows are usually in late January and September. All major shows are ultra-exclusive affairs – even eminent fashion journalists must fight tooth and nail to get a spot on the sidelines. For an overview of Parisian fashion, check out Le Bon Marché Click here, which has an excellent collection of all the big labels and couture designs. For some catwalk action, there’s a weekly fashion show at Galeries Lafayette. In some stores you can join mailing lists to receive fashion-show invitations, but you need to be in Paris at the right time to attend.
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SPEAKA DA LINGO
Verlan, a kind of French Pig Latin, has been the lingua franca of choice among the branché (hip) street-smart of Paris for almost two decades now. It’s really just a linguistic sleight of hand, and its very name is illustrative of how it works. L’envers means ‘reverse’ in French, right? Well, twist it around – take the ‘vers’ and have it precede the ‘l’en’ and you get verlan – more or less. Of course that’s the easy bit; shorter words – ‘meuf’ for femme (woman), ‘keum’ for mec (guy), ‘teuf’ for fête (party), ‘keuf’ for flic (cop) and ‘auch’ for chaud (hot; as in cool) are a bit trickier to recognise for the uninitiated.
In recent years the language has started to go mainstream and a few words of verlan – for example beur (French-born Algerian) – have entered the lexicography (if not dictionary) of standard French. Of course, the whole idea of verlan was for it to be a secret language – a kind of Cockney rhyming slang – for youths to communicate freely in front of parents, and criminals in front of the police. The next step was obvious: re-verlan words already in the lingo. Thus beur becomes reub and keuf is feuk. Fun (that’s English verlan for ‘enough’).
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Despite the invasion of ‘Made in China’ clothes for clones, Parisians never look like fashion victims nor do they go in for anything remotely vulgar or brassy. They stick to a neutral palette: black, grey, beige, brown and white, adding good accessories and great haircuts. They may mix and match designer labels with H&M, making it look like it was all bought on the posh av Montaigne in the 8e. And it is this elegance that attracts visitors from around the globe.
This is a society that coined the expression lèche-vitrine (literally ‘window-licker’) for window-shopping; ‘tasting’ without buying is an art like any other so don’t be shy about just having a look. The fancy couture houses on av Montaigne may seem daunting, as many of their gleaming façades sit behind little fences, giving the impression of luxurious private homes. In most, however, no appointment is necessary and you can simply walk on in. Don’t expect overly friendly service but do expect courtesy; after all, how are they to know that behind your jeans-and-sneakers façade you’re not hiding a significant trust fund and a penchant for Lagerfeld?
No doubt about it, Parisians take fashion seriously and nowhere is that more obvious than in the new Cité de la Mode et du Design, known as ‘Docks en Seine’. The undulating green ‘wave’ that dances across the front façade is best appreciated from the other side of the river.
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LANGUAGE
Respect for the French language is one of the