21 comments / Posted on by Deanne Shanteau

So as we all know, I took Style Snob to PARIS! My itch to travel doesn't allow me to just go to one place. Two destinations I feel l always have to make a stop in if I am visiting another country in Europe; Florence or Paris. I am still elated that Roxy and I could make all of this happen. So let's do a run down of what went down shall we?!

Roxy and I took a train from Brussels to Paris super early in the morning. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes by train. The last time I went to Paris I went by train from Amsterdam as well! Let me tell you..when you get off that train and enter the streets of Paris there is such an energy! I personally find Paris to be breathtakingly beautiful. I love the romantic architecture and all the florals in the windows. It is simply beautiful to me.

We arrived to the hotel around 9:30 am and they were able to check us in that early (score). The room was going to be ready in 30 minutes so we enjoyed a tea in the gorgeous tea room. Let's back up a bit though...we chose to stay at the gorgeous, "Hotel Raphael" because we wanted to have a true Parisian experience while feeling as much like Marie Antoinette as possible. A girl can dream, right?

The hotel embodies true Parisian flair, being family owned for four generations with exceptional timeless elegance. The hotel was also in the perfect location, walking distance to the Champs Élysées, Arc de Triomph, Eiffel Tower and everything fabulous in between. 

Once we were through with our tea time,  we settled into our room. The main thing I desired in a room were the French door windows with the balcony. My heart skipped a beat when I got to the room and opened the doors to the outside! I quickly wanted to change and start taking photos in the items from my boutique that I saved for Paris! The main reason I wanted to get this moving was because I wanted to start freely exploring vs. worrying about posed photos...thats the truth! I first and foremost needed a shot in that window! I loved the one in the bathroom the most.

Below is the first look. I love the romantic feel of this set. It gives old world vibes with the cinched top off the shoulder. I couldn't resist buying the cropped top with the skirt despite knowing not everyone feels like sporting a crop top. The skirt itself looks so beautiful paired with a graphic tee and a chic cardi if you are wanting to layer it. It is of a woven, silky fabrication so it feels very luxe. We love that.

 

Following our first photo sesh in Paris, we eagerly hurried upstairs to check out the terrace we only saw in photos of the hotel! If you saw my instagram post, we were in awe and that was our first view right from that elevator.  The elevator was enclosed with windows, you go up, up and then you suddenly oversee all of Paris and it is truly breathtaking. We turned around to exit the evaluator and the most beautiful terrace was awaiting! It was way more beautiful in person than the photos we looked through. And beyond the pops of orange and white decor, you had a clear sight of Le Tour Eiffel. It was like the most pleasant surprise! No one was up there yet so we had the whole place to ourselves to work on some really cool content for my social media platforms. 

 

 

One of my favourite looks of the whole trip is this one below, the "Veuve" dress. I named after the  "Veuve" decor  on the terrace. It was completely unplanned but with my headband + the dress made me feel like Esmerelda looking for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"! It truly is a vibe always, isn't it?

This next look is the "Parisian Floral" dress. This piece is just lightweight and beautiful, it felt right for a Paris "day look." I also think with taupe booties in the fall, this would be super cute with a neutral coloured cardigan. 

Oh and can we talk about espadrilles for a hot minute?! I feel like I need to eventually just do a blog about my love for espadrilles. I have so many but I do wear them all. These ones are my favourite, they are a couple of years old from Soludos. Soludos are my FAVE for espadrilles. Okay let's get back on track now...

Following this little rooftop shoot we ventured out to have a light lunch and start our journey of exploration. We had lunch at a nearby adorable Parisian spot. I was excited to start the trip with a niçoix salad and a glass of rosé. 

 

As I mentioned earlier, our hotel is in a really central place, close to the Arc de Triumph and Champs Éysée! We strolled down the street, passing by the Arc de Triomph, taking some fun shots.

 

 

We also had fun remaking a photo I attempted years ago when I was in Paris! I stood in the centre of Champs Élysée, in the middle of the road (if I was with my boyfriend he would not have been okay with this lol). I always enjoy living on the edge! The vibe could be that I didn't know which side of the street to start shopping on first...

 

We made a stop at Galeries Lafayette as well! So much to see there, the fashion and everything in between. 

 

We hydrated with more rosé at a chic café over looking Champs-Élysées! The view was actually of Tiffany's!

So, Roxy was determined to take me to Goyard. She knows my love for this particular luxury luggage company runs deep. Roxy is a die hard Louis Vuitton collector, she LOVES her bags & SLG's. I am more of a clothing and shoe girl, I don't buy luxury  bags as often as I do shoes. Don't get me wrong, I love nice bags and have had some beautiful bags, but they don't do it for me like shoes do! In Paris...things can change and something comes over you. We headed to Rue Saint-Honoré, where the ORIGINAL original Maison de Goyard from 1853 still stands. I indulged in a little #treatyoself sesh. Let's just say I had ZERO intention of purchasing a bag of any kind on this trip. Roxy totally got her shopping fix instigating me in Goyard. The bags are significantly cheaper as they are made in France, so I bought yet another BOyard. This was more special because it is from the original Maison. I will write more about this in a later blog post.  I don't think it could have been more special though, in the gorgeous Maison with a girlfriend in Paris who "gets it."

 I absolutely loved this street as I hadn't visited this fabulous street of shopping during my previous visit. As you can see, luxury stores go as far as the eye can see. After this we went right across the street to Roxy's Mecca, Louis Vuitton! We went to Louis many times during this trip...and even made some purchases. I will get to that later though. 

After a rest at our hotel we went back out on the town to paint it red. We had "post purchase drinks," more exploring and a delicous din din. 

#spritzinginparis

 We meandered over to the Eiffel Tower! One ting I will say is that if it was someone's first time in Paris it was kind of a bummer that it was so blocked off. We weren't too sure why or what was going on. It was not the same as the last time I was there four years prior (to the day actually). Four years ago we were able to sit on the grass and sip on wine, having a full blown picnic. It wasn't like that this time, but we did grab a crepe nearby and gaze up at the iconic tower.  always make the most of things.

A beautiful shot I got of the Eiffel Tower from across the Seine. I was determined to capture its beauty from some kind of interesting angle and this was it!

 

This is a cute little cafe where we had dinner. For this kind of stuff I truly like to wander. I always say with travel and in life, have an outline not a plan. I don't like being strapped down to things and I especially love walking around and finding places in the moment to eat at. I was also in the moment and did not take a photo of my food..sorry guys. I had steak + fries though...I wanted to make sure I did that while in Paris despite not eating meat much...it was a must!

After one too many glasses of rosé, we went back to our hotel and slept so we could get an early start on our day. We knew we had to stop at Louis Vuitton yet again for my aunt! But first...

 I went up to the rooftop while FaceTiming my boyfriend and the sun was rising. I am SO THANKFUL that I couldn't fall back asleep due to a "hungry tummy." I ventured upstairs with my boo and we had a few moments together watching the sun rise. I decided to include everyone else on social media because that's what I do...I SHARE. These photos don't do the whole thing justice, but you get the gist I hope, so beautiful.

 

Arc de Triomph was right next to our hotel as seen below.

 

Once 6:30 am hit, I finally went down to the front desk to ask if I may order some croissants and tea! They ended up escorting me back upstairs to the rooftop so I could enjoy my goodies there. They don't normally do this, I asked...closed mouths don't get fed right?! lol! Roxy was still asleep so I didn't want to wake her. I was wide awake and feeling inspired to work so that is what I continued to do for the next two hours from right here. Someone pinch me.

 

Once Roxy woke up and found I was living my best life on the rooftop (which she found hilarious), we got ourselves together and headed out on an early morning stroll, walking down Champs-Élysée. I had to get a shot of Roxy in front of the "Mother Ship" of course. We returned there after breakfast and all hell broke loose...

We had the most fabulous dreamy petit-dejeurner t at Ladurée! These are the kinds of places that are the most fun to go to with girlfriends. Everything is absolutely STUNNINGLY gorgeous in there, including their bathroom! It even has a beautiful fireplace. 

 

This was one of my favourite things, I highly recommend going to Ladurée, Paris! This is a must-do for girlfriends traveling through Paris together. I try to be low key but my heart is so bougee so I end up at these places. 

Following our petit-dejeuner, we headed a block up Champs-Élysée to Louis Vuitton. We had to hunt down the perfect bag/wallet set for my aunt. The stores in Europe are just gorgeous. They basically have art installations in them, so aesthetically pleasing to just stare at. This is me, after doing all the damage. My aunt is so sweet. She is not only my aunt (my mom's sister), but she is my God Mother. She never had kiddos of her own and I have held a special place in her heart. She is has always been a hard working boss herself, and she always spoiled me growing up. Well, it is safe to say she still likes to spoil me. She told me to pick out what I wanted as well because she is proud of me. We were all drinking champagne together via FaceTime and I may have cried a little. It was just so sweet and so special of her. And how far has technology come that I can be virtually shopping for my aunt in another country while drinking together?!?! Not only did I pick out items for her, I got to pick them out for a couple of my clients too. This was SO FUN, I will never ever forget it. 

 

After having all the fun at Louis Vuitton, we headed to the Notre Dame! We took some beautiful photos and soaked that all in. WE then grabbed some souvenirs for family and my customers! I had fun picking cute things out the entire trip to bring back for giveaways for my sweet customers. It makes traveling so much more fun when you know people are excited to receive special things when you return.

 

 

I had to squeeze in one last delicious glass of Rosé in Paris before heading back to the hotel to depart back to Brussels, "post purchase drinks." I love enjoying a drink after shopping...also during shopping because why  not! I worked in the land of luxury apparel early on and it certainly gave me my longing for an entire shopping EXPERIENCE. 

 

And that about does it ladies! I truly hope you enjoyed following Style Snob in Paris! I can't wait to do this again next summer, maybe somewhere else though. We shall see. You just have to make things happen, life is too short to do anything less than what sets my soul on fire.

From the mouth of my boyfriend, "Looks like you are having so much fun babe. Paris is like Disney Land for people like you." He is right, if I ever need to find myself I will take a trip to Paris. We'll always have Paris, right?!

Also special thank you to Roxy, thank you for being such an amazing travel partner/assistant/friend/host. You share the same zest for life and its so nice to spend time with someone who lives in Lala land with you. 

 

Sincerely,

#stylesnob

 

21 comments

  • Posted on by Denise Atwood

    Such beautiful pictures! You look fabulous in all the gorgeous clothes!

  • Posted on by Cyndi

    What an enchanting experience‼️Not to mention done in part for your OWN BOUTIQUE ‼️ Plus with a friend & colleague‼️
    I LIVE how you live your best life! It was truly a dreamy blog post for me and the photos added tons of magic! Thank you for sharing!
    Congratulations -#stylesnob 1 year old Happy Birthday!

    PS the next time someone leaves a snarky comment… just remember how YOU live your best life & how they live theirs… I always pity the fools! What could be worse than someone piting you! That is something you will never know because you are a born WINNER‼️❤️❤️😘

  • Posted on by Tami

    How fun!!! I am so glad that you were able to take some time to enjoy and have fun!! Life is too short to stress all the time. All of your photos and stories, I loved!!!
    Thank you so much to you and Roxy for sharing with us all!!! 😘😘😘😘

  • Posted on by Amber Browning

    Always so fabulous and completely on trend especially here representing your very own fashion. Such an accurate backdrop to display your unique style in the center of where most begins, in Paris . Yay💋

  • Posted on by Amber Browning

    Always so fabulous and completely on trend especially here representing your very own fashion. Such an accurate backdrop to display your unique style in the center of where most begins, in Paris . Yay💋