Disposable Diary

Hello darlings!

 Yesterday I finally got my negatives back from the lab! I love carrying a disposable around and more than often I get to have others take my picture with it...

In this one I was walking to school on my usual route through the famous Pont des arts (you know, where lovers put a lock on the fence w their names on and through the keys in the Seine so their love will last forever? I've heard that the Mairie has to constantly take them down as there are just too fucking many of 'em!)  when it started POURING rain right as I got out! 

It was just so ridiculous that I asked a passing asian tourist to snap my photo. Like ''Oh look at me! I'm in Paris and it's raining but I'm loving it!". Too good to turn down ;)

I was planning on working on the sound studio, but by the time I got there, about 5 minutes after, I was already soaking wet. Luckily I had a change off clothes as I previously left stuff for the shop to photograph in a suitcase there.

And, bien sur, in typical Parisian fashion, next time I went out half hour later it was almost nice and nice. Just almost. That means pretty much grey.  Below there's a couple more shots from my walk from Pont Neuf to Pont des arts; do notice the closed bouquinistes stands!

As for the weather... A British girl told me today that Paris is way nicer than London in this respect, but it's still like London in terms of grey, wind, rain only...milder; sooo... go Paris? 

  

 

 

  bisoux,
Sandra

Latest photoshoot - me and Viktorja part II

Hello darlings!

 

I know I keep feeding you old news, but these photos were just too ridiculously goofy to pass...

You may remember that post about our photoshoot with Viktorja on one of those days it was supposed to be sunny but got suspiciously dark right when we were ready to start?

What can I say? We were lucky enough it didn't rain!

These are a few quick shots we took right before leaving while Viktorja was getting ready... The skirt and blazer should be in the boutique next week!

Don't mind the retarded Halloween pumpkin that was actually starting to get gross...

 

So, if this was a pre-shoot, you could call this series a post-shoot as by the time we came back to the apartment from the nearby piazza we were shooting, the sun was ready to set, the sky still overcast and we kinda had to resort to a few tricks to make it work: let's call them mr. long exposure and mrs. discreet artificial lighting.  Might need to plan things out better next time...

A la prochaine?

 bisoux,
Sandra 

On Set - Une bouteille de vin sur la table pt.I

Hello darlings!

Hope everyone has spent a lovely weekend so far and a nice Thanksgiving back in the States.

These photos are almost a month old and sincerely I have no idea where did all that time fly... 

As I mentioned in the about me page, sometimes I get to work with people making films. Sometimes I need to be on set as well and for this particular shoot we had to take a little field trip to the far edges of Ile-de-France, the ones you need to reach by railway.

It was the morning after Halloween, right on the national holiday of Tous Saints (in Romania we celebrate November 1st as day of the dead as well, which mostly translates into tons of chrysanthemums and  candles and people cleaning graves...), we started the day with sunshine that turn into a 10-minute hail storm right when we got off the bus to catch our train, followed by more sunshine in the afternoon as you can notice.

I think that describes Parisian weather pretty well for you- clouds, sun, hail then sunny again. Some friends of mine once said you can have the whole seasonal cycle here in one day and they weren't completely wrong.

Waking up early and facing the hail proved worth it in the end as the house we were shooting at was really nice and the whole area looked very much like a lost medieval countryside, even if it was only a half hour away from Gare de L'Est. 

As you can notice from my outfit, we left in such a hurry that I didn't even get to shower ( yes, such a french thing to do )  and threw on my comfy go-to outfit : AA riding pants, cashmere sweater, loafers and a big blazer. 

Of course I ALSO had a ridiculous '30s hat on, the one that makes me look like peter pan, but by the middle of the day I just took it off and had another failed attempt of gathering my unruly in-between-lengths hair in a damn ponytail.

We were shooting a short film with only two characters that an actress friend of mine wrote with her bff based on an improv piece they did.

This was a particularly small and friend-based crew but it was still a very nice experience. I was in charge of costumes and decor and just went for the pre-shoot day in order to dress the set. 

 And, as on every shoot, there's a lot of time when you're just waiting around doing nothing... So I just took advantage of the nice light to good around with one of the test cameras; I still don't like using digital cameras for my work, but the place was so pretty and I was too tired to think about bringing my trusty Russian Chmena or any disposable so I had to make do.

Here you have a nice shot of the house we were shooting at and a bit of the garden with all the nice little details that made it so charmingly French. 

 In the end my boredom shots turned out to be good location scouting and I also found a swing!

I was the only one going back to Paris in the evening, I felt like in Mad Men, taking the suburban train from the city home... only the other way around.

The rest of the crew spent the weekend shooting at this lovely house. 

There will be a follow-up with the girls and the costumes, I'm really curious to see the final result!

Stay tuned!

bisoux,
Sandra  

The Daily Lounge ep.2 - Henry Miller's Opium Den

Hello darlings!

Japanese robe: vintage

Night gown : thrifted in Romania

Nail polish: American Apparel

OK, this might be a little too much of a description for what it is, but I was reading Anais Nin's erotica book Delta of Venus today on the metro and the last story I was reading was about a French hat maker who moved to Peru and was the most adored of shared lovers, her boutiques slowly transformed into an opium den.

Ever since I started writing and recording my own erotica (that you can still read here) people have been recommending Anais Nin's Diaries to me.

Maybe a series or erotic stories that she's been writting for some mysterious collector at 'one dollar a page' may not be good start, but so far I've enjoyed the brutality and 'lack of poetry' in the clinical descriptions that this guy was apparently demanding.

There have been a few warmer nights and I did want to feel like a diva, so I put on what i consider to be my prettiest nightgown, even if it's obviously designed for somebody with a REAL bust.

But I do enjoy the decadence and amount of eroticism inherent to this outfit, even if it's just some soft rayon silk-like fabric and not the real deal.

   

When I look at this photo now I like to imagine Henry Miller out on a lunch picnic with Isadora Duncan, filmed by Victor Erice who playfully rolled a quince from his magical tree at them.

And now I should quit my silly name dropping that makes me get caught in my infantile web of references and get some well-deserved sleep...

Bonne nuit a tous!

 bisoux,
Sandra   

  

 

Introducing... The Daily Lounge!

                                                                                                                                                                   

Hello darlings!

 Yesterday I just came up with an idea- every single blogger on the planet who's running a fashion/vintage-related blog does what they call those ''outfit posts''. OK, maybe not everyone. But most of them do.

And we see more or less elaborated photos, heavily edited in general taken with fancy cameras in cool locations that want to showcase real people wearing everyday clothes. 

With the development of street style and the ''what i wore'' sites like Lookbook or Chictopia, the root concept that made street style so exciting got kinda blurred out by the Fashion Week celeb shots on the oldest street style blogs (I'm talking to you Sartorialist/ Face Hunter!) and well... the other networks are just too staged to be ''real''.

Of course, don't get me wrong, I don't believe everything and everyone is like that, but it's just a little say... awkward to see that you can't relate to those people anymore. What happened o the blogosphere since the last time I was around? I guess it just got big.

I don't wanna sound like fat frustrated chips-eating lady (yet I do love my Pringles) who boycotts the use of professional models in women's magazines ut I'd just like things to sound more like they really are.

Of course we all want to look our best in photos and maybe in the end it would be depressing to just see girls with greasy hair and sweatpants. 

BUT, and this is what I'm asking you- aren't we all like that? At least one day a week? I simply can't imagine that someone would be wearing heels and red lips 24/7 then slip into some lacy nightgown and kitten-heeled slippers and wake up like that.

So, in order to maybe add something different to the whole debate, I give you... The Daily Lounge!

Yes, that's exactly what it is- the stuff you don't see but you kinda would wanna see. 

The stuff we wear when we get home after a long day out and about, the holey sweaters you throw on when you think nobody's there to see you, the shirts you sleep in and those oh-so-comfy leggings you like eating your chips in while wrapped in a blanket.

 

...and for its first episode I give you yesterday's outfit : a 70s Terry full body pajamas!

The softest, warmest thing in the world that I do need to take off each time I need to go to the ladies' room, that make my already big thighs enormous and overall just make me look like a HUGE baby.

I recently got them from Cricketcapers on Etsy and they're probably one of the best investments I ever made.

Of course, I was sick with cramps all day and didn't go in at the office, stayed in bed and watched enough Bill Hicks to make me feel better about being an angry, negative bitch to everyone around this time of the month.

And of course after a while I just HAD to put on a pretty flower crown I made, in order to feel prettier... May I need to add- it worked?

What's your favorite around the house lounge outfit?  Do you invest in fancy pajamas? 

 bisoux,
Sandra 

Vintage French pins...

Dear readers,

In order to celebrate the first shop anniversary ( does one month really count? YES! ), I'm giving away a free pin from my collection with your purchase! 

These metal pins were really popular in the '70s and '80s and represented pretty much the French norm. 

Shiny, metallic, campy and colorful, everyone had to have one. Or a few!

Just add a comment to seller in Etsy and specify your choice.

Thank you!

bisoux,
Sandra 

A very late shop update...

 Hello darlings!

Still finishing the shop update started this week... Here you have a lovely bullet bra, a darling 70s suede skirt, a sassy perfect cognac-brown pencil skirt and the most amazing pair of skorts! That are Karl Lagerfeld on top of everything!

Preparing more sweet blouses, dresses and sweaters for next time! Stay tuned!

bisoux,
Sandra 

Oh! millinery flowers...

 Hello darlings!

 Took advantage of the little bit of morning light I get in the apartment to take some better pictures of the flower headband I made...

I know it's not really in season, but they're perfect to brighten up those winterish days!

I've been wanting to make these since forever, only never found the right supplies. I'm pretty happy with the result and just ordered more vintage flowers, so prepare for bobby pins, hair combs and more crowns in the future!

I haven't really seen them handmade around here, maybe it's a good market gap to fill?

I'm planning to go to the Puces de Clignancourt in the weekend as well to look for supplies, although I have an intuition they might be ugly and overpriced...

Or should I just wait for the spring? Or make something more season appropriate?

 

What do you think about millinery flower accessories? Is the flower crown trend over?

bisoux,
Sandra 

 

Last week's photoshoot - me and Viktorja part I

Hello darlings!

 

 Last week has been pretty hectic for me... Started my internship at Re:Voir, an experimental film DVD editor/boutique and have been going in every day, had to catch up with school work and was preparing this major update for Etsy.

So my weekend meant just more work, but it's been also fun becuase I got to hang out with my new friend Viktorja, we got to dress up and chase the last rays of sun on Sunday. By the time we finished make up it was already 4pm and depressingly grey, after it's been relatively nice for the whole day!

I guess that's just Paris... and winter is no fun either. At least it wasn't raining this time around!

We only got to shoot a set of outfits outside, then we struggled with the setting sun and long exposure on our balcony.

Oh and did I mention we were using manual lenses that are impossible to focus? 

And the fuchsia of her suit that had to be desaturated in Lightroom? Fun! What can I say, I'm still learning the quirks of a new trade...

So here are a few exterior shots from last Sunday. For Viktorja it was her first time modelling but I think she's got it in her.

Enjoy!

What are your photo shoot experiences? When do you consider it too cold to shoot outside?

 bisoux,
Sandra

New Start

Hello darlings!

Welcome to the new blog of the Last Tango in Paris Vintage boutique!

First of all, a big thank you for everyone who's been following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Etsy so far and of course my lovely first customers!

It's been great to see all the support and positive feedback I've been getting so far!

I just realized today - the shop is one month old! So creating this new, real blog sounds like enough of a celebration to me so far, don't you think?

Stay tuned for more shop updates, lookbook photos and just tiny details of everyday Parisian life.

Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

bisoux,
Sandra