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Beauty & Fashion Notes: A Day in Boston (more on the Jean Patou vs. Chanel debate)
Beauty & Fashion Notes: A Day in Boston (more on the Jean Patou vs. Chanel debate)
Posted by Dain, Sunday, January 13, 2008 10:26 AM (Eastern)
I went a-shopping in Boston yesterday, and here is the story of my adventures.
I started off at Lord & Taylor's. I attempted to return my NARS Push Liner brush, which I had lost previously. This is perhaps the best eyeliner brush on the market, and it well ought to be, considering that it's $30. The bristles were bent when I got it, and I figured, no big deal, but it seems to make a difference in the performance of the product, so I wanted an exchange. No such luck, the L&T did not sell NARS.
Looked around in Anthropologie, was unimpressed. I then went to French Connection, and looked very carefully at a pewter silk skirt edged in navy—it's high time I replaced my navy linen one—which ultimately didn't really strike me as anything special, even as a basic. This was fortunate, as it turns out, because I then went to Second Time around, an excellent consignment shop on Newbury St. There I found a Missoni skirt, at $136, which does the rare thing of being both neutral and unique. It's a swingy velvet skirt, in a queer, unusual green tea shade that's quite subdued and silvery when it catches the light, and subtle polka dots the same shade as the silver. $136 is a bit expensive for how hard I am on my skirts, but I thought to myself, god knows how much it originally cost, and though I'm not a fan of Missoni in general, it's certainly a step above in interest and quality over French Connection or Banana Republic. So it seemed a tolerable price for something I needed, until they rang it up: $68 for skirt that must have originally cost $900. The saleslady was amused by my glee (in a totally nice way). Now I have the base for my spring/summer wardrobe, though it's a color that could manage year round.
Bought a pair of sky blue tights for my little sister at American Apparel, then rooted around the 50% clearance at Louis, but they did not have Saturn, the lipstick I wanted, in their Chantecaille selection. And later, when I went to Barneys, they were out.
Then went to the Chanel boutique to gawk, not those those weird quilted bags that everyone else fawns over (I know pretty when I see it, and I am not going to be blinded by Cs strangling each other), but at the Les Exclusifs. I am late on this, but... 31 Rue Cambon, by the way, is gorgeous, a dry floral chypre that sweetens in the drydown, and I find myself considering it instead of No. 19, it's that's good. Somehow it has both radiance and earthiness, which is strange and wonderful to experience: this has been done without oakmoss, maybe that is why. It has risen to second place on wishlist (after Tubéreuse Criminelle), and I only hesitate because it is an EDT and rather fleeting. I have emailed them asking if other concentrations are slated for release.In any case, I made sure to test No. 5, the EDP. Now, to pit that against vintage Joy parfum may seem like water to wine, but I find the Chanel EDPs tend to be quite good and strong, and at the very least leave good impressions. Are they alike? At first, I thought not, No. 5 seemed softer, soapier, and yet, once the roar of aldehydes die down: yes, very much so. Joy is more naturalistic, it gives the impression of actual flower petals rather than "notes", but I find them to be very similar.
I next went to the Loro Piana store, where I did indeed gawk. I've seen the stuff online, but I had no idea that the pieces were this beautiful, or the quality this high (the cashmeres were like clouds), though the prices would make you cry. I fell in love with a cashmere cardigan-cum-jacket, snowy white with a think nubbly knit and silver-crystal beads at the edging, and the fit was outstanding. The style was rather like a Chanel jacket, but Loro Piana blows Chanel out of the water as far as classic elegance and luxury is concerned, and even Hermes, which actually deserves the hype. You could feel the quality in every single Loro Piana piece, rendering the demands of trends and time utterly superfluous. The image on the right does little justice, it is quite a tactile experience, and every knit only becomes more excellent the closer you come to it. And the price? $3500. Cripes. I'll be haunting Yoox.It was time for lunch, so I went to Piatinni (again, on Newbury St.), which I highly recommend for pleasant wines and nice, light food. In particular, I recommend their shrimp-and-pecan salad and the lobster ravioli, which I washed down with some chianti. For dessert, I had a glass of their excellent muscat (Coppo Moscato d'Asti).
I went to Neimans and snagged a couple of samples (they were exceedingly nice about it): Creed Angelique Encens (inspired by that Marlene Dietrich video I posted a couple days ago) and Jean Patou Sublime (EDT, this time on Colleen's particular mention). Both are excellent. Angelique Encens quite overturns my tentative claim that I may not be an incense girl (it is also recognized by perfume snobs to be the only great scent from Creed, but I really like Tubéreuse Indiana): dark and smoky and sweet with resinous amber and myrrh, yet somehow it displays a sort of radiance in spite of the moodiness. I'd classify Sublime as a floriental, actually: it has that same seamless quality of Jean Patou that I had described previously and loads of classically beautifully florals over a ambery-vanilla-sandalwood sweetness: ylang ylang (this gives it a slightly soapy feeling at first), jasmine, rose, and neroli. It has a real bombshell quality to it, unlike the restrained loveliness of Normandie and the severe classicism of Joy. Also tried Sira des Indes, which I did not like, this is Jean Patou's take on the fruity-floral trend, and if you have read this blog before, it is fairly clear why I do not like it.
Went to browse shoes, or more specifically, to ponder Manolos with my favorite salesman. It was crowded, and two older ladies followed me around admiring my dress. Tried on the pair at left, a glittering, extravagant exclusive. It should go without saying that they were beautiful to wear, but as much as I was looking for a frivolous evening heel, I wanted color. He recommended coming back in February for the spring offerings, but it turns out that the purple Yambamod were still available at Barneys in my size, and since they were still as gorgeous as ever, I *gulp* bought them. I only have the perfect sandal to go before my shoe collection will be complete.On a related note, may I say that the service at Barneys kind of sucks? I got a sample of Malin + Goetz Grapefruit Face Cleanser and Vitamin E Moisturizer, because I've really liked the other products I tested, and the saleslady was gracious enough to give me a couple of Sonya Dakar samples too. Outside of this, however, I met with rich condescension. But when I went to sniff Serge Lutens (I found Gris Clair unremarkable, but then I am picky about lavenders, and Chypre Rouge too fruity—by this point, I must have smelled nauseating) and asked about samples, the salesladies sniffed at me. When I tried to buy Chantecaille Saturn (they were out of stock), again, they sniffed at me. When I went to the perfume counter, no one came to help me. When I tried to buy my shoes, the lady I had bought my boots from condescendingly remarked that I was here "again". I'm sure they have their share of "people who only come to gawk and manhandle", but I was a buying customer! Barneys is a great store when it comes to merchandise, but their service is quite terrible.
After my Manolo purchase, I decided I had been naughty enough and went home.
Labels: american apparel, beauty notes, chanel, creed, fashion notes, jean patou, loro piana, malin + goetz, manolo blahnik, missoni, perfume, shu uemura
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