Spring has arrived in Paris! Winter cashmere scarves are making way for linen scarves: saturated lavender, egg yolk yellow and kelly green. The scarves were out in full force last night at a private reception Pierre Berge hosted at his Fondation in conjunction with le Musee Ethnograhique de la Russie. Berge was Yves Saint Laurent’s business partner and life partner. My jet-setting Parisian host introduced me to Pierre whom we congratulated on the success of YSL-Berge auction last month, and he in turn invited us to take a look at the exhibit.
The exhibit showcased 19th and 20th Century native Russian costumes juxtaposed against YSL’s Russian collections from the mid 70s and late 90s. It was very interesting to see how the peasant colors and textures were interpreted into haute couture. More interesting was the fact that there were many American Franco-files and suspiciously few Russians at the event?
After a couple of glasses of champagne, we began to think of plans for dinner. The archivist at the foundation, a native New Yorker, made the comment to us that the 16th is such a boring place. I disagreed with her. To me the 16th feels very authentic, very Parisian. This arrondissement reminds me of the upper Eastside. Its an established neighborhood, an institution.
Ironically, we left the 16th and headed to the 8th to eat at la Maison de l’Aubrac on rue Marbeuf. The downstairs looks like some sort of Swiss Chalet on crackrock, and is primarily reserved for tourists. However, the upstairs is very hip and has a similar vibe and menu to Citta Nuova in East Hampton. We were initially told, “it’s not possible” to sit upstairs as we had no reservation. My host flashed a smile and said the American he was dining with is difficult, would it be possible to sit upstairs….It was possible.
37 rue Marbeuf
75008 Paris
www.maison-aubrac.com
