final lessons paris fashion week

And just like we did after the previous fashion weeks we are also concluding with the final lessons this time. Because running around in Paris for a week certainly yields a ton of life lessons, and we love to share those with you. Here we go.

Buy one way metro tickets but NEVER throw them away
I had planned to rent a bike but ended up doing everything by metro. The metro system in Paris is fantastic and super efficient, only the tickets are a disaster. When I arrived at Gare du Nord, I bought a metro ticket that is valid for two days, but that is quite an expensive trick at almost 30 euros. A one way ticket is 1.80 and you’re not going to spend 30 euros on the metro in two days. So afterwards, I kept buying a whole bunch of one way tickets, but they just piled up in my bag and it became a chaos. “Oh come on, you should just throw those things away immediately after you’ve gone through the gate,” said my friend Sander from Bazaar. So I did that, until we hurried to Hermès and as we were leaving the metro, we walked into a bunch of police officers who wanted to check my ticket. My ticket that I had neatly thrown away because you can only use it once. Never in all the years I’ve been coming to Paris have I experienced a check, really never. Until now. The gentlemen were relentless and I had to pay a fine, despite showing all my other tickets frantically. 33 euros fine clean on the hook.

Blogging is hard work
I was out and about for two days with Noor from Queen of Jetlags and through her, I also met many of her blogger friends. Those girls really run all over the city, have ten thousand meetings, and always have to be at their best. Really, take it from me, they work incredibly hard.

Getting photographed never gets easier
Street style photographers have become just as much a part of fashion week as the models, and they are really everywhere. When one starts photographing, the rest follows, and before you know it, you’re being looked at by 50 lenses. I get terribly awkward from that, find it especially very exciting. And frustrating by the way, because I have no idea where all those photos end up. There was one photographer I became good friends with, David Nyanzi. I saw him everywhere and he kept snapping my outfit of the day and sent it to me in the evening. Three cheers for David, but apart from him, I still find it an awkward situation.

Without cigarettes, you don’t count
Where they almost kick you out of the country in New York if you even think about a cigarette, in Paris you really don’t count if you’re not glued to your Marlboro Lights. Everyone smokes. Really everyone. I was waiting somewhere at a show, lit a cigarette, and photographers asked if I could do that again for a photo “because it’s so super French.”

Justin and Tim were the heroes of the week
And I mean Justin O’Shea, buyer for MyTheresa, and Tim Blanks, the reviewer from Style.com. Both men always took the time to give a nice quote, came up with smart and substantive answers, and were always so incredibly friendly, while they are about the busiest men at fashion week.

Fashion week is the most fun ever
Because it really is. And I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, I’m already looking forward to September.

All photos by David Nyanzi