The Paris of Harriet Calo

Harriet Calo was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, La Vie en Rose, and Marie Claire and came to Paris enviably often for both work and pleasure. I often had the privilege of walking arm in arm with her along the Boulevard Saint Germain. That moment, between a croissant at Café de Flore and the Chanel show at the Grand Palais, was for me the most delightful quarter of the year. For our Paris theme week, I knocked on la Calo's door for tips, memoirs, and the much-needed joie de vivre.

Actually, you should have been born in Paris. Do you feel that way too?
‘It could very well be that I was made there. I am very happy living in Amsterdam, as long as I can step onto the Thalys at least once a month.’

Do you remember the first time in Paris? How was that?
‘I don't remember my first time because I was still a baby then. My grandmother's brother owned a hotel in Paris, and we – father, mother, little sister, and I – regularly stayed with Annie, one of his loves. I remember her tiny apartment on Boulevard Haussmann, and especially the enormous dust bunnies under the bed. Yes, the Parisian allure came to me later.’

You probably can't count the number of times you've been to Paris, but there's probably one visit you won't soon forget, tell....
‘It's hard to choose, the kisses that Karl Lagerfeld blew on my cheeks in the Grand Palais after I handed him a fashion award on behalf of Marie Claire? Choosing a dress for Audrey Hepburn in his atelier for a photoshoot? (Yes, I've been around that long.) Hearing Rudolf Nureyev's old bones creak when he danced L’après-midi d’un faune one last time at the Opéra Garnier? Our delightful shopping sprees? Do you remember, my dearest May, that time we had no invitation for the highlight of fashion week, the Chanel show, due to a strange misunderstanding, and I bought a Dior bag just to show off? Ha, that would teach her.’

I know you have been sleeping in the same hotel for years and years. Does each Paris day have a fixed schedule?
‘First a bit of messing around with coffee and croissants in bed at Hotel Crystal (five steps out of the alley and you're at Café de Flore), put on something nice and then hop, out onto the street. Walking is nowhere as enjoyable as in Paris, the wide sidewalks, the sandstone facades that always let in light, even when it rains. I always feel like I come into my own better in Paris. Moreover, the air pollution does something nice for my hair. It always looks better there. There isn't a fixed Paris schedule, but I do set aside a few hours for Le Bon Marché. This stylish department store is heaven on earth. All the beautiful brands neatly gathered, not too big, good lighting, and I believe no music. I have lunch depending on which arrondissement I'm in, which season, and certainly also in which company. A few favorites on the right bank are the terraces in the lovely little park Palais Royal, Marly under the arches of the Louvre, right across from the pyramid so a continuous show, or Loulou at the back of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. I notice that I mainly choose restaurants with a pleasant terrace. That must be the Covid effect. On the left bank, of course, you also make beautiful lunch memories. The terrace of La Société, which is around the corner from café Les Deux Magots, just as classic as Flore, the terrace at the foot of the Saint-Sulpice church, or just a salad on the terrace of some inviting brasserie. Anything goes. After lunch, a little nap, and then I like to wander through the rooms of a small museum or even better: an artist's studio turned museum. I can really recommend it, because not only is the human scale attractive, but there are no lines at those lesser-known doors. The house of Gustave Moreau is such a beautiful house, filled from threshold to attic with his drawings and over-the-top paintings, or the former house/studio of Eugène Delacroix, on the prettiest square in Paris, Place Furstenberg. Another lovely museum is the Musée de la Vie Romantique, where the Dutch painter Arie Scheffer lived and worked. It's located in the ninth arrondissement, which is young and hip and fun, and you can easily stroll to the Butte de Montmartre. This is how the sweet Parisian days fill up. The evenings are for our Parisian friends, and usually, we have dinner at home, in the seventh.’

If time and company can be filled freely and even the dead could rise, with whom and how would you fill your day in Paris?
‘With the living, please, with my Milan, just wandering around a bit, having a grand crème at some random corner terrace, buying a nice cashmere sweater in Rue du Bac at Eric Bompard, maybe a sandwich at Le Palette and then a round of galleries there in rue de Seine. Well, alright: one dead then, just to browse in Sonia Rykiel's shop on Saint Germain. Together with you, maMay.’

Which book, film or artist brings you back to Paris?
‘First names suffice to – even if only for a moment – dream of Paris: Yves, Karl, Christian, and also Zizi, Josephine, Carine, Juliette, Sonia… Do you know the Netflix series Dix Pour Cent, about a film and theater agent, with a famous French actor or actress playing themselves in each episode? Ah, that's such a funny series and you're in a delightful Paris. And it's about time to watch Intouchables again. Omar Sy, I won't say more.’

On days like this when we can't go to Paris, how do you bring the French feeling to Amsterdam?
‘A lick of Rouge Noir on the nails, a touch of 24 Rue Faubourg between the breasts, and since we're on the subject: nothing is more Parisian than going sans brassière, or leaving your little bra at home. It can be that simple.’

Are you team underground, taxi, bike or the old-fashioned pram?
‘Walk, always walk, and if the destination is too far, then take a taxi. And do you believe me if I tell you that I sometimes take the bus?’

What can we learn from the Parisians?
‘The presentation! Of everything and especially of oneself. Parisians present their casually looking but meanwhile most beautiful selves to the world every day. And then there's this: it doesn't matter where you have lunch or drink coffee in Paris, you really have to try hard to get something presented poorly. Here in the Netherlands, there's nothing to it, being served something dirty. TERRIBLE.’

And what can they learn from us?
‘I wanted to say to be a bit nice, but uh, well, let me put it this way: a little laughter and fun doesn't hurt.’

Are you a left banker or a right banker?
‘Left!’

What are Parisian women you like to lavish yourself on?
‘Previously mentioned Loulou de la Falaise, socialite, muse of both Yves and Karl, pleasantly eccentric and also the daughter of a marquis. Unfortunately, she didn't live past sixty-three. I love women who are their own man, free and light-footed, tough and elegant. So there.

A little nod to Mijn Amsterdam in the PS Bijlage of Parool.

Most beautiful square in Paris:
I already mentioned Place Furstenberg, so as a second, the prestigious city square Place du Palais Bourbon, if only because Vogue Paris was once made there.’

Ever drink un tasse de thé with... in Paris:
‘If I want it, I've already done it, or am I being very arrogant now?’

Out of Paris with pitch and feathers:
‘Strange, but I just can't think of it.’

Favourite restaurant:
‘In winter, I'm quite a fan of the sauerkraut from Brasserie Lipp, in summer a bit of salmon at Minipalais, in a cooling breeze on the balustrade of the Grand Palais. Ai, it shouldn't be, but the foie gras at Angelina or at Café de l’Esplanade.’

Never do Paris again:
‘Swimsuits fit in Galeries Lafayette. In general, Galeries Lafayette. Way too busy and chaotic.’

Standard along as a souvenir:
‘A pencil from Astier de Villatte, a tiny boutique with beautiful gifts on rue Saint-Honoré, near the Palais Royal. And for when it's a full moon and I still want to sleep, a tube of Donormil, just available at any pharmacy. Anyway, hooray for the French pharmacy.’

Required reading if you are in Paris:
‘Walking and looking and smelling and listening and feeling.’

I miss this when I'm not there:
‘The scent, the allure, the snobbery, the enormous range of beauty and the inspiration.’

If corona is a thing of the past again, when and with whom will you go to Paris and what will you do?
‘Right now, with my Milan. I WANT NOW.’