 |
| Ralph Lauren 'The Heiress' home collection. I tore this advertisement out of a magazine years ago and still love it. |
'When
I was very young, growing up in the Bronx, I saw the world through a glass
window, not the one that looked out on the schoolyard where we played
basketball, but the one that looked out on my dreams. Like most young people, I didn’t know if I
would ever achieve those dreams, because when you’re not born with money and
you have to go out and work to buy a shirt or a pair of pants, you take nothing
for granted.
I
remember seeing a pair of blue suede shoes in a store window that I passed
every day after school. I loved those
shoes, and I really wanted them, but I didn’t have the money. I couldn’t wait for my birthday hoping they
might be a gift and then I would finally have those blue suede shoes. I think I’m still that boy standing in front
of the window filled with the same excitement, yearning for something just out
of reach, not blue suede shoes, but something beautiful and timeless that
conjures up a world and takes you there.' - From the book Ralph Lauren by Ralph Lauren
and Mary Randolph Carter
Reading through this fabulous book, I was
struck by Ralph’s self-admission of being a dreamer. Growing up he said he
created his own vision of a life well-lived which included an English style
residence in the beauty of America, sailing off the Maine coast and being a
cowboy on his own ranch.
Say what you will about Ralph, but he
really does have the gift of visualising and creating wonderful settings. These settings encompass outfits, retail
stores, homes and even his entire life. Armed
only with his imagination Ralph has created his dream lifestyle from the ground up.
'I
never went to Africa. But if I had, I might never have done the clothes that I
did. They were about a romantic Africa, what I thought a safari was like.' - Ralph Lauren
On a rather smaller scale, I feel a bit like
that with the French thing. I have been to France once and so have had a brief
experience of Paris, but much of my inspiration lives in my head. And I love that!
My French girl living in a tiny apartment
in Paris is the stuff of my imagination. And it makes me so happy to think
about it. I don’t need to be constrained
by real life issues, say, if I decided to actually move to France. I can let it influence how I live my life
here and create my dream lifestyle with inspiration plucked from many different
sources.
I surround myself with constant inspiration
in the way of my beloved books, blogs, magazine articles, music, pared down and
simplified surroundings and purposely trying not to pile too much into my life
so that I can be relaxed and serene.
Any time I feel like a need a bit of a
boost, all I have to do is remember my dreams and set about shaping them into a
life that is everything I’ve ever wanted it to be.
Hi Fiona,The passion and love put into this post is evident, we are very very lucky to be able to get to Paris quite often, (cheap local airfares etc) however, it made me stop and think, did I actually appreciate it as much as you do? I too would love to live there, along with many others, but this is easier said than done, I was only saying to my husband yesterday, Its a shame Parisians dont love Paris as much as people that DONT live there. I wish for all your dreams to come true one day.
ReplyDeleteHi Fiona,
ReplyDeleteI love this post, to me it is the basis of your whole blog - creating a chic life - inside yourself in your dreams and outside - where you are now; the constant striving to inspire yourself to live more elegantly and with that French style. You don't have to live in France but can create it yourself.
Hi, Fiona. I had the living in Paris dream for so many years. My Canadian apartment was decorated as I thought a Paris apartment would be. My dream has come true and I do spend some months in Paris each year but what is important to me is that my Paris Dream Life stays alive when I'm in Canada. French Chic is definitely about the small details.518
ReplyDeletePerhaps the most inspiring post I have ever read! Thank you for putting this together. I've noticed Ralph Lauren's commercials that appear before Downton Abbey episodes and it exactly sums up what you wrote about. They are absolutely enchanting about his idea of a woman and he creates from there. We can do that too!
ReplyDeleteDear Fiona, We will be going to Paris in 4 weeks and it will be the first time for my 15 y.o. daughter. I know she has an ideal of what her France is like and I am hoping the real France doesn't disappoint. Sometimes travel does that (the very nature of travel is a bit nerve wracking!). We always have an ideal, and sometimes reality ... well, isn't completely perfect.
ReplyDeleteDreams are open to the extent of one's imagination and not much can compare to that! I think when we inject our inspirations and dreams into daily life, it can be very profound, no travel needed! But I do feel you will find your way to Paris again, I just have a strong feeling you will :)
Oh Fiona I love this post! You have perfectly captured what it means to be inspired by a place and culture and then recreate this theme in our everyday lives. Beautifully written ... Would you think me crazy if I told you I sit under my olive trees and pretend I'm in Tuscany? Ha Ha.
ReplyDelete