Toteme: Fall 2025

Toteme showed an elegant FW25 collection during the couture shows in Paris yesterday. The boots are really gorgeous.

Chanel: 110 Years of Haute Couture

110 years of Haute Couture In the CHANEL Ateliers directed by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai

If you love Chanel couture, this documentary film offers a peek into the process.

Inside the ateliers at 31, rue Cambon in Paris a few days before the show, atelier premières, models, ambassadors and friends of CHANEL reflect on the emotions that Haute Couture conveys and the unique craftsmanship of the oldest Haute Couture house in activity.

The film of the CHANEL SS25 Haute Couture show will be revealed on Tuesday, January 28^th at 2pm, Paris time on chanel.com

Runway to Reality

There is a terrific runway to real life story on Georgina Grenville in the current issue of Elle France. In 1999 I cast a Helmut Lang show while pregnant with my second daughter (many shows, actually). During a fitting on the lovely Georgina I decided that I loved the name. My older daughter Anna’s name was also chosen while I was pregnant at work.

Vogue France: Spring Trends

Photographe : Francesc Planes, Réalisation : Dan Sablon

Ballet flats are everywhere for spring and I am happy to see — according to this image in February Vogue France — Mary Janes still included in this trend. And, I never stopped wearing skinny jeans. A looser leg is great with sandals in the warmer months, but with boots, a trim leg works for me. In my book, the current jeans trend is whatever the wearer prefers.

The Row: Fall 2025

I love the preppy sportswear vibe of this collection, a silhouette I will surely embrace next fall.

A Touch of Glam

Sheer black hosiery with a leather skirt from Toteme’s recently launched Garderob/permanent wardrobe, and Phoebe Philo’s Collection B sunglasses are perfect winter tweaks for these cold, short days.

Bits & Bobs

I left Paris early for a Harper’s Bazaar reunion that was seriously fun. There were primarily folks from former editor-in-chief Kate Betts’s era. I loved catching up with designer and Homme Girls editor-in-chief Thakoon Panichgul, Kristina O’Neill, head of media at Sotheby’s, Kerry Diamond, Cherry Bombe founder, Cary Leitzes, founder of the creative agency Leitzes&Co., and Amanda Ross of ARossGirl — a few of my dearest, onetime HB colleagues. Even though I raced from the plane to the dinner and was a bit of a zombie, I am so glad I showed up. It’s all about showing up and reconnecting with friends.

On my radar: the fabulous Chanel Spring-Summer 2025 pre-collection campaign images of Gracie Abrams, Claire Thomson-Jonville appointed head of editorial content at Vogue France — an inspired choice, a very chic woman in The Row wearing The Row, and my Hermès Picotin in the wild.

Two From The Row

The Row’s new store in Paris is lovely. Much more intimate than the one in NYC, and the folks who work there could not be nicer. I have been meaning to try these boots since I posted on them last January. Black was sold out, but the dark brown is stunning and less predictable. The leather is very supple, that being the case, I hope they wear well. And, I certainly don’t need a long grey skirt, but I’ve loved the one by Maria McManus therefore I know I will get a lot of wear out of this one, too.

The Hermès Picotin

Since my last post, the devastating fires broke out in LA. My husband is from Bel Air and his entire family is on evacuation alert. Friends have lost their homes, businesses, schools, and churches. Our hearts go out to everyone affected. 

A chocolate brown Hermès Picotin Lock 26 Bag zoomed to the top of my wishlist when I spied it on the SS25 runway top right. However, there is nary a 26 in any of the three Hermès boutiques in Paris, nor have they had one in a while. I hope this changes with the multitude of Picotins in the spring show and I will check when I’m back in March. However, I picked up a black 22 and have worn it nonstop — it holds far more than it looks. The Picotin is less expensive when purchased new — the ones I’ve seen on resale sites are priced considerably higher. It’s not a waitlist item and is available in stores — I walked in and bought it then and there. My Picotin 22 cost less than the Bottega Jodie I bought for my daughter in London a few weeks ago…

Paris Dispatch

Finally, Paris seems back to its regular schedule — most tourists have gone home and the children are back in school. However, the spectacular holiday decorations are still up and the city is gleaming from its pre-Olympics spiffing up. It’s been years since I’ve seen the Opéra Garnier sans scaffolding and it looks amazing. I know I say this every January, but it’s truly a wonderful time to be here.

We’re in an apartment that looks onto the Hotel Bristol pool and up to Sacré Coeur. From the upstairs bedroom you can see the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Palais, which is lit up at night for the ice skaters. I’ve decided that this is a non-cooking trip and have booked a number of Michelin starred restaurants in our neighborhood. There are two in the Bristol, which was an easy place to start.

First stop is always the Bourse de Commerce. This time I picked up two Anri Sala prints from his exhibition in 2022-2023. The catalogue has had pride of place on my coffee table for the past two years. I am very excited to tour the recently reopened Notre Dame, then, the Tina Barney retrospective, Family Ties, at the Jeu de Paume is next on the list.

Last fall I shelved my sneakers save a pair of Common Projects that look like Converse. The ubiquitous Adidas Sambas went into the bin. Flats, Belgian Shoes, and boots are now my everyday footwear of choice. I want to check out the new The Row store and try these booties.

Finally, I couldn’t resist snapping this chic Parisienne’s outfit — neutrals perfected. And, I brought my Fendi Mamma Baguette that I purchased in 1998. The hardware was silver and they kindly swapped it to gold — I wonder if they would do that today. Still looks current to my eye #Don’tOverpurge.

And, an enormous thank you for all of the sweet comments on my last post. I did not expect such an outpouring of support and it was the encouragement I needed.

Warmly,  Preston