The Rest of the Week and Weekend

Wednesday was Sewing with Muriel. I worked more on my dress, lifting the pattern pieces directly from the dress (it took quite awhile). After class and lunch, I met back with Muriel in the computer lab to polish up my letter of motivation. She gave me envelopes to address them, and I did so, for Lanvin, Balenciaga, LVMH, Yves Saint Laurent and Nina Ricci. At one point, I had to ask Peter something, and so went to the office. He was talking to Muriel, and I mentioned that I had seen on the Lanvin website that letters were being accepted over the Internet. I was unsure as to which way was better, and asked. Peter said that it would be best to send it directly, and then alluded to Muriel having already talked to someone. So, I was really excited. I went back to the computer lab and finished compiling my letters and envelopes and then created my fabric and finishings board for Jen's class. I finished that at about 3 pm and then went to the post office to mail my letters. (Now, we wait...) I also went to Monoprix to buy groceries.
Thursday was working with Anne for Flat Pattern. It was more of the same, just lifting pattern pieces, tracing and cutting them out. I got about 6 pieces done (some are huge and some are really small), and when I was tired of that, I started cutting them out along the actual pattern lines. I still have two of the larger pieces from the back to do, so I'll do that Monday.
Friday was Stylism with Jen. We first had a quiz on the types of bags and shoes lifted directly from a handout we had been given in the class before break. All the names were in French, and since I've always been good at vocabulary (better than at verbs), I had just looked over it the night before and was fine. We got the sheet, and I was expecting that same sheet with the names (about 15-20 of them) deleted. But instead we got a sheet with a combined total of 6 bags and shoes, and had to fill in the blanks. I am not exaggerating when I say that I was done within 10 seconds. Right after I turned it over to make sure there was nothing on the back (which there was not), I looked over and said, "Jen, seriously, is this it?" She said that it was, and so I turned it in, the second one to do so. (Liz had beaten me to it, having evidently figured out that yes, that was indeed all of it.) When everyone was finished and had turned theirs in, Jen went over the answers, using my answer sheet as the answer key.
Then she went around visiting with everyone and gaging their progress, and I was first. I showed her all of the shoes and bags I had done over the break, and the first thing she said was that she really liked my shoes and special pieces (for which I had done mostly jewelry), but my bags needed a little work. (I felt the same way, since I liked designing the jewelry and shoes but definitely not the bags.) She signed off on all of my shoes except for the sandals (mine were too simplistic), told me to pick whichever jewelry pieces I liked best, and redesign my bags (to "go further" and "don't be afraid", 2 of her big expressions). (It's funny, one week I'm told I'm "too literal" and then I get the exact opposite the next week.) (I have to say, I'm not really liking designing these bags too much. These terms of "medium commercial", "weekend" and "oversize" bags all sound the same to me; I don't get a clear idea of what they should be when I think about them. I do really like the shoes and jewelry, that was fun for me, not to mention a lot easier. Incidentally, when I had my sketchbook open to those pages, Sharon and Po-Lan both told me that they really liked them. I really respect Po-Lan's opinion, since he has these awesome construction skills that made me jealous. So...possible future career option? We'll see.)
I spent the rest of the class doodling bags and not feeling too inspired, while talking with Sharon who was doing pretty much the same thing. (It appears that Jen has cottoned on to the fact that Sharon's designs aren't "girly", since the initial criticism leveled at her equestrienne theme was that it was not so. I'm pretty sure that she said the same thing for her Yohji designs. I love her equestrienne designs though, they're awesome. I thought it was kind of funny that Sharon's been here for nearly 2 years, and she still has teachers telling her her designs aren't "girly". I've been here a mere 3 months and I haven't gotten that at all. Maybe my ill skill at embroidery broadcasted that loud and clear.)
That afternoon, we had Hats, where we basically finished the ones we started before the break. We cut a length of ribbon to go inside our hats and spent the whole time sewing it to the inside brim so that it was invisible. We got onto a fun topic of conversation though, one that Tu brought up. He was looking at Ashley's skirt and underlying crinoline (I tried it on, and I felt like Scarlett O'Hara), and wondering aloud how she was going to take that one the plane. We then started joking about how we were all going to wear our evening wear on the plane to save packing space.
It turned out to be our last day for Hats, as Jean-Pierre found out and told us near the end of class. So I'm a little sad that we're finished with it, but at the same time, it does free up some time to get some work done and/or go out and explore!
After class, I decided to go to get swimsuit and sundress fabric samples for Susan, so I took the metro up to Marche Saint-Pierre and got a couple at Dreyfus fabrics (avoiding the usual guy on the 2nd floor who hated it when we ask for samples). After that, I remembered Nisa saying that she had gotten her dress for the Embassy gala around that area for cheap. After seeing her dress (a pretty midnight blue Cinderella-type gown), I realized that my more casual dresses were not going to cut it. She said it cost her 100 Euro, and I set that as my absolute maximum price. I first found one that was 35 Euro, and was wine red with sequins, but it didn't fit exactly right and some of the beads and sequins were hanging off by threads. I kept walking and eventually tried on a bronze halter with pleating around the bust and ruffle cascading down the front. It was only 45 Euro, so I bought it. I just relaxed that night, not doing too much.
(I also saw some great, cheap shoes up there, so I believe I will have to make a return visit up there.)
Saturday, I needed to go to the Bibliotheque Forney to do some research into Art Deco for revising my evening bag designs and motifs. I got there about 12 pm, and read on a sign affixed to the door that they don't open until 1 pm on Saturdays. It being a nice day (I didn't need a winter coat), I decided to walk around until it opened. I decided to walk up to the Centre Georges Pompidou, the modern art center, since we have an Art History class there in a couple of weeks and I wanted to do a re-con mission before then. On the way I stopped in a jewelry-supply shop (maybe I can convince Jen to let me make earrings or something instead of a bag). I walked around the Pompidou building and ate a banana an nutella crepe while sitting on the large slanted brick relaxing space (I seriously have no idea what to call it). By the time I finished, it was almost 1 pm, so I walked back. I was at the Forney for about an hour and a half, finding a lot of good books and copying pages from them.
When I was finished, it was so nice outside that I decided to walk back. I strolled along the Seine (bypassing everyone selling touristy stuff), and walked up Saint-Michel. Since I didn't need to be anywhere, I strolled into a lot of boutiques. I got back around 5 pm and took a nap. I felt like going out to dinner and so walked to the Cafe Soufflot. (It's in a great location, right in front of the Pantheon and facing the direction of the Tour Eiffel, which you can see on a clear day since it's on a hill.) I sat outside and enjoyed the weather. I got the confit de canard with the caramel ice cream for dessert, and got entertainment from eavesdropping on a table near me. (It was an American guy with some relatives, telling them about the kid he looks after here. It was pretty amusing.) I went out around 8 pm, and finished around 9:30 pm. I loved that it didn't start to get dark until after 9 pm. After getting back, I called both of my grandparents, and it was great to talk with them, as always.
Today, I slept in the latest yet here (11:30 am). After eating breakfast, I did some sketches for evening bags based on shapes I had found in my research. I also redid all of my bags (I surprised myself with that one), as well as redid my Yohji sketches by coming up with nearly 15 completely new designs. I didn't do any quilting since I was kind of burned out from all of the drawing (although I did muster up enough strength to cut out some pattern pieces). I also talked with my parents on Skype, which was nice.
We have a public holiday Thursday, I'm looking forward to that...