Favourites from Miss Panda at YesStyle

Yellow fly-front Long Jacket

Cable-knit vest, Chiffon blouse, Dolman Sleeve Cardigan, Knitted dress, Shirred Long Skirt

Single-button boyfriend Jacket

Cable-knit sweater, Belted Trench Coat, Mustard knit dress

Linen Long Jacket

Miss Panda at YesStyle

Frustratingly when it comes to ye old Asian shopping sites the experience can be described in one word, millefeuille. Very literally at that, as I peel back pages chock-full of frills, chiffon and generally cute ‘fluff’ like girly frocks and sequined cardigans… then something more ‘edgy’, shall we say, glistens in the corner and that’d be a successful session. Gosh golly, to think if I’d channel that kind of dedication elsewhere perhaps I’d have achieved something for mankind, like auto-dispensing cheese machine? I apologize, world, for my inadequate use of time. Anyhow, the needle-in-haystack hunt in YesStyle is thankfully a little less wearisome as they do seem to tailor to a slightly different audience, and boy does the stationery section tickles the 10 year old in me. Usually I tend to avoid basic pieces that I could get for much cheaper in the UK, but the styling (*cough*pretty model*cough*) of a particular mustard coloured knit-dress caught my eye, and that’s how I stumbled upon Miss Panda. Slouchy wine-coloured cable-knit sweater, slinky peach trench-coat, boyfriend blazers… all solid basics that I’ve been reserving space in the wardrobe for, in one shop! Safe to say I won’t be shopping for the next few months.

Truely majestic hospitality: Plaza Athénée, Paris

Bag by Marc Jacobs

Necklace, DanniJo

Dior Institut au Plaza Athéné

The Courtyard

Dinner at the chef’s table at the Alain Ducasse restaurant

Head chef, Christophe Saintagne

Neoprene Jacket, H&M Trend. Knitted pleat-dress, Maska. Stone-Stud heels, Zara.

Breakfast!

Thank you to TCS and Hermes for the lovely trip.

As I’m typing this my husband and I are sitting side by side at our white £39 IKEA desk, with our favourite lamp lit dimly behind us – favourite because it has an energy-saving lightbulb that is kind to the monthly bill, and the fact that it takes about 3 gazillion years for it to get to maximum brightness so at least in the meantime it sets a moody light while we randomly slot a few bites of our swirly-pasta dinner between our online game/Sex & the City marathon (him/me). I’m also editing these photos, and realizing what a world apart it is – so much that it seems that the photos don’t entirely seem mine. These shots are from a night at the Plaza Athénée during the Hermes trip in Paris – might be familiar to some as the hotel that Carrie and her Russian ‘luvv-er‘ Aleksandr Petrovski stay at in the last two episode of the SATC series. The five-star Plaza Athénée defines hospitality, where the attention is so subtle yet omnipresent it almost feels natural to be catered to such level of service, it’s like they think ahead what might be comfortable before you even have to ask. (Although, they didn’t appear at the door at 3am with a pizza and marshmallows, but I suppose one can’t expect too much) Also, I found a total of five closets in the room, and while I had only brought a dress, another pair of shoes and pjs I separated them into the closets  just so I had a reason to use them all.  Dinner at the three-star Michelin restaurant by Alain Ducasse leaves you speechless, simply for the fact that you’re busy devouring seven courses that roll in seamlessly, and if you’re with good company consider yourself sitting for the rest of the night… in fact we departed the table well past midnight! The Dior institut is like an underground extension of the couture house from across the road on Avenue Montaigne, except, couture in Beauty. See what I mean by world apart? These rare hotel treats spoil me rotten (last one at Hotel de Crillon Paris courtesy of Dior), but thankfully I’m usually back home in my Dalston warehouse-conversion flat before I even have a chance to say ‘boy, I can get used to this’. And at least I’m left with beautiful places to share with you all.