I am back stateside after an amazing 4 days in Paris celebrating my 32nd birthday.  If you’re new to this site or to me, you should know I am weird about celebrating my birthdays.  I don’t freak out over getting older, in fact, I look forward to getting older because the opposite of getting older is dying and I ain’t ready for that.  No, I just don’t like planning grand or even simple celebrations for my birthday because I don’t like being responsible for other people’s fun, and the few times I tried going all out for my birthday some involved parties left me….let’s say disappointed.  I was very randomly inspired to visit Paris for my birthday this year, and after my best friend agreed to plan everything, we pulled the trigger.  I’m breaking my Paris recaps into three separate pieces: What I Wore, What We Did, and Where We Stayed.  Here’s what (Andy Cohen voice):What I Wore

I’m starting with what I wore because even though I was very clearly on a vacation people kept asking on social media for outfit details.  Self-awareness people, practice a little.  I started planning looks for this trip almost as soon as I booked my flight and hotel back in January.  Obviously, I wanted to be fly in the fashion capital, but my main priority was comfort first. Everyone who I spoke to about visiting Paris made a point to mention you need comfy shoes since there’s so much walking.  I opted for a single pair of Camper sneakers because they were sleek enough to go with everything I had packed, and the brand is known for comfort.  The bonus is that they were on sale.  I visited my favorite store Aritzia for new pieces and shopped my closet for things that were Paris worthy, and most of them were previous purchases from Aritzia.  As far as accessories go, one of the perks of living in New York is the myriad of wholesale accessories stores, so I went a racked up basically.

Camper

Day 1:

I bought this dress from Aritzia about three years ago for a bridal shower I was hosting where the bride requested we wear all white.  I wanted to elevate the look a bit because I’ve worn this dress a few times but never quite got it right, so I looked to one of my favorite Instagram girls/designers, Drew Ginsburg of Dylanlex jewelry.  She’s a master at maximizing accessories which makes the difference between being dressed and being styled.  The scarf was necessary simply because it was raining upon our arrival and my hair was not happy about it.  This denim jacket is like ten years old and honestly, my arms don’t fit it anymore but it’s perfect for draping during cool days and nights.  Hence, you will see it again.

Night 1:

I bought this skirt maybe four or five years ago from H&M before I stopped shopping in fast fashion stores.  You may recognize the top from this post from Aritzia as well.  Aldo was having one of their many buy one get one sales on accessories so I tried out these earrings which were really different for me as I mostly wear chunky studs.  Definitely inspired to have more fun with earrings now.  I swapped my sneakers for heels for our night of partying, during which we Ubered everywhere.

Day 2:

I kept telling myself I wasn’t going to buy this jumpsuit when I first saw it on the Aritzia website because it was so out of budget (of course it’s on a mega sale now), but I tried it on and just had to have it then and there.  The color and feel of the silk sold it for me.  I’m 5’2 so I had to get it hemmed just right so that I could wear flat shoes and still have that flowy look.  We stayed out all day sightseeing, so I wore this the whole day and it really felt like walking around in pajamas.

Day 3:

We did a lot more sightseeing on day three so I wanted a toned-down casual look, but I added layers of necklaces to make it more fun.  I reached out to my homegirl for some Atlanta attire so I could rep for the home team in this ‘Old Atlanta’ bodysuit. Coincidentally I met a football player who is actually from South Atlanta who asked to take a picture with us because of my shirt.  I know nothing about sports, so I didn’t even find out who he was until after we posted the picture.  I wore American Eagle shorts, as they are the only denim I swear by these days because of the stretch and variety of fits and styles.  My handy dandy crossbody bag was actually a convertible fanny pack from Aldo and you can find a similar one here.  This was a last-minute look as the skirt I was planning to wear just wasn’t working, but it came together nonetheless.

Day 4:

This was my actual birthday and the day we went to Versailles so I wanted to give a little more look.  I bought this dress while we were sightseeing the previous day.  I knew when I decided to go on the trip that I wouldn’t be able to do much luxury shopping.  I hadn’t saved enough money to pay for the trip, and do things on the trip, plus buy fancy things.  I figured it was more important to pay for the experience than to buy things I could readily purchase in New York.  I had my heart set on finding one original piece from a French boutique and I would know it when I saw it.  Lo, and behold on our trek to Sacré-Cœur Basilica I saw this white dress in the window of a little store called Mademoiselle Pimpante.  The woman who owned the boutique also designed and created the dress so it was incredibly special to me so I chose to wear it to Versailles.  She also gave me a little ‘Make a Wish’ heart bracelet as a gift, to transmit courage and good energy and when it breaks, those things you shall receive.

Night 4:

My goal for my birthday dinner was to get dressed up, and have a fancy Parisian dinner where I really treated myself.  I found this dress on sale on the BCBG website months ago.  It was originally $500 and I got for $100.  Can you even?!  I had to get it altered and honestly it was still a bit roomy, so I’ll probably get it taken in a bit more for future use.  PS I know these pics aren’t great but I was drunk because it was my birthday.