Editor's Note - Contributor Beth Brier is on assignment in Paris, reporting about what's hot..
Haute couture. Haute cuisine. Yes, in the words of Cole Porter, I love Paris when it sizzles. But going past of week of haute temperatures has me googling obscenities that Duolingo doesn’t teach.
The news around the world is that Paris is burning. And it’s true. The elegant design of the Haussman buildings with their zinc rooftops failed to include air-conditioning. Or window screens (bonjour, insects and pigeons). To be more precise l, it is this hot: Yesterday, with temperatures in excess of 101°, officials shut down the Eiffel Tower and The Louvre. Overheating rails have forced a number of train and metro lines to stop running.
Yet the situation is far worse than that! Seeking refuge in an (inadequately) air-conditioned boutique, I realized that heat stroke has overtaken the fashion houses. The most obvious and frightening sign: shoulder pads are back in! Nooooo! Yesssss! You read it here first! The revolution has begun! Joan Collins and the cast of “Dynasty” have returned in their power suits and are storming the Bastille.
In a city, where casually draped sweaters and carefully tied scarves are de rigueur to attain that sophisticated air of ennui and indifference, women are forgoing chic for cool. Berets for barrettes. Blahniks for Birkenstocks. Let’s just say it “too hot for earrings” hot.
Tragically, more than 40 French citizens have drowned during this heat wave. Le Marais, the once coolest neighborhood in Paris, has been displaced by the actual coolest spot - The Seine*. Yes, it is now safe to swim in the waters of the famous river- at least until shoulder pads start appearing in bathing suits.
Even in the anemic breeze of a table fan, this is why I still love Paris — even when it sizzles.
*algae free
Beth and her husband have been living in Paris while he is on a work assignment. Please send ice cream.