Paris Match: Let’s Go to the Movies
Amélie at Cinema Studio 28 (Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, 2001) Image: MovieStillsDB
Ernest Lubitsch’s So This is Paris, 1926 Image: MoviePosterDB
By Theadora Brack
As promised, this week we’re going to shimmy back up to the hill of Montmartre, and pay homage to my favorite movie house in Paris, Cinema Studio 28. Don’t forget to pack your fancy duds, too, because we’ll also trek it back in time again with photographer Maurice Sapiro. Winding it back to the summer of 1956: While playing the trumpet with the 279th Army Band in France, Maurice documented the streets of Paris, deftly improvising with light and architectural texture like a jazz musician. Inspired by the Lumière Autochrome color film process, Maurice’s shots still snap, crackle and pop, much like the City of Light herself. In the words of John Milton, “Come and trip it as you go, on the light fantastic toe!” Step right up. Here’s your ticket! (more…)
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Paris Teaser: Lights! Camera! Action!
Cats on a Sentimental Journey at the Arc de Triomphe (Postcard: T. Brack’s archives)
Backstage at the Moulin Rouge by Maurice Sapiro, Paris, 1956
By Theadora Brack
Today we’re going to swap our Belle Époque frothy petticoats for some pencil skirts and starched Peter Pan collars. Maybe put a few Chubby Checker 45s on the Hi-Fi, too. That’s right, twisting time is near, so grab the vintage cocktails and the gingham-lined picnic basket. Dear Mad Men fanatics, this tease is for you. Here’s the squeal: Next week, we’re going to take a joy ride back up the hill of Montmartre, and visit my pet movie house, Studio 28 Cinema, the only theater in the historic ’hood.
And that’s not all, Folks!
I’ll also introduce you to one of my favorite photographers in the world. Flashback to August, 1956: While playing the trumpet with the 279th Army Band in France, Maurice Sapiro hit the cobblestoned streets of Paris running, with camera in hand. Inspired by the Lumière Autochrome color film process, he documented the Paris cityscape with fervor, ardor and zeal, capturing her dramatic skies, sunsets and glittering lights like no other. It was a game changer. (more…)
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Paris: Kicking it at the Moulin Rouge
Epic Weepie: Moulin des amours, Tu tournes tes ailes (Moulin Rouge, Tino Rossi, 1951) Images: T. Brack’s archives
Life Magazine, 1946 (Donna Atwood and Bobby Specht)
By Theadora Brack
Embracing ice skates, glitter, and sequins, this week, let’s glide on up to the Moulin Rouge, sitting pretty in the hills of Montmartre. That’s right. Get ready for some more time travel as smooth and exciting as a vintage Johnny Weir solid gold triple axel. He is still my hero. However, did you catch Yevgeny Plushenko shining like a diamond as he skated to the “Tango de Roxanne” from Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack (2001)? His quad toe / triple toe possessed mass appeal in my book. Love will lift us up where we belong! Indeed!
You will be missed, Monsieur.
Now, let’s grab soda pops at the nearby Monoprix, and commandeer a bench with a view of the centuries-old Moulin Rouge. Spirits are high and I’ve got a tale to spin. Lean in because it’s show-time. (more…)
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Sweet and Lowdown: Swinging by the Paris Clignancourt Flea Market
Stardust Memories: View of Paris from the Centre Pompidou (where André Breton’s Clignancourt flea market treasures are on display) Photos by T. Brack
Django Reinhardt Mural at La Chope des Puces
By Theadora Brack
Chim chim-in-ey! Chim, chim, chérie! Get your glad rags and wiggle on, jazz babies and pêcheurs de lune! With the discerning eyeball of a dandy and the goddess Fortuna statue neatly tucked in our pocket, let’s swing by the Clignancourt Flea Market (Marché aux puces de Saint-Ouen) for some old-fashioned, toe-tapping, bodice-ripping window-shopping, shall we? Get to picking!
Flashback: In the 19th century, the infamous “rag and bone men” (forerunners of today’s “dumpster divers”) kicked-off the big flea frenzy. Trekking to Paris? Get thee there. Clignancourt’s eclectic palace-worthy collection continues to charm. In fact, the bustling centuries-old market had a cameo in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris.” Confession: Yes, the movie was a tad hokey pokey in places, but I fell gladly for it. Fantasizing about time travel always makes my heart swell. Larger than life, Yves Heck as Cole Porter was simply divine. Paris, you DO do something to me. (more…)
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Rome Tips: Embracing Things of Beauty
Let there be light: After Via del Corso became one of the first gas-lit streets in 1854, it became a shopper’s paradise
An eye-catching creation by the Sorelle Fontana (Micol, Giovanna, and Zoe) Back in the day, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, and Audrey Hepburn were happy clients
By Theadora Brack
Dear friends, Romans, and fellow window-shoppers, I am back behind the old chariot wheel. Delayed and waylaid by la grippe or Roman Fever (Daisy Miller, the Colosseum was lovely at midnight!), but fret not—I am now good to go. So lend me your pointy cat ears and dark glasses! Blame it on the festive holidays, but I’ve suddenly got a strong hankering for some ritzy, glitzy window-shopping in Rome along the straight-as-an-arrow Via del Corso (my new favorite shopping ’hood). Let it glow, let it glow, let it glow. Giddy-up!
Here’s the scoop: Named for the Berber riderless horse races that took place here during the Roman Carnevale, the historic thoroughfare connects the northern spectacular entrance gate, Porta del Popolo to the center hub, the Piazza Venezia (at the base of the Capitoline Hill). After a few spectators were killed during the 1800s, King Victor Emmanuel II put his hoof down and banned the games. Heads-up: The hustling, bustling shopping area is still a prime promenading, people-watching hot spot, so look both ways before dashing. Distractions abound! (more…)
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Theadora’s Vacances Romaines: A Teaser
Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi with view of the Sant’ Agnese in Agone, Piazza Navona Photographs by T. Brack
Fontana di Trevi, Marcello, Come here! Hurry! (Where did he go for that milk? Goodness!)
By Theadora Brack
Calling all Pixies and Saints: Grab three coins, see, because I’ve got the fountain. Our Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. If you haven’t already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead compartment, I do say with relish. During the festive month of Dicembre, let’s celebrate La Dolce Vita behind the great walls of the Eternal City, shall we?
By all means, in preparation, let’s clip more and more and MORE from Billy Wyler’s “Roman Holiday” trailer (1953). Repeat after me: There’s a new holiday on your calendar, so let your hair down not promises, and prepare for the greatest gay and giddy spree a girl ever had lived, loved, or filmed in Rome.
Stop. Wait. Was that Gregory Peck, Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, or Cleopatra’s main squeeze Mark Antony (we’re talking B.C. not J.Lo!). Never a mess, I am hooked. Love in the ruins. I am lost in time travel.
Pinching from the always “radiant as a royal moonlight” Audrey Hepburn’s character, Princess Ann, in the award-winning “Roman Holiday” flick, “Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.”
I will, too. Let’s roll the teaser! Lights! Camera! Action! (more…)
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Paris: The Bells, Bells, Bells Edition
Glowing like an over-sized Lucite jewelry box Photos by Theadora Brack (Music Sheets: T. Brack’s archives)
My Sweetheart Is Somewhere In France, Mary Earl, 1917, Shapiro, Bernstein Co. Cover illustration by William Austin Starmer and Frederick Waite Starmer
By Theadora Brack
In the words of the late, great songwriter, Theodora Morse, “Hail! Hail! The gang’s all here!” This week, let’s salute music and Remembrance Day. Up my sleeve, I have a few favorite patriotic music sheets, recently scored at the flea markets. We’ll also pay homage to the Tin Pan Alley music publishers, songwriters, and artists. So strike up the band!
Trekking to Paris?
Don’t miss the Cathédrale Notre Dame’s great organ. Earlier this year, after an intensive and much needed 10-month supreme makeover, the organ kicked-off the festivities for the cathedral’s recent 850th anniversary. Music to my ears. Listen: All 8,000 pipes (some dating back to the 18th century) were individually cleaned, and a new electronic panel with five cascading keyboards and some 200 stops were installed. Boom. Boom. Boom. Can you hear me now? (more…)
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Paris Monuments: A-Haunting We Will Go
“Flamme de la Liberté” memorial ( the unofficial Princess Di shrine) Photos by Theadora Brack
Why did Princess Anna Troubetzkoy jump?
By Theadora Brack
Blame it on the falling autumn leaves, but now I’ve got a strong hankering for a little Magical Mystery stroll. Let’s crack open my slim, leather-bound volume of spirited adventures in Paris for another retelling, see. Here are my favorite sacred grounds. Grab the bottle of Suze while I fluff the pillows. Pinching from Edith Piaf: “Tou qui m’aimais! Moi qui t’aimais!” Get closer. (more…)
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Paris Tips: Haunting the Passageways
Get Surreal and explore the passageways in Paris ( Photos by Theadora Brack)
Popping tags outside Galerie Vivienne
By Theadora Brack
Confession: I’ve got a new obsession in my life. Following in the footsteps of the Surrealists and the late writer and historian Walter Benjamin, I am also now carrying a big torch for the 19th century shopping arcades in Paris, (a.k.a., “dream houses”). Whenever I can’t seem to find my supernatural powers, I beat the blues with a breathy jaunt to the passageways in Paris. Adding hustle to my bustle, it does the trick every time.
So this week, let’s roll out some soft focus stills, and pay homage to a few of my favorite passages couverts. Come on, Bébe, light my fire. (more…)
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Paris Tips: Embracing Sailor Chic
A shell of a good time at La Fontaine des Mers, Place de la Concorde Photos by Theadora Brack
Fontaine des Mers, Place de la Concorde
Dress at the Seaside
In these days when amateur photographers swarm everywhere and when the click of the indiscreet apparatus takes one by surprise, on the plain, in the valley, on the mountain, it is necessary, more than ever, for women of fashion to watch over their reputation for style. The bathing hour at the fashionable seaside resorts is, above all others, the most critical.
At that moment the Kodak rages. (more…)
Paris: People, Places and Bling 