les parisiennes

An older post from the archives' dungeon: I'm particularly thrilled about it because I discovered a wonderful artist in Kiraz!! :)

Kiraz "Les Parisiennes" (dailymotion.com)

"The Parisennes are the Parisennes, light and timeless, and I wish their future husbands all the best." ~ Carla Bruni.

A true Parisienne knows what to say, when to say it and definitely knows where to go. Her icons range from a young Simone de Beauvoir to Brigette Bardot and today, Charlotte Gainsbourg. She is free, brave and full of life, and she's in the know, under the radar and always on the move. Most of all, the modern Parisenne has achieved the prowess of being everything wrapped up into one: sparkling, bright, ambitious, pretty, dreamy, motherly, sporty ultra-fashionable and confident...

Paris's Musée Carnavalet is holding an ongoing exhibition of illustrator Edmond Kiraz titled Les Parisennes de Kiraz (until Sept 21). I can't even begin to explain the empty shell of a life I must have been leading prior to learning about Mr. Kiraz and his irresistibly chic (cartoon) depictions and cheeky captions of über-leggy, twinkle-eyed and equally chic Parisian mademoiselles. He's watched them come and go, capturing them in a time snap of their everyday lives. Surveying and drawing the fairer sex de l'arrondissement, Kiraz has managed to illustrate the whimsies of French women — from young Brigette Bardot missies to self-assured elegant madames — with a distinct and decadent flair.
Kiraz's illustrations have appeared in international publications and French ads since the fifties; these (sarticial) drawings, as well as his edgier representations published for Playboy since 1970 (and held in a separate room of le Musée) give us lesser mortal women a scintillating glimpse into the indescribable je ne sais quoi of French women. I can't help but fall in love with these women. Of course, my "international woman of mystery" persona is coming along just beautifully; but oh to be regarded as la Parisienne authentique.

In one of his more famous collected illustrations, "Les Parisennes se marient" (courtesy my fave coffee table publishing Assouline, 1994) Carla Bruni, French First Lady, actually writes the preface!! The book is now a collector's item as it's gone out of print. I even checked the French Ebay (and I detest Ebay!!)Captions:
L: It's a feminine voice who's very surprised to hear another feminine voice.
R: It's [a good thing] my husband's birthday falls during the sales.







French kisses.