La Petite Robe Noire (The Little Black Dress)

André Leon TalleyLittle Black Dress by Stella MacCartney

The search for the perfect little black dress is a never-ending battle. In fact, I spent all day Saturday doing just that — looking for the perfect little black dress in order to look elegant making a presentation tomorrow about Living and Investing in France to the attendees of the Wealth and Privacy Conference in Zurich which kicked off Sunday evening.

On the train to Zurich this morning, the suitcase is filled with several little black dresses accumulated over a period of time — since the search for the perfect little black dress continues over time, too. In my early years as a budding fashion designer, I dreamed of opening a boutique of just that — little black dresses — and imagined naming it, what else, but “The Little Black Dress” (alias “La Petite Robe Noire”).

So, when the Mona Bismarck American Center for art and culture announced its latest exhibition, “The Little Black Dress” (on till September 22nd), I put it high on the list of ‘must-sees’ among the myriad of exhibitions on in the City of Light.

Orchestrated by André Leon Talley, the Little Black Dress traces the importance in contemporary history of the phenomenon of the dress, with representative specimens from such illustrious designers as Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Prabal Gurung, Proenza Schouler, Oscar de la Renta and Lady Gaga. Worth a visit, the collection is exceptional and if I could, I would have taken home several, among them the Stella McCartneys and the Ralph Laurens!

What I can take home however, is Guerlain’s newest scent, “La Petite Robe Noire” Eau de Toilette presented in October 2012. In perfume language, its “top notes” are jasmine, rose and green accords with a heart of cherry, orange blossom and apple and a base of white amber, white musk and patchouli. The “grand nez” (nose) behind the fragrance is Thierry Wasser who was appointed as the in-house perfumer of Guerlain in 2008.

So, you see, a girl’s wardrobe doesn’t need much more…just a little black dress and La Petite Robe Noire and…a place to wear them: Paris, of course!

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds

Director of The Adrian Leeds Group, LLC

(in little black dress mode)

Respond to Adrian

P.S. Next week, Parler Paris is taking a break, just like all the other Parisian vacationers…so don’t fret when Monday and Wednesday go by and you still haven’t gotten your Nouvellettres® (this goes for French Property Insider, too). Just hold on to your hats till Monday, August 26th when we return from a week at the beach!

P.P.S. Two House Hunters International episodes for the price of one! On August 13 at 7:30 p.m. E/P see “Sizing Up the Parisian Suburbs” and on the same night see our newest episode “Becoming a Buyer in Nice” at 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. E/P. Full details for each episode are available at Adrian Leeds on House Hunters International.