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| Taffeta sandals with wooden soles by Dunand, 1941. © E. Emo & S. Piera/Galliera/Roger-Viollet |
Who knew that there was a museum dedicated to the French Resistance and the Liberation of Paris in, of all places, the Gare Montparnasse? That surprise was followed by another: after viewing the Musée Jean …
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| Taffeta sandals with wooden soles by Dunand, 1941. © E. Emo & S. Piera/Galliera/Roger-Viollet |
Who knew that there was a museum dedicated to the French Resistance and the Liberation of Paris in, of all places, the Gare Montparnasse? That surprise was followed by another: after viewing the Musée Jean Moulin’s films and memorabilia, among them many painful war visuals, what an incongruous shock it is to come upon an exhibition full of joyful, frivolous and accessories concocted and worn by Parisiennes during the cold, dark days of Nazi Occupation.
“Accessoires et Objets, Témoignages de Vies de Femmes à Paris 1940-1944,” at the Musée Jean Moulin, on top of the Gare Montparnasse, is a fine demonstration of, to use a clichéd expression, the triumph of the human spirit in the darkest hours of World War II.
In the absence of luxurious materials, the creative dames et demoiselles of Paris created purses out of wood, hats out of straw and shoes out of paper in extremely attractive and classically elegant forms.
Signs of the times include scarves printed with the portrait of Vichy’s Maréchal Petain and, on the other side of the fence, double-lined and false-bottomed purses in which anti Nazi tracts could be hidden.
Most reassuringly, examples of French luxury and creativity still made their happy presence felt in the Hermès cat scarf edged with the silhouetted rooftops of Paris, exquisitely sculpted and crafted shoes by Jean Dunand, and Fanny Berger’s delicately elegant felt hats (don’t miss the video recounting Fanny’s tragic story in the adjoining exhibition room).
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| Whimsical accessories by Johanna Braitbart. Photo: Elizabeth Pantaleo |
Fast forward to June 2009: It may be peacetime, but Parisiennes are now constrained by serious economic angst.
Up until a few months ago, those “it” bags by Chanel, Balenciaga, Chloé or Louis Vuitton were being snapped up like petits pains on the Avenue Montaigne and the Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, but the new objects of desire in accessories are now based on a revived interest in individuality and quality at less-astronomical prices.
Enter neighborhood shopping. Resourcefulness is de rigueur, for every self-respecting Parisienne knows that an original purse or hat is the detail that turns around last year’s stale frock at a fraction of the cost of buying a new one.
Here’s a little tip from my own Marais neighborhood: pay a visit to Johanna Braitbart’s boutique off the Rue des Archives. Her charming store, opened two years ago, offers chic and feminine hats, purses, jewelry and whimsical objets, all handmade.
A graduate of the illustrious Studio Bercot, Johanna has worked in the ateliers of Nina Ricci and Karl Lagerfeld and studied embroidery with the legendary house of Lesage.
Her creations are inspired by the period between the 1920s and ’40s, and she scours flea markets for rare detailing like old lace or beads to give her handcrafted creations that certain Parisian je ne sais quoi.
Times can be somber even in the City of Light, but the creative spirit discovered during a neighborhood stroll can brighten anyone’s day.
Mémorial Leclerc et de la Libération de Paris-Musée Jean Moulin: 23, Allée de la 2e DB, Jardin Atlantique (about the Gare Montparnasse), 75015 Paris. Métro: Montparnasse. Tel.: 01 40 64 39 44. Through November 15. www.ml-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr
Johanna Braitbart: 26, rue des Blancs Manteaux, 75004 Paris. Tel.: 01 44 82 09 29. Métro: Rambuteau. www.johannabraitbart.com
© 2009 Paris Update
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