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If France, you have to have a paper ticket to get into the shows. They arrive via messenger or post, often the day before the event (because the PR people need to scramble to make sure the front row ranks are just right). All of this means you may not know if you’re invited until the last minute.

Sometimes the tickets just never come, and it’s a sad, Waiting-for-Godot situation. I had a scare regarding Chanel (it arrived eventually, after some phone calls), and wasn’t invited to Dior, Valentino, or Dries Van Noten this season…

After the Chloe show today, we headed to one of Stacey’s and my favorite shows of the week: Martin Grant. It’s a low-key affair. No Kanye West, no Courtney Love—just people who work in fashion and a socialite or two (Lee Radziwell is always there)…

Watching the work of your fashion heroes during this week is fun, but even more fun is discovering new people who inspire. Here’s a look back at the three steps it took for me to fall in love with the so-new-she’s-still-unsigned French singer Soko.

STEP 1: Tuesday night, I took my friend Sened to the Jeremy Scott/Colette party at Elysée Montmartre…

When I saw Scott Shuman of The Sartorialist outside of Chanel this morning, I promptly ambushed him with my Chicago fashion question.

First off, he had to give love to the city by saying that he remembers getting really excited to check out Ultimo when he visited in the ’80s (Scott’s from Indianapolis). As far as shooting street style, he thinks there are neighborhoods that are good, but so many Chicagoans drive, which makes it hard…

Ah, Chanel. You could never mistake it for any other show, even if Karl Lagerfeld incorporates other trends that are in vogue.

Just pick any of this season’s nouveautés and it will be there, but looking very Chanel, of course. Romper onesie? Check. Transparency? Check. ’90s Nirvana plaid, wide legged denim, black and white graphics? Check, check, check…

After my final show this evening, I walked to the Printemps department store to buy a new pair of black tights. My only clean pair is now snagged, thanks to a run-in with a Chrome Hearts bracelet. Fashion foul! Since I was coming from the Tuileries gardens, I decided to take the rue Cambon, home of Chanel headquarters. Knowing that Karl Lagerfeld’s show for Chanel happens to be tomorrow, the air felt heavy with anticipation. Well, to me at least. To the normal people walking down the street I imagine it felt muggy and a bit cool…

Last season, Givenchy’s chic, dark, romantic look seemed to be a harbinger for Mary Kate and Ashley—they went chic, dark, and romantic with their own look at around the same time.

So what could the show be telling us this time? When I saw the first model, I thought I had wandered into a Kate Spade show. Polka dots? Isn’t that a bit preppy for Givenchy?

A roundup of some favorite shows from yesterday and today

Andrew Gn
What smart designer isn’t delving into the shoes and handbags these days? Gn’s amazing jewel-toned heels had my full attention. The ’60s-style ballgowns weren’t bad either.

A lot of Fashion Week-ers complain about the hot venues. You think, “Could it really be so bad?”—until you find yourself sitting inside a clear plastic tent in the middle of the day. Remember holding a piece of glass over ants to fry them with the sunlight? It’s the same concept.

Which is why I wasn’t surprised when I got a text from Stacey yesterday: “I’m at Dior, and it’s sooo hot here!”

But she at least had something to distract her. Five minutes later she texts this: “Sting and Trudie are 4 rows in front of me! Trudie has on a very French beret!”…