Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

Paris, Day 6: More Castelbajac

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After going to the Jean-Charles de Castelbajac store in London and finding cute shoes and a top, I was unable to resist a look at the Paris store…just in case I missed something!

I tried on the dress below in both blue and green. It was adorable but a couple of sizes too large and I thought even Jean, the amazing seamstress, would have trouble cutting it down to size.

Lips.

Lips.

I was amused by the sequined “Visa” card or, as it actually said, “Vasi.”

Could one pay for one's purchases with this "card"?

Could one pay for one's purchases with this "card"?

And then there was the sequined Michael Jackson dress in the window.

The man in the window.

I like that you can see reflections of me and MrB in the window.

Ultimately, I bought the Lego dress, which I wore last night.

I love this dress!

I love this dress!

I got one other dress too (they were having a big sale, how could I not?) but you’ll have to wait to see that.

By the way, if Castelbajac isn’t your thing but you’re yearning to help the economy by doing some shopping, Shrimpton Couture is having a virtual trunk sale for its RSVP line through July 29. You’ll get 10% to 25% off the whole line and there are new pieces just added to. Check it out here.

UPDATED TO ADD: Lady GaGa, whom I adore, got herself some prime Castelbajac!

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Comments

  3. I wanna be a jewelry designer too so I can afford all the nice things, boohoo!!

    You look fabulous Wendy, great dress, marvellous shoes!

  4. Being a jewelry designer you wouldn’t be able to afford squat, Lynn! It would help to have a dozen years in the corporate world before — including five at Lehman Brothers — if you want to afford anything! Making jewelry is more of a financial drain than buying clothes.

  5. Thanks for the mention about the Trunk show Wendy! and I cannot believe I am about to say this but I actually like that sequined MJ dress! You have to email me with details – might send you back to the shop LOL

  6. BTW are you sure this line is not sneaking peaks at the new Francis Roth line? That Lego dress you bought looks just like something that he would have thought of – but probably even done better – no disrespect to your fab taste of course LOL you look gorgeous as per usual!!

  7. That’s why I got it, Shrimpy! The two of them definitely have a similar aesthetic and sense of humor and way of playing with brands. I wore the dress to show CFR last night and he had the same reaction. Personally (and I may be a tiny bit prejudiced but keep in mind I was writing about CFR long before I met him and not writing about Castelbajac) I think CFR executes his ideas with a bit more subtlety and artistry. But they definitely both appeal to sensibilities!

  11. Love love the lego dress. His dresses are like walking pieces of art. I got to see an exhibit of his stuff at musee galliera, and it was mind-blowing! Only 2 rooms, but it took me about an hour to get through. My favorite piece was the x-rayed teddy bear. 😉

    PS – I finally fixed my crappy commenting form, so it works now! Woohoo!

  16. Have just caught up on your marvellous posts. I love the adventures and Amiens is gorgeous. I’m impressed by lego dress and I’m taking petit garcon to legoland soon and wish I had it to wear!

    Once again it was fab to meet you in London on your European tour. Thanks for a fantastic lunch xx

  19. Good call on the Lego dress. I can’t believe the amazingly creative ‘dead Kermit’ approach to fashion.

    ps – You were at Lehman? Me too…

  22. wow, sooo cool items. thanks so much for sharing.my fav is the first one, is kind of random.

  24. Ooh, I especially love that Vasi, how charming!!!
    You have such a pretty smile 🙂
    Thank you for your lovely comment! xx

  25. In a few years your nephew is going to be so impressed by your Lego dress. I agree about CFR and Castelbajac, the francis is a bit better executed, but Castelbajac goes a long way with fun!

  27. JCDC is unique designer with amazing sense of style!i love that he do it his own way!I have some pieces from him, like it soo much. You look absolutely georgeous!

  29. Love the dress! I would think you would’ve gotten the Michael Jackson one, since it has gold sequins, but I can see how that could’ve looked plaid out…

    JCDC is a genius! Who else has this much fun designing dresses these days?

  30. Market Publique, I know of only one other person who has that much fun…guess who? Wait, there are two. Zang Toi’s designs definitely aren’t as blatantly humorous, but they have a lot of happiness in them because he’s so full of joy himself.

  34. Ooh, I love the Lego dress!

    Also, you have very well-educated word verification thingies. This one is ‘Boleyn.’

  36. Wow, you find the greatest items. Love them all, especially the lego dress and the bathing suit. Hope your summer is going great!

  40. I am laughing at myself as when I wrote that comment on your new Lego dress it was meant to make that point that CFR would have done it better – les sigh for the lack of tonality in email and my typing straight form my head as I think it up, rather then typing as the rest of the world does using that silly thing called grammar

  42. FABULOUS!
    Castelbajac was never on my wishlist but seeing you in all
    these beautiful pieces…you are truly Jean-Charles de Castelbajac obsessed 😉
    The store simply has to be on my “visit list” whenever I come next time to Paris!

    Thanks for sharing your awesome photos and congratulations on your newest JCdC purchase!!!

  46. omg, I’m so glad I found your blog via your comment on mine. I LOVE your style! I’m sure you have a very covetable wardrobe! 😉 We both obviously share a special admiration for novelty dresses! I can’t wait to see what else you find! 🙂