Christian Lacroix

We arrived in Paris on a sunny and cold Sunday. Monday, museums are closed, so my husband and I decided to do a bit of shopping. The designers' boutiques in Paris are so sublime. Their chicly styled windows beckoned us to come in out of the frigid temperatures and warm ourselves amongst their wares. So we did.

One of our very first stops was Christian Lacroix.

I LOVE Christian Lacroix.

And where I’m from, you can’t buy Christian Lacroix, unless you shop online for a piece here, or a piece there. I couldn’t just buy a random piece of his clothing online. It just wouldn’t do.

Christian Lacroix is amazing. I knew someday, I would have the opportunity to grace his boutique and I was just going to have to wait it out.

Unfortunately, I almost waited too long, because his design house went bankrupt (I still CANNOT believe it!) and at the end of January, his boutiques will close.

My husband and I went into his boutique on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. I was hoping to find a little memento. Something to remember Christian Lacroix by. Can you believe, I didn’t find a thing? Not one item. However, my husband… My husband found a few mementos.

One of them turned out to be this gorgeous suit. It’s a black and white glen plaid with a faint barn red pin stripe incorporated into the wool. It’s beautiful and classic. What made it worth writing about, is the incredibly unique interior of the suit.

I'm sorry my amateur photos don't do this jacket justice. The interior has been completely lined, by hand, in silk. And as you can see, there are subtle details that you won’t find in most men’s suits. I love the red velvet inner pocket, black and white silk piping, little medal medallion over the other inner pocket, and red buttons that act as the exterior button liners. It’s absolutely stunning!

Our sales person told us this Victorian-era scene is from Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, where Christian Lacroix was born; which makes sense scenery-wise, as Arles was part of the Roman Empire for hundreds of years.

A colorful individual could wear this suit jacket inside out! My husband wouldn’t dare attempt that, but one could.

We had their tailor take the pants in a bit, so returned to the shop a couple of times during our week there. They did a fabulous job!

We’re sorry to see Christian Lacroix leave fashion. He’s a wonderfully creative man, who has left a lovely impression in my husband's closet and our world.