It’s been a mildly social Paris fashion week. Everyone seems more enamored of day life than night this season and most of the fun has been in café and on side street run-ins. Julia Muggenburg introduced me to Ferdi, a tiny Venezuelan restaurant on Rue Mont Thabor (the Maria Luisa Street) and I’m told Maria Luisa’s sister owns it. The food is tasty so I understand the draw beyond the Maria Luisa association. Among other recognizable faces, Cathy Horyn and Esteban Cortazar were tucked in a booth (not at same time) during my lunchtime visit.

I haven’t been making the cocktail rounds but on Friday night, I went to the Loewe cocktail. It was suitably early and I wanted to see the latest from the house now that Stuart Vevers is creative directing. I didn’t see any clothes but there were some delicious classic looking accessories. I sipped on lobster bisque, frois gras and mushroom soup. By then it was too late to make the Maria Luisa collection launch at Printemps so I headed to art director Linda Ma’s Paris digs for a late evening hangout with all the Italians.

Attending Premiere Classe means stacking up on B12 and digging deep to walk the aisles, say hellos and suss out the trends. After a quick fly by Tranoi at the Louvre, I made the rounds of at Premiere Classe and was quite taken by the return to classic that dominated the trends, think Americana (see review later this week).

Most of Sunday was about Givenchy. After taking in the show, I waited with the Italians till Ricki (Tisci) was done with all his interviews (2 or so hours after the show), to say our hellos and congrats. That turned into an hour of cocktails and cigarettes (for everyone else), Perrier for me. Then dinner at Café Ruc(first this season), then onto Maxims (which felt like déjà vu from last season) where I lost my phone.

During the Paris shows, my social obligations intertwine seamlessly with my professional duties. When not at the shows (loved Gareth, Rick, AF Vandevoorst, Manish Arora and Lutz thus far), I’m in showrooms, pulling looks to wear this week or scanning the racks for innovation. I’ve been to Public Image on a daily basis to try on the Olivier Borde s/s 2010 collection (one of the most beautiful menswear collections for spring). I also snapped up a cashmere and bolero jacket from Tillman Lautebach and 4” open toed heels from Alain Quilci, also at the showroom. Edward Buchanan comes in today and I’m waiting anxiously to view his collection for Sansavino 6. The preview he sent view email has me salivating for most of the collection.

We’re all watching the wallet these days so eating out requires a little creative touch. I’ve lunched at Charlot market a couple times this week, either the Antillaise or the Japanese spot or Down Rue Turenne at Pasta Linea (9 Rue de Turenne) where it’s homemade pasta and vegetables at this three table spot. Lunch is delicious and 10euros. I love a good consignment store and I happened upon Plus Que Parfait (23 rue des Blancs-Manteaux) that has been opened for five years but I only discovered it a couple days ago. It’s one block north of Croix de la Bretonnerie in the heart of the Marais and I found two pristine Chanel menswear pants, one, in light denim with the Chanel quilted motif at the waistband–super St. Tropez.
Daisuke Iwanaga brought my croc bag from Tokyo after repairing a couple zipper pulls and giving it a good oiling. To conduct the transfer, we met up at Dom café for coffee and we chit chatted on the latest in Tokyo.

I arrived in Paris on Sunday. I landed a few days in advance of Fashion Week for scheduled meetings and better yet to avoid that draggy feeling from landing and heading straight to the shows. I settled in at Lynda Real and Marc Gysin’s loft in the Marais, my Paris bed down in recent years. Brunch in the Marais with Cathy Marchioni and Ismael Blanco for dinner ensued and voila, the Paris twirl is on.

It’s been a Four Seasons season. Last week I Iunched at the New York hotel with a potential client, and yesterday it was a long meeting at George V with CoutureLab. It’s always epic at the Four Seasons, the pianist was tapping in the background and the jus de carrots flowed (at 13 € per, thankfully someone else was paying). Four hours later it was back to Marais where I ate a new vegetarian restaurant on the Alaia street while practically falling asleep in the curried vegetables.

Over on the Champs Elysees while passing by the flagship Louis Vuitton store, I decided that I’d pay it a visit on this trip. In the past, I was deterred by the long cue of Asian tourist snaking around the block plus I’m not exactly an LV customer. For my clients however I think they’ll like the selection of clothing in Paris and I plan to buy a few pieces. The showroom visits have already begun. Today I popped into Public Image to see the Olivier Borde collection (there’s a genius patchwork jean jacket for spring 2010), shoes from Alain Quilici and Tillmann Lauterbach cashmeres. I’ve chosen the piece I want to this week.

The consensus among New York storeowners and workers is that while they don’t expect shopping to return to previously off-the-chart levels anytime soon, business is generally looking up. Overall sales are still uneven but unlike in May or June for example when sales were at an abysmal low, stores are seeing more activities again. During my shopping trips to Bergdorf Goodman in the last couple weeks, I saw that a lot of the traffic is back and the personal shoppers are booked solid, which is another positive indicator that cash registers are ringing. At Stella McCartney, Elizabeth Charles, If Boutique and at Kirna Zabete, there’s a visible positive shift in mood; things don’t quite seem so desperate.

While several stores are getting my business, in these times, many more personal relationships are being cultivated with designers to place private orders. Over the last couple weeks alone, ive embarked on selecting items directly from Thakoon, Marchesa, L’Wren Scott, Altuzarra, and Frank Tell, to name only a few local ones.

Yesterday, I went to Seedhouse to see Ellen Carey and Peter Soronen’s SS 2010 collection. Peter is one of my go-to designers and as usual his collection has tons of cocktail and formal evening options. Ellen showed me all Peter’s looks that Jennifer Hudson wore on the VH1 “Divas Live” last week. Peter isn’t exactly a plus size designer; he does however know how to make big girls look her best. I’m keen to bring him out to LA to service some of my clients there.

Greg Lauren officially opened his “Alteration” exhibition last night and while I got a sneak peek of the clothes-made-of-paper exhibit last week, I wanted to turn up and support Greg and his wife Elizabeth Berkley. The whole Lauren clan turned out (though I didn’t spot Ralph) among various scenesters and hipsters. I ran into Lorenzo Hadar of H. Lorenzo in Los Angeles and his whole family and left Elizabeth deep in conversation with her “Saved by the Bell” co-star Mark-Paul Gosselaar.

While the fashion tour continues across Europe, if you count yourself a power broker, you’re more than likely to be hobnobbing in the New York this week. The city is gridlock with dignitaries and celebrities in town to ring in the fall social season. I opted to stay around (skipping London and Milan fashion weeks) to dress clients attending the New Yorkers for Children gala, Important Dinner for Women hosted by Wendi Murdoch, Queen Rania, and Indra K. Nooyi of PepsiCo among other private dinners and meetings. The Important Dinner for Women had quite the turnout with over 300 women in attendance including Naomi Campbell, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Brown, Diane Von Furstenberg and Sarah Ferguson banding together to lower the death rate for mothers.

It’s been a high wattage last few days for me involving meetings with Middle Eastern royalty, dinner with socialites and a pop princess, and consultations with Hollywood power players. I leave to Paris on Saturday, a couple days early for a few meetings and research before the fashion flock lands. Lookout for my daily dispatches from Paris next week.

It’s always a balancing act between seeing the shows and shopping during Fashion Week. I usually dip into a few shows and then hit up the boutiques to score some pieces for my clients before the shopping vultures (less these days) scoop up the best items. I swung by Kirna Zabete to see what was left of the Alaia shoe selection (not much). Then it was onto Curve. I saw the swirly Preen dress that’s on my to-get list but it was too short for the modest client who wanted it. I was glad to see they’re carrying Tim Van Steenburgen, you don’t see the undervalued brand in many stores. Then onto If Boutique, where those bulbous Comme des Garcons shapes meet you at the entrance. I appreciate Comme and do usually get a few pieces each season for someone–the shapes this fall however are intimidating. I opted for a few leggings, one with leather insets from Margiela and a few tees. I always anticipate finding that edgy fitted dress at If but always fail to–they don’t do fitted. Greg Lauren’s exhibition is just down the street. I popped in for a peep, not expecting him to actually be there, but he was manning the “store.” The exhibition of iconic menswear sculptures immortalized in a blackened papier-mache like fabric created an arresting image in the room. An exploration of the some of the items he grew up with as a member of the Ralph Lauren clan.

Soon after arriving American’s Next Top Models’ Jay Alexander turned up in a similar fashion as I did to check out Greg’s work, not necessarily expecting to find him there. We chatted for about half hour and tried on some of the jackets in the other section of the exhibit consisting of wearable clothes. We both placed orders. Jay in the meantime dished some behind the scenes secrets of past and future Top Model, including his “gimmick” next season after a contestant is eliminated. It was then off the Marchesa’s presentation with a client where we picked out three stunning dresses. And we finally wrapped things up at Thakoon, placing a hefty order for spring and playing with Stevie, Thakoon’s dog.

As entertaining as Project Runway is, purists often cast the show as entertainment with little resemblance to the fashion industry as a whole. Yet I continue to see former contestants wares turn up on store shelves across the country Austin Scarlett, Chloe Dao, Jeffrey Sebelia and Kara Janx to name a few. The one-to-watch however is Christian Siriano whose sixth season win and “fierce” catchphrase has the press eating out of his hands. And he’s actually showing at New York Fashion week. For spring 2010, Siriano showed approachable separates in a sand colored palette, shift dresses, and constellation prints. And he’s not lacking supporters. Take a look at who came out to cheer him on.

I met up with Wendi Murdoch yesterday to pull together looks for her upcoming events then it was off to the shows. A big Thakoon shopper, Wendi and I went to the show together which threw me into the deep end of the Fashion Week. All the bold faced names were there and it was air kisses and hand waving till the lights went down. I tucked in between Wendi and Ciara, the R&B singer and noted the looks to put on order. I left already tired from the single presentation. Rad Hourani at Milk Studios was next and it was good to see that he’s being embraced by the majors (check out the photos). I then dipped in to Sophie Theallet’s–really sweet and thoughtful collection. And then it was off toTelfar–love those shows where you see all the young downtown hipsters. The show was also a thrill. It was dinner at a whole in the wall Cuban restaurant on 8th Ave and then a quick detour to catch the Whitney Houston interview on Oprah. What an earful!

The merciless jolt into the season is on. From the start of the week, a tsunami of communiqués from PR firms began rubbernecking in my inbox and shows no signs of abating. Fashion’s Night Out is over, so that strain of mail has stopped and now the invitations to the many events at the European Fashion Weeks have started up. I still contend that communication is more frenetic since e-vites took hold over the last year but I seem to be the only one talking about this. So I’ll stop the bitching and get on with the musings from the last couple days.

In my last dispatch I told you that I’d be on the sidelines for Fashion’s Night Out thus I followed the movements via tweets and phone calls. It appears that stores were packed with folks turning out to see the varied store attractions (Hamish Bowles crooning at the Juicy Couture store or Zac Posen live painting at Bergdorfs), the sales figures however will ultimately determine the success of the night.

Last month I tweeted about one of my private styling clients making the Vanity Fair Best Dressed List. Kathy Freston is that client and she attended the VF luncheon yesterday where the list-makers were feted. I thought her inclusion on the list was genius as she is a vegan and approaches her fashion restrictions similarly to her dietary ones. That means buying a lot of Stella McCartney (especially the footwear). Furs of course are no-no. And an overall consciousness is employed when determining which brands see her dollars. Kudos to VF for recognizing that fashion can be conscientious.

I’m psyched to resume standard programming with JC Report. Our mailer is back on regular frequency and so is the daily number of stories. See our latest newsletter out today and look out for some new features in the coming weeks. One hint. Shopping.

I haven’t officially settled in Los Angeles (actual move date is after the Paris shows) but I have spent most of the summer here. Of course, August brings on serious slumber (no matter where you live) yet with the added bougainvilleas, palm fronds surroundings coupled with the sundrenched days, I’ve been in deep summer mode for the last month of so in LA.

You would have noticed that the site has been on a reduced production schedule as well in order for the whole team to re-charge. I’ve been writing less and relaxing the best I know how. That means morning hikes at Runyon canyon, lazy poolside days, and a few excursions to friends in Malibu. I took a few days in San Francisco, riding over the Golden Gate Bridge, exploring surrounding areas such as Berkeley and Oakland and eating amazing Bay area food. Last week, I drove through the Mojave to Las Vegas to attend Magic, Capsule and Project tradeshows. That wasn’t exactly leisure time, but I did squeeze in some fine dining at Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina establishments. The food selection in Vegas keeps getting better. I ran into my dear friend Waleed Khairzada and Suzanne Bartsch while they were tooling around seeking out new lines for Suzanne’s husband David Barton ever expanding chain of gyms.

Running a company means never fully clocking out and there was a steady stream of visitors to LA over the last month or so. Nicholas Kirkwood and Christopher Suarez passed through after their July event at The Wynn with Beyonce. We had a raucous night out at Palihouse and at a Beverly Hills Mexican restaurant. I told the boys that i absolutely need to have a pair of those Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte boots–hopefully ill have in time for Paris Fashion Week. Zowie Broach of Boudicca passed through town last week for her clinics at Barneys and The Wynn. I met up with John Skelton, Charlotte Hall and the Oki-Ni crew at Cheebo on Saturday. Greg Lauren and I had a pow-wow about his upcoming show later this month in New York. It was great to catch up with him after our trip together earlier this summer in South Africa. Look out for upcoming coverage on his Soho exhibition later this month. And finally Colin Donahue shot me for September’s issue of Rodeo Magazine out of Milan as an influencer’s influencer–the issue comes out in a few days.

But now that Labor Day is behind us, it’s back to business. I’m rolling out to NYC this weekend. I will miss the first couple days of Fashion week, including the much buzzed about Fashion’s Night Out, instead I’ll be in LA to attend Church’s officially opening on Saturday night. I wrote a piece on this new addition to the LA retail scene a couple months ago and tout le monde will surely turn out for the launch. Look out for our party pictures from the event. And with Fashion Week upon us, stay tuned for our extended coverage from New York to Paris.