Melissa's Guide to Paris Fashion Week!

With Paris Fashion Week starting today, Melissa wanted to share with you her favourite things about Paris and all her top tips on how to do 'the city d'amour' in style! So grab your breton stripes, your Chanel sunnies, your bicycle and your baguette, and say "Bonjour" to the Odabash Guide to Paris Fashion Week!

WHAT TO WEAR?

A statement bag is an absoloute must for fashion week. Make it big so you can fit everything you need in it! We love these red bags from Chloe, Proenza Shouler and Jimmy Choo. They can jazz up any outfit in seconds!

From Right: Chloe (Net-A-Porter), Proenza Shoulder (Net-A-Porter), Jimmy Choo (Net-A-Porter)

Fashion Week means lots of walking, and taxi's are notoriously scarce in Paris, so make sure you pack a pair of luxe ballet pumps! Obviously French Sole is our go-to for dolly flats here at Odabash, Melissa also loves Jimmy Choo, these super cute miu miu embellished nude numbers are super chic too and make a great alternative to sky high heels without sacrificing style.

MELISSA'S PARISIAN PACKING TIPS!

At this time of the year the weather can be very unpredictable in Paris! Wherever your going infact, Melissa suggests always checking the weather before you travel, lay out all outfits on bed so you can interchange pieces. That way you won't end up trying to find an outfit after a night on the tiles with a fuzzy head and nothing to wear! When packing its best to lay everything flat to minimise creasing and this way you can fit a lot more in, and leave room for shopping!

We love the way this lady has organised her packing! Its also fun to Instagram your packing pics!

Always pack a travel candle to make your room feel more like your own space. Staying in so many different hotels during show season can get quite disorientating, so it is a great way to make sure you feel right at home! We love Jo Malone, Diptique and Miller Harris not only for thier dreamy fragrances, but also for their beautiful packaging. These also make great gifts if you're meeting foreign acquiantances for dinner!!

Diptique Candles available from Liberty

Dont forget to pack a notebook, camera or sketchpad so you can make notes on everything you see while in Paris. We love the idea of sketching looks rather than photographing them at the catwalk shows. Much more authentic and pleasurable than trying to snap a blurry photo on your iphone! Other Odabash essentials include an Ipad for catching up on emails in the morning over coffee and croissants, a bottle of Fiji Water to rehydrate regularly and business cards so you never get caught out without one!

Christian Dior's fashion sketches and the ultimate fashionista's sketchbook!

WHERE TO SHOP?

Of course no Fashion Week is complete without some serious shopping! After seeing all the beautiful clothes on the fashionistas of Paris and on the runway, we challenge you not to do some damage to your credit card, especially in the fashion captial of Europe! Here are our favourite places to indulge in some retail therapy, Paris styleeee.

Zadig & Voltair and The Kooples fill the trendy streets of Le Marais!

Head to 'Le Marais' and get lost in the meandering streets filled with uber trendy boutiques such as The Kooples, Zadig Voltaire, & Surface to Air. Make sure you check out Toutes Les Filles boutique and stock up on your Odabash essentials too for your winter getaway! Thier store has a bit of everything so if you can only visit one shop in Paris, this is the one to make sure you have the best choice! 'Colette' is also every fashionista's one stop shopping destination, as well as 'Le Bon Marche' for picking up the latest designer bags and accessories!

Stack up on Odabash at Toutes Les Filles in Paris!

St Germain des Pres

If you're after designer labels, St Germain is the place to be! With boutiques like Chanel, Celine, Louis Vuitton and Isabel Marant at your disposal, it is pure French high-fashion euphoria! Even if your purse strings don't stretch that far, we seriously recommend just checking out their window displays which are just beautiful. Once the domain of artists, musicians and intellectuals Sant Germain des Pres is also a great place to people watch, especially if sitting in one of the typically Parisian street cafes. We particularly love spotting Parisian locals and thier chic pooches!

Pooch watch and an Apperetif in St Germain, the perfect way to spend the early evening or a stop off on your shopping trip!

If you have a morning off and love a romantic flea market and a good bargian hunt then Porte de Vanves Flea Market is the place to be! Every Saturday and Sunday morning from 7am–1pm, the market is known to be at the top of its game in Paris for vintage clothes and accessories, antiques, and trinkets, books and old suitcases. The early start means there is no excuse as you can head straight to the shows after you've had a rummage!

Bargain hunting at Portes des Vanves Flea Market (Style Traveller)

EATS & TREATS?

After a long days work what better way to treat yourself than with Paris' reknowned culinary concepts and restaurants that sprawl across the city, you're spoilt for choice! A few of Melissa's favourites include Atelier Maitre D"Albert in St Germain, with amazing art on the wall as cosy intimate but modern atmosphere its perfect for after dark indulgence. KGB, also in St German comprises of an amazing menu of fusion food, like tapas but with a French/Asian twist, the pan fried scallops with a hint of lemongrass and coconut milk are a real treat for the tastebuds! If it's quick and easy your looking for, but don't want to compromise on taste and quality then Relais de L'Entrecote is the perfect choice and great for when all you are craving is a classic Parisian Steak Frites, they have nothing else on the menu so service is quick and house wine is amazing. The waitresses dressed in black with white pinnies, very authentic Paris! Le Petite Zinc right opposite is also a real experience, serving seafood in an amazing Art Deco styled setting.

Clockwise from Top Left: Scallops at KGB, Art Deco at Le Petit Zinc, 'Hallo Hallo'! Waitresses line up outside L'Entrecote, Modern Bistro Atelier Maitre D'Albert

DON'T MISS!

This season in Paris we at Odabash are seriously looking forward to what Karl Lagerfeld will pull out of his sleeve for his show. Judging from recent productions it is bound to be a visual feast not only in terms of the clothes walking the runway, but the runway itself! We wonder what the theme will be this seaon? Girls attop of oversized Chanel purse and surrounded by gigantic pearls on a revolving carosell anyone?!

Oppulence on the Catwalk or Carousel at Chanel!

If you get time, a great thing to do is walk the river and check out Notre Dame. With its gothic towers and ornate architechture it is a real inspiration to any creative soul. If you can see it at night, even better, and from the back of a gorgeous Parisian man's motorcycle? Well, the city is yours!

Notre Dame Cathedral painted at night.

So it's "BON VOYAGE" From all of us at Odabash for now....Stay tuned for our Paris Fashion Week Round Up after the chaos is over!