The mater has arrived in Paris. It is as I expected: less independence (obviously), but still nice to be with her.

Places went today: the usual touristy suspects. Shakespeare and Co., Notre-Dame, Hemingway's house [at the moment, I'm reading a really interesting biography of his first wife, Hadley Richardson], and... oh yes, that's it. I feel that we didn't get much done. Mum's feet were killing her. (I don't meant to make it sound as though she is a ball and chain, but exploring Paris suddenly does get more... sedate with her around).

My first few shoddy attempts at street-style. I don't have the wherewithal, the quick reactions, to snap a perfect shot of someone before they move, nor a long enough lens. But here goes.


I managed to get this guy just as he turned around. I loved his bright red trousers and a sailor-style shirt on beneath a smart black blazer. A vision. From the front, that is.

I need to learn how to zoom. This woman had the floor-length, sweeping skirt that is very in right now, but teamed with that simple red-and-white striped jumper. What struck me was the effect made between the vertical stripes made by the pleated skirt and the horizontal lines on her top.

I have seen this a lot in Paris: men casually wearing their jackets over one shoulder. Is this a normal thing? Am I missing something? Do men do this in England?

Oh, such a sneaky shot! I saw this woman's shoes, saw she was coming my way, pretended to fiddle with my camera whilst looking downwards as she went past. Still wasn't exactly what I wanted: I don't even get the heel in! They were obviously new shoes, as she was walking through one of those sandy, gravelly parcs that pepper Paris (it was by the Palais-Royal, actually) and the electric-blue colour of her heels was barely dirtied. The heel was the same colour as her trousers; I wish I could have got the combination of the two into the shot.

I just loved this picture for the dazzling contrast of white against the sandy-coloured stone building. When you think of workmen, or builders, you think of blue overalls with paint and dirt and cement and grease. These men were sparkling - presumably they had only just started work for the day, or were only working on pure white objects... Maybe.

Outside the Banque de France. Don't you love a Gallic man in uniform?

With the seeming invention of the waist into fashion at the moment, the craze being Mad Men-high hips and full bosoms, it's nice to see a low-slung hip without looking chavvy. This dress did it perfectly: a gorgeous mixture of the casual low hip with a floaty, glamorous cling to her frame. Demure, but a lovely kind of recognition of the feminine body.

Tangerine, bright rose, fuschia, magenta: I can't get enough of these Spring colours! This girl lit up the dusty queues outside Notre-Dame.

This dress had a beautiful tapestry kind of design on it, with a lace sort of knitwork border. Really striking, and a symbol of the 70s prints around at the moment.

White lapels, polka-dot midi. It's all about the contrasts, the patterns, white against a dark background.