Paris gets cold/ I warm up

Fall has finally arrived in Paris which gives the Parisians an excuse to do 2 things:

1. Begin selling Christmas products in stores (really guys?! Is Christmas that big a deal in Paris that you need 2 months to prepare? Well, I guess you don't have the intermittent holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving, so I'll cut you some slack...)

2. Go shopping for cold weather clothes.

Today I participated in the later. I went for an afternoon walk after finishing my homework, got caught in the rain, and ended up in the foule (crowd) walking in between Zara and H&M on the rue de rivoli.

I've been in the market for some winter items ever since I thought my fingers were going to freeze off last Thursday, when I went to Montmartre with my photo class and was unprepared for the sudden change into fall weather. I have a decent supply of gloves, 2 real scarves, and 1 hat, but the Parisians do the fall/winter style so well, I thought I could really update my look with some parisians must haves.

I am not that great with fashion, but for those of you that desperately want to know what a stylish Parisian is wearing this fall, I will give you a brief list of the "must haves."

1. the boyfriend blazer
2. the faux leather jacket (preferably zip-up) in brown or black
3. a good pair of boots
4. the skinny jean (they call it "slim" here)
5. the statement scarf (these range from plaid to woven, small to chunky, but no parisian leaves the apt without a scarf. if she's not wearing it, check her purse)

Rocking the boots, leather jacket, and the statement scarf.

The boyfriend blazer, skinny jeans, and boots
(and probably a scarf in the bag).

I got myself "the statement scarf." It's huge, comfy, and warmmm. It's so big that when I wear it, it not only covers my neck, but my ears and some of my chin, too. At three times the length of my couch, this thing means business. I didn't mind shelling out the 14,95 EUR (which is actually a bargin for this type of scarf) for something I knew I would use all semester. By the time I left the store, all the other scarves of the same style were grabbed off of the shelves by other deal-seaking parisians.

Having already gotten the pair of slim jeans at a boutique in montmartre, I am now only in the market for the boyfriend blazer and a beret-style hat. No one wears the beret in Paris (except very classy old women and tourists), but there are more casual looking knit versions of the beret that look very chic. Many girls will wear them low on the head, with their hair tucked into the cap.

Here are some celebrities wearing the hat.

The Parisians tend to keep it a little more subtle than this,
sticking to caps in blacks and browns.

Feeling that the scarf was enough for one day, I decided to warm myself up using other tactics. I went to ED and Franprix and bought some comfort food. You can get a huge can of chili con carne for around 2 EUR at pretty much any supermarket, but my favorite kind comes from Franprix, where they attach a little pouch of chili seasoning. It makes me feel more like I'm cooking. I like to add in some corn and canned beans, too, as the chili is a little to thick for me as it comes. I add a little crème fraiche and serve it next to a boiled potato -- perfection!

Total damages today:

ED groceries (1 bucket of crème fraiche, 1 bottle of cab sav, 1 kg of pasta): 3,99 EUR
Franprix groceries (1 packet of salami, 6 potatoes, 2 tomatoes, 1 can of red beans, 1 can of chili con carne): 5,32 EUR
1 scarf at Zara: 15 EUR