15 Parisian things that inspired me this week #11

Bonjour everyone! How are we all coping with these absolutely unprecedented levels of heat? My Parisian friends have been sending me SOS texts this past week—as charming as they are for someone admiring them from the outside, Haussmannian apartments can become absolute ovens under these new climate realities. Which is rather wild when you learn that Paris's reluctance to embrace air conditioning has largely been driven by its strict heritage and planning rules. Il faut souffrir pour être belle, in all its glory.

In the meantime, the Parisian mayor has officially banned alcohol consumption in public spaces from Friday to Sunday, and locals have accepted Canal Saint-Martin as their closest beach option, with the water quality being a small detail best ignored. If you're currently in Paris or any heatwave-adjacent city you’re welcome to join the subscribers’ chat where we're all sharing our heatwave survival tips! And if sweating over a confit de canard wasn’t on your bingo card this summer you can also check out this life-saving guide with those rare Parisian restaurants that actually offer air conditioning.

As for me? I’ve found refuge in Greece and can confirm that an iced ouzo and a plate of perfectly grilled fish by the Athenian Riviera might be the best possible remedy.

I also have to let you in on a little secret: if shoe tourism were a thing, Athens should 100% be on your itinerary. You can find gorgeous handmade leather sandals from small family-run businesses for under €30, with styles remarkably similar to those from Ancient Greek Sandals (the kind of pairs you might normally pay €150+ for).

You can also find more elevated options if you're looking for something that feels a little more special than your everyday flat sandal, like this pair I stumbled upon in a small shop in the center of Athens, that sparked a very serious red vs. black debate over on Notes:

I know most of you loved the red, but I think we might all be slightly under the spell of the red shoe mania that has taken over our brains this summer. I need to go back and reassess! (I’m sharing the shop behind the paywall!)

I was still feeling a little nostalgic about Parisian street style and tried to soak up as much inspiration as possible before leaving, so here’s what you can expect over the next few weeks: a few Parisian fashion bits that I managed to schedule in advance for anyone still looking for city-summer inspiration, sprinkled with plenty of Athenian gems and dreamy Greek island moments—I’m so excited to take you along!

In this week’s list: the sandal shop where I found those lush black and red sandals, a pair of very Parisian sneakers that cost €47 and are heatwave-approved, another Hermès sandal model spotted in the wild, the Spanish brand that has made Parisians more adventurous with their pants, chic silky kaftans inspired by a Parisian I spotted in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, how to make your basic T-shirt instantly summer-dinner-ready, a dupe to the Celine 3-dots sunglasses, and my absolute favorite French summer skincare essentials for face and body (including the best SPF and moisturizer I’ve tried so far).