SONIA RYKIEL INSPIRES ME

Sonia Rykiel has died at the age of 86.

She was a personal icon of mine.

I loved her wild red hair and wonderful

casual Parisian style.

Here is an old post I wrote in 2009

after a week in Paris.

Here she is ... the other grande dame of fashion. And like her other fashion counterpart, Coco Chanel, Sonia Rykiel had no formal training but did have a wonderfully creative mind and an understanding of women. She is known as the "Queen of Knitwear." Her clothing lines are so beautiful and flattering to women but most of all, they look so wearable and comfortable. I adore her clothes but most of all, I love Sonia Rykiel's personal style.
So I played around with my image of Sonia at an earlier age and painted it on a tote.
Here's a picture of the completed tote and I thought it would be a great way to carry a pair of Sonia's great shoes. Check out the shoes I posted below.
When I was in Paris a month ago, I was meandering through the 6th arrondissement which is the St. Germain-des-Pres area and saw this fun window in a small retail shop. It happened to be Fashion Week in Paris and the city had visions of couture everywhere. That wonderful red hair sets her apart, doesn't it?
Now, here are the shoes of the season from Sonia Rykiel's Fall Show. You must go to her website and see the unique fashion show she created. Very intimate and classy and what made it so different was that the models would say a line or two as they walked through the audience. www.soniarykiel.com
Her fashion show this year was all about words and I just love this knit pullover sweater. It looked great with her pants and the shoes above.
My apartment where I stayed in Paris was just around the corner from Sonia's flagship store on St. Germain. Everyday, I would walk by the windows and just drool. I'm sure the Security Man was saying to himself ... "She's back again."

For 3 weeks, it was so much fun being a St. Germainy Girl like Sonia. Long live Sonia Rykiel.