To say that French photographer Garancé Dore has an eye for style would be an understatement. A trailblazer in the street style blog movement, Dore has ruled the sidewalks from New York to Paris since she launched her namesake blog back in 2006. And today, after nearly a decade of attracting flocks of fashion-frenzied readers, the shutterbug, illustrator and CFDA award-winner adds author to her already glamorous resume.
Love Style Life, her compelling new tome, couples snapshots with stories about her day-to-day, from her childhood in Corsico to her rise to icon status (not to mention, cameo interviews with fashion favorites like Diane von Furstenberg and Jenna Lyons).
“The book is a journey through my vision of style, from the outside to the inside,” Dore says. “I start with style and what you wear, then go to career which is what we project into the world, then beauty which is something that’s more intimate, then elegance and love. It’s about what it is to be a modern woman.” Defining that chic Parisian style so many girls try to mimic, it was only fitting we turned to the French photog to share some of her own favorite Parisian haunts. Here are her top picks.
Ya Lamai
This is one of my new favorite restaurants in Paris. It’s a Thai restaurant in the 11th arrondissement and it’s delicious. The restaurant itself is super cute. It’s really not pretentious. It has one of those long menus of soups and stuff like that and I had an amazing dinner last day of Fashion Week with my friends, so that’s one of my new favorites. I think the girl who opened the restaurant used to work in fashion, so the word spread fast as a place you can keep healthy. French food is great, but sometimes it’s difficult to find something vegetable-based in a restaurant, so this is the perfect spot for that.
Claus café
Here’s a place where you can eat with your girlfriends and really hang out. It’s on the second floor. The entrance is on the first floor, where you have a grocery type store, which is very cute. On the top floor are little tables. It feels very cozy, almost like you’re in an apartment.
Claus café in Paris
Café de Flore
This is a more typical Parisian cafe. I try to go at least three times when I’m in Paris. You get a bite of old-school Paris there and I have to say I really love it. I cannot resist ordering the eggs. It comes with a baguette and butter and salt. And you put your bread in the yellow of the egg. That’s one of my favorite things to order there. It’s so good.
Hotel Thoumieux
I consider this one of my favorite hotels. I love the neighborhood. It’s very close to the Eiffel Tower, so I love it because you are always reminded that you are in Paris. You go out of your hotel and it feels so beautiful.
Colette
I cannot go to Paris and not go take a look at Colette. I think they’re doing an amazing job at capturing what’s cool right now, better than any magazine. Colette is amazing for everything but their jewelry and book selection is very special. It’s very eclectic. You go there and come out with a pair of sneakers or a Dior jacket.
