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My
whole life I heard stories of my
mother’s experiences when she worked for
Pierre Balmain. Here are a few I would
like to share with you.
When Gregory Peck would accompany
his native French wife Veronique who
interviewed him in 1953 at the time when
she was a journalist working for a
French newspaper, all the Pierre
Balmain’s saleswomen would rush towards
him and make a big fuss asking him for
an autograph because he was so handsome
and popular in France, and they would
completely forget about his wife.
Sylviane remembers offering a chair to
Veronique Peck to sit down and wait for
all the big fuss to calm down and she
apologized to her, to which Madame Peck
would say, “Don’t worry about it, I am
used to it. The same thing happens
everywhere we go”.
Sylviane remembers meeting Audrey
Hepburn on the Champs Elysees one day as
they crossed the Avenue together at the
same time. The same thing happened when
waiting for the traffic light to turn
red, looking on her right, Sylviane
recognized Elizabeth Taylor and Richard
Burton on their way to Fouquet’s. Liz
Taylor was a regular client for Pierre
Balmain but would never come in person.
She would send her secretaries to shop
and they would always pay cash up front.
They never came in summer but mostly in
February or March and they came with
their own Chihuahuas to look around in
the boutique. My Mom would say, “I have
got just what you want for Madame
Burton. In fact, Monsieur Balmain had
Liz in mind when he designed this dress
or coat. Let me show you. She remembers
selling them a really nice coat in light
pink, three quarters long and with gold
embroidery with a fur hat, Russian
style. Sylviane said she could sell them
anything she wanted. I asked my Mom, “Is
it true that M. Balmain really had Liz
Taylor in mind when he designed that
outfit?" "Not really," my Mom said. "It
was just a fun sales gimmick.”
My Mom later became the boutique
Director at the Hilton Hotel by the
Eiffel Tower. She got that promotion
because she could speak fairly good
English and had been taking night
classes with Berlitz, at Place de
l’Opera. I remember so well her stories
about her experiences there. Pierre
Balmain had a large clientele of
American customers because he had
dressed many Hollywood stars in the 50's
and 60's for their movies, so he was
quite a celebrity in the USA at the
time. That is why he decided to open a
new boutique at the Hilton and he needed
somebody charming and convincing to head
the boutique. Some American customers
who stayed at the Hilton, would window
shop, come in, looked around and started
talking to my Mom, complementing her on
her English. As a retort, she would say,
” Thank you but I wish I could speak as
well as my uncle. Then they would ask:
Who is your uncle? "Maurice Chevalier."
Maurice Chevalier was quite a popular
French movie star in the 40's and 50's
and who had made a career in the US. The
ladies then were so impressed that they
would come back with their friends and
introduce them to my Mom. “You’ve got to
meet Maurice Chevalier’s niece.” Of
course, that really helped my Mom make a
lot of money for Pierre Balmain. One
day, there entered the famous French
singer Patachou, who quietly listened to
the conversation and once everyone was
gone, said, ”I did not know my good
friend Maurice had a niece! I will have
to ask him about it." Then my Mom
explained that she knew her English was
so bad that she had to come up with that
idea to sell more! My Mom added, “Please
don’t say anything. The Americans are so
impressed that they almost ask for my
autograph!" To which Patachou started
laughing and said, ”I will have to share
that with Maurice, he is going to have a
good laugh."
The same ploy worked for French
customers from what we call the
province, meaning anything away from
Paris and its suburbs. Doctors, surgeons
and businessmen would come and spend the
night at the Hilton Hotel because it was
impressive. When women came with their
husbands, the husbands would sometimes
accidentally enter the boutique and my
Mom would show them Pierre Balmain’s
ties. She would say to them: don’t you
want to get a tie like the ones Gilbert
Becaud has?” Gilbert Becaud was a well
known popular singer from the 60s to the
80s and he was famous for his polka dot
ties. He was also my Mom’s favorite
singer and mine too. To which the
husbands would say, "Really, Gilbert
Becaud wears Balmain’s ties?" My Mom
would say, "Of course, he was having
lunch here just the other day, he
stopped by the boutique and bought 4 or
5 ties.” And then the husbands would end
up buying a Pierre Balmain tie! Those
stories ended up to Pierre Balmain’s
ears and he would laugh so hard at my
Mom’s gimmicks to help him be
successful.
Most movie stars would go directly
to the 1er etage or second floor of the
main Boutique rue Francois 1er for their
fittings but would stop on the rez–de-chaussee
or main floor and look around to
purchase perfume, jewelry and silk
scarves and accessories where my Mom was
working, before being promoted to the
Hilton Hotel boutique.
One year, she was on French TV News
with the famous actress Martine Carole
advertising Pierre Balmain’s Christmas
gifts . Monsieur Balmain chose my Mom to
be involved in that commercial. Martine
Carole was a big star in the French
cinema world in those days and also a
regular customer of the House of Pierre
Balmain.
Among movie stars and comedians my
Mom loved the most was the famous
Italian actress from the 50's and 70's
Gina Lolobrigida, who, at the age of 95
is running for the Italian Senate this
year, frustrated at her country’s
problems. Back in the day, she bought a
dozen silk scarves from my Mom. Also the
French comedian of La Comedie Francaise,
Jean Piat who was a good friend of M.
Pierre Balmain and Vivian Leigh (Gone
with the Wind) with her husband Sir
Lawrence Olivier. Upon arriving at the
boutique, she would look for my Mom and
ask:” Where is Sylviane? I need to see
Sylviane." Sir Lawrence Olivier was
sulking in the background because my Mom
was so busy taking care of his wife,
Vivien Leigh, that she did not pay any
attention to him.
My Mom always had a knack with
wearing hats. M. Balmain sent her to
Germany to represent him at a special
High Fashion runway. That was her first
and only trip to that country that had
ravaged so much of her own country of
France. She remembers being in awe at
visiting the beautiful cathedral of
Kohl.
I have
fond memories of my own experiences with
the Pierre Balmain boutique when I would
come to Paris and visit my Mom at work
after school once I had left Maisons
Laffitte and was living in Paris at 11
rue Louis le Grand. I remember being
invited to attend the Spring or Fall
collections on the first floor where my
Mom would reserve a seat for me. All the
fashion photographers and the media
people were invited as well as some
special dignitaries and regular clients.
It was exciting to be part of that
crowd. I was fascinated by the beauty of
some top models and how they walked down
the runway, showing off the new
collection and hearing the many ''Ohs..
" from the crowd. There were two top
models I particularly liked the most,
who were so kind to me and who would
take the time to speak to Sylviane's
daughter and make a big fuss over me
once the show was over. They also
brought me dolls from many countries,
and that's how my famous doll collection
got started. The whole Balmain boutique
team were very close and would often go
on vacations as a group.
Across the street was Nina Ricci
Boutique where my Mom's friend Madeleine
Martin was working and who supplied us
with perfume and cosmetics for many
years. Even after coming to the States,
I had a full year or two of Nina Ricci
and Balmain perfumes I was lucky to use
on a regular basis as well as sharing
them with people around me . I did not
realize how lucky I had been till I ran
out of them after a few years. My
favorite P. Balmain's perfume was
Citronnelle with a lemon flavor that I
am still today trying to find to match
but unable to find and my Mom's favorite
was Vent Vert.
Being raised with that fashion
background, it's natural for me to
follow in the footsteps of my French
fashion heritage on a daily basis. For
me everything has to match perfectly,
even accessories..I do change purses to
match my coat, scarf, hat or gloves,
carefully select matching jewelry (
earrings and so on) . People often stop
me on the street or at the store to
compliment me on my outfits. Last week,
when shopping at Costco, an elegant
older gentleman approached me and said
how much he liked my hat. I don't
remember how many times I get the same
treatment at the grocery store, from
customers or the cashiers. During our 6
and a half year Inner City Mission, the
Harvard Ward members nicknamed me "The
Hat Lady", and after a while I noticed
that a few of them started wearing hats!
I would like to conclude this
"memory lane account" on Pierre Balmain
by mentioning my sweet great aunt Tata
who had such a huge impact on our lives.
Simone Paris was Mamy's sister who lived
with her mother, Papy and myself in
Maisons Laffitte. Tata was not lucky in
love and soon divorced her husband Aime
Mignon from Bourges. I believe he was a
printer by trade. She moved in with her
mother and sister when leaving Aime.
Both sisters worked for Cristobal
Balenciaga, a native of Spain, who was a
leading high fashion designer, a
contemporary of Pierre Balmain,
Christian Dior and Chanel. Both sisters
had a deep admiration for that man and
were privileged to work for him. They
absolutely loved and cherished those
many years of hard work and did not mind
a minute the long commute time of their
daily life.
M. Balmain was well aware that my
Mom was a great admirer of Balenciaga
and that she would sometimes wear a
Balenciaga outfit her aunt made for her,
how my Mom got around that, I still
wonder!
Tata was the fairy queen of sewing.
She made so many of our clothes (my
Mom's and mine) by hand as well as using
her sewing machine, an old manual foot
controlled Singer sewing machine, in the
corner of her bedroom. She really had
the dexterity, the fingers of a magician
and could turn anything she touched into
a work of art. So many fine stitches
that would dissolve in the fabric,
becoming invisible. I remember my sewing
classes ou cours de couture in my
elementary school, rue Saint Nicolas and
how hard I tried to do my best for my
homework, how big my stitches were
compared to hers.
I can't count all the suits,
dresses, skirts and coats or
redingotes or double breasted coats she
made for me when growing up and how I
would spend time trying on everything
she made in front of the large mirror of
her wardrobe in our bedroom of
Maisons-Laffitte. I remember waking up
on Christmas morning and finding a dozen
outfits for one of my favorite dolls,
Wendy and Florence, laid out on the
bedspread, made out of fabric remnants
brought home from work. This went on and
on ... little did I know that, some day
she would lose one of her favorite
customers who would move very far away,
across the ocean and only keep her
niece, my Mom, as a regular customer
until Tata died of leukemia and bone
cancer in 1989 . Today I still wear her
navy blue coat (Chanel style) for church
and Mamy's brown coat as well (Chanel
style) since Tata went to work for
Chanel after Cristobal Balenciaga passed
away in 1972. Her whole world was La
Couture and her two nieces, my Mom and
I. She had nothing else and often
sacrificed herself for us. When our own
children were very young, she made their
clothes. Tata made my wedding dress. I
sent her the pattern and she made it in
a record time and it arrived just one
day before our wedding!! My sweet
husband made the veil himself and did a
great job. Oh, how I miss Tata and how
much I look forward to seeing her again
after I go through the veil! I bet she
is still busy using her skills on the
other side.
When I first came to America, I had
a dear friend from Denmark who taught me
how to sew. So I made some two piece
suits and several long dresses that were
fashionable in those days. I enjoyed
shopping at the fabric store, choosing
fabrics, patterns and sewing with my own
sewing machine. It went on for quite a
few years and I even made clothes for my
children when they were toddlers. But as
the family grew bigger, I had less and
less time to do it and I completely
dropped out of sewing. Our own daughter,
Mary Catherine, really inherited the
wonderful talent of our cherished Tata
who would be very proud of her if she
was here. I am pleasantly surprised to
discover half a dozen or so of my female
ancestors on both sides of my family who
were seamstresses or in the fashion
business .. There is definitely
something in our DNA ! Not only do we
inherit some physical attributes from
our ancestors but also some talents and
even thought processes. We are all
linked together. |