Alice Catherine

A roadtrip around sunny Paris

This little book held clues for the day ahead
which I'm clearly very happy about... 

I'm still dreaming about that pastel pink circle bag...

I love the colours in this image!

The side streets of Paris are beyond beautiful,
my favourite place to get lost without a doubt... 

The incredible Ines de la Fressange store front... 

Very much appreciated the wicker & straw detailing...

I love the boards of inspirational collages in the changing room,
adds such a personal touch! 

It was hard to resist this khaki jacket, that waist bow detailing!

Here's me attempting to pose with the car...

Me and Liv being very professional/looking a lot less sweaty than we felt... 

I recently had a very ‘pinch me’ opportunity to visit Paris in collaboration with DS Automobiles – the chance to ride around the magical city and uncover some secret locations along the way. I last visited in February and it pretty much rained the entire time in true Parisian style, but Paris in the sunshine is way more beautiful than I ever could have imagined…

It was a very early start to catch our flight in time for the event which commenced early afternoon – we were picked up in the DS 3 Ines de la Fressange limited edition and driven to our first stop – a traditional French restaurant to fuel up for the adventure ahead. For this new model, DS have joined up with Ines de la Fressange to create a limited edition car with motifs and characteristics reflective of the La Fressange fashion house. Whilst inside the car for the first time, I noticed how much thought had gone into the customisation/every detail of the design – if you’re a fan of La Fressange then you’d appreciate the personal touches – the red, white and blue hues that offered that timeless Parisian touch to both the interior and exterior of the vehicle. She has even designed an exclusive clutch bag to match the car itself – if that’s not the ultimate accessory then I’m not sure what is.

Once we reached the lunch stop, we met up with team two (the lovely Liv Purvis and her boyfriend Joe Galvin, with whom I’m sure you’ll all be familiar with!), they would be living out the day in a slightly different version of the car, with some slightly different stops on the way. The overall aim of the day was for the cars to cross paths at the end – triggering a track that was created exclusively by Empire Of The Sun for the launch of the new car. There’s actually only 200 of these cars being sold in the UK, which means the chance of hearing the hidden soundtrack would be very rare indeed! All very exciting and again, adds that personal quirk that Parisians seem to curate so well.

After sampling a huge cheeseboard and having a good chatter, it was time to get stuck into the event! I was handed a little clue book to kick start the adventure (which I was very slow at guessing, let’s blame the heat!), and away to the first stop we went. I have to say, riding around Paris in a car is such a great way to see everything, the sun lit up all the little side streets and I really felt that I was seeing a whole new version of the Paris I’d visited back in Feb. It’s the one place that I wouldn’t mind being stuck in traffic, it’s such a lively and vibrant city and with each turn of the wheel I got to unlock more of its mystery.

The second stop was a beautiful little French boutique/cafe called Sept Cinq, which I highly recommend putting on your hit list if you’re visiting in the near future! It was full of dreamy circle bags, beautifully made crafts, candles, and enough cake to keep you happy whatever the weather. After having a quick juice stop, we were refreshed enough to move onto the next location. The store of La Fressange – this was a real highlight for me as a lover of fashion and personal style. The building had all of its original features, and the collection was flawlessly displayed throughout the store. We even got a sneak peak at the back of house – It was so inspiring to see where Ines de la Fressange comes up with her designs, and ultimately brings them to life. The women in the workshop were cutting out designs for the new collection, surrounded by boards of illustrations, piles upon piles of material, and quirky pieces of vintage furniture that made up their little kitchen/staff area.The staff were all so friendly and talked us through the history of the brand and the ethos that they still portray today. It was very hard not to buy everything in sight – the shop floor was bursting with chic 60’s/70’s inspired clothing, ballet flats, and stripy homeware pieces (damn you, hand luggage restrictions).

After we were done swooning over every detail of the La Fressange store, we headed to a photo shoot location to cross path with Liv’s car and trigger the Empire of the Sun track via the exclusive app. We stopped for a while to pose for photos which was all very sweaty and unglamorous I must say – someone remind me never to wear high waist jeans in a heatwave ever again! Alas, I’m a creature of habit and should have changed into a floaty dress for the occasion. After riding around Paris and taking in the surroundings for a little while longer, we eventually reached our final location on the days agenda – the DS store. Full of dreamy cars and most importantly, air conditioning! Which by this point in the day was very welcomed indeed – the showroom also smelt absolutely amazing. Sounds like a strange thing to say, but the brand have also designed their own fragrance – just goes to show how much effort they have put into making the whole brand experience a personal one for all the senses. The music, the fragrance, the personalised features of the car itself – it’s that authenticity that I appreciate, and ultimately makes a brand stand out from the crowd.

I hope you enjoyed reading all about my little whirlwind adventure and hopefully you managed to catch some of my Instagram stories whilst I was there! I’m so grateful to have experienced my favourite city in such a unique way and very thankful to DS for having me. It was lovely to get to meet some new people and get out of Manchester for a little while – keep your eyes peeled for some more Paris themed posts coming your way very soon!

Alice x

Photography by Adriana

Learn more about the new DS 3 here | Visit the Ines De la Fressange store here 

This post is sponsored by DS Automobiles!

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