Last evening I had a drink with a few friends at Bertie's, a pretty trendy, chic bar/restaurant located at rue Edouard VII, a pedestrian area located between Opera and Madeleine. On Thursday nights they have what they call "The Trenties" night - a play on words with 30 (trentre, in French) and trendy. And apparently, it works; the place was full of, what would certainly qualify as "Young Urban Professionals"... what we used to call BCBG (for Bon Chic Bon Genre) in the 80's. As for me, well, I felt a bit misplaced, I don't know why!
Gee, and they actually let you in ! I wonder if I'd feel out of place at such a venue -- oh, probably not! Cool pgoto.
ReplyDeleteMake that 'photo'. Hey, I'm wearing black today too, so I'd definitely fit right in.
ReplyDeleteAh to be young, hip & gay again. On second thought I am hip & gay... and I don't think I want to go through the trials & tribulations of young again! I gay (happy) as I can possibly be right in the here & now!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this photo with us all.
There is a similar event, also on Thursday nights, at the DADA café, avenue des Ternes/rue Poncelet (XVIIe). I walked along the terrasse tonight on my way back home. It was so crowded that the street was blocked by 10's of Yuppies..
ReplyDelete...obviously more for singles ;-))
And there I was thinking I needed more color in my wardrobe. This one makes me feel tres chic! Merci, Eric. It looks like a fun place.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding? M. PDP? Le Roi de Soleil? Mon Dieu, you would be a celebrity, certainly the most desirable person there. You would have your choice...!
ReplyDeleteGreat spot for a walk. On the list.
(18 days to Rome, 27 days until Paris..tick tock tick tock...)
omg the poor tourist who sits down for a drink there on trenties night. Would they serve him, spit on him, look at him as if he were an imbecile?
ReplyDeleteI"m just guessing, but somehow I don't think this is the bar for me, right ???? Funny I just read about BCBG in Paris for Dummies today! Thanks for the info Eric.
ReplyDeleteV
Oh, I know the feeling. I don't like it. You took a nice photo though. It looks like a fun party for my daughter's age group. You really captured them at their best. See, you were working; sometimes we are in situations like this. Once a woman who works in staging music events for the 30 something audience said she got a face lift because she felt misplaced, and wanted to fit in with the 30 somethings. However, it is more than appearance in my opinion. We 50 somethings just act differently.
ReplyDeleteOn another subject, does anyone know of a good spa in Paris. I go to the Red Door Spa in San Francisco, but I would like to try a Paris spa. Paris being so into beauty.
Looks like a great group of people!
ReplyDeleteJeff, take me with yooooooooooou....
I could still go! Not that I would fit in, but I'm still a Trentie! I have to admit that I've never been hip, urban, or a professional though, so I would also feel very misplaced! I'm more of a "do my own thing artistic dreamer". The pay is not great, but the rewards are.
ReplyDeleteChristie, "do my own thing artistic dreamer. The pay is not great, but the rewards are." That's great! You sound like a "flower child" ;^)
ReplyDeleteIl y a un tres interessant photo!
ReplyDeletelol Christie! Well I'd love to be there. I'd love to be young enough that Eric has to block my face out (right Eric ou non?). Unfortunately the days are gone when I am asked my age to get in to places. I'm more likely to be offered a seat out of pity. LOL. Oh it's grim, it's grim. Like Christie though I'd still go in! Why not? One thing seems to be important though - you have to wear navy blue. :)
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, Eric. I don't fit in most social situations either. There are not that many tomatoes out there, as it turns out, so I always feel somewhat out of place. Once, I met some distant relatives at a Farmer's Market but they were fresh off the vine and we didn't have much in common.
ReplyDeleteLOL Tomate! You'd really brighten up this scene though wouldn't you?
ReplyDeleteMy, all these young things are so attractive! Oh to be a trentie again. Yup I was a Yuppie I suppose but I've not heard the BCBG term, thanks for that.
Hey - does Guille go here? She'd fit right in. Perhaps she is even too young....sigh....how lucky she is!
It could not be a better illustration for the book I'm currently reading (Vers la douceur - François Bégaudeau). Nice title. Interesting trendies descriptions (the first 30 pages are not that good but it is getting better after.
ReplyDeleteA sentence or two well caught like these ones I love : "c'est fou comme la vie souvent ça rate" ;)which makes me laugh out loud ; or this one "c'était une addition de petits trucs d'espace et de temps et au bout du compte voilà"!
A good combination between your photo and this book, not that bad after all! Sweet is the night!
nice place to hang out... really like the it
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Christie!
ReplyDeleteFitting in is overrated. Doing your own thing is not. Yay for that, eh?
I've got a sneaky suspicion Eric, that you took this photograh, just to show that you could pixelate faces!
ReplyDeleteAs always, I enjoy everyone's sense of humor in this comments section & I so agree with Petrea,... "Fitting in is definitely overrated."
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful photo of social life in Paris, even with the blocked out faces I can still get a sense of what this group of Trenties are like, fabulous & so are you Eric! I always enjoy these little tidbits of how you describe life in Paris.
Thank you.
Christie -- what Petrea said!
ReplyDeleteLynn -- I used to be a hippie, but now I'm a frumpie (formerly radical underpaid middle-aged professional). Hippie was definitely more fun!
I like the photo because it shows that Terrace life in Paris is beginning again. I'm not in my 30's anymore (don't act shocked!), but I certainly don't feel my age either. Well maybe on some days in Winter. Would something like this be politically incorrect elsewhere?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael about the restart of terrace life.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks God we don't need to be "Trenties-Yuppies" to enjoy it :-)
ey - does Guille go here? She'd fit right in. Perhaps she is even too young....sigh....how lucky she is!Hmmmm... just guessing here, but I have a feeling this is isn't exactly Guille's scene. Not so much a question of age, more of a difference in mentality. Just a gut feeling though, I could be totally wrong. (shrug)
ReplyDeletei would have to agree with the ladies so far - i was never trendy or a yuppie....more of a disco queen.
ReplyDeleteGoogled BCBG and ended up here, but I’m sure there is a typo. Where they mistakenly wrote “Characters” they surely must have meant—PDP Commenters.
ReplyDeleteOh, Maria. I loved your bouquet of yellow daisies but how much more beautiful your icon is since you gathered all those flowers in your arms, put them in a vase, and smiled—making us all smile the more.
I am 33, I should be in Bertie's. It looks like a funny place.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Valery
Barcelona Daily Photo
Trujillo Daily Photo
OMG. So I'm a Frumpie. I've now lost all hope.
ReplyDeleteThe pixellation is a mystery - Eric how did you do it? I never understand the merit of it really anyway, since it's only when you zoom in that the features are hidden. At this length and further away, features can be pretty much seen clearly. Same on the news when they do it.
Politically incorrect how, Michael? You mean if they turn us away if we turn up? Yes I should think so. I reckon we could blag it though Mike, hey? er... man? Let's don our dark jeans (hip enough to be so low slung they're falling off our behinds), white t shirt, don our Converse - yes I do have them - throw an old jacket nonchalantly around our 40-something shoulders (ok, ok, just don't SAY it please) and hit this joint. Up for that when I'm in Paree? :)
I went along but I found the mingling a bit difficult. I shouldn't have worn that red plaid suit I found on ebay ... it was clearly way too large for me and one needs to wear garments that fit snugly when mixing at Les Trenties. How embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteIt's ok Lynn...you can still say "40-something". I usually tell people I'm 35 hors taxe!
ReplyDeleteAh the Yuppies...Some of my friends are turning 30 this year, so it actually could be the kind of bar I could haunt. But no. You're right Tomate! Not really my cup of tea... I would prefer a simple café or pub, not a trendy place for trentenaires branchés...Later maybe? ;) And yes Lynn, I'm probably too young anyway!
ReplyDeleteMike, you're not in your 30's anymore?! Oh God, mon monde s'écroule! :p
GF Alexa! "I'm a frumpie (formerly radical underpaid middle-aged professional)" LOOOL! Could you find one like that for me?!
I like the picture anyway because it shows that spring is definitely here in Paris. But colorful clothes would have been welcome, sad parisians!
What do you want Guille? You're being too nice!
ReplyDeleteI don't know this place; I should go and have a dry with my friends, too. I agree with you; it looks very BCBG
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to figure out why they all look so Parisian to me,as opposed to let's say Americanskys, and I've got it!
ReplyDeleteMost of the jacket collars, on both men and women, are turned up!!!! The man on the far right has a very French stance to me, too. I also think personal space is a little closer than would be comfortable than in the US, especially since there is so much wide open space around them.
Anyone else?
@ Michael : "35 hors taxe"
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that one. I just love it ! May I use it to ?
Great photo with real action in it!
ReplyDeleteI'm still a Trentie, but only for another month - sigh !
Of course you can Nasty GG, but you might have to change the number you use!
ReplyDeleteTime is concept that taxes patience. Nothing is hors taxe. (Just as there is no such thing as safe sex: somebody always gets hurt!)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's finally spring here, also. What a relief.
Signed: another formerly radical underpaid middle-aged professional
LOL Shell that made me guffaw! Red plaid suit, oversized.......snort.
ReplyDeleteFascinating observation Phx! The space thing is similar to the UK so it's not unusual for me. I notice they are all drinking wine. There's no beer or anything else. Not so many young men in England go for wine, mostly beer... until they are a little older. There are no soft drinks either; that's what I'm used to - the soft option LOL maybe I should rephrase..........
ReplyDeleteI really don't want to be a Frumpie. Let's think of something somewhat more elegant for goodness sake! There must be SOME merit to being.......erm.........a little older? Cross that out...a little
ReplyDeletemature?
Lynn, I think the word is "experienced". ;-)
ReplyDeleteFine wine must be properly aged before you cork it.
ReplyDeleteOh my! I am about as far from a "flower child" as you can imagine!! But I do have my own way of doing things and don't really care what others think too much.
ReplyDeleteI saw a bumper sticker recently that says it all: Don't worry about what others think, most of the time they're not thinking anyway!
Shell S --Too funny! Made me laugh so hard! There is actually a guy in my town who wears plaid suits and has many pairs of plaid pants--he's one of the "pillars of the community" type. He definitely knows the secret of not caring what others may think!
I think I might feel a bit misplaced there too Eric.
ReplyDeleteSweet is the night indeed, anon.
Lynn, Christie: I wish you'd been there with me, I'd have had a much better time. Never fear, though, I've put my red plaid in for alterations so it will fit beautifully for next Thursday's Trenties!
ReplyDeleteHow about HOTTIES: Happily Over-Thirties Toting Independently Elegant Style???
You've captured the atmosphere and those yuppies beautifully, Eric.
ReplyDeleteC'est trente, n'est-ce pas? Et l'espression est << bon chic, bon gens >>. Ou je pensais qu'elle soit comme ca.
ReplyDeleteTiens! Les deux expressions marchent. Je ne le savais pas.
ReplyDelete