June 17

This morning we had to be at PAA at 9am for a presentation on embroidery trends. I have noticed over the last few months that stores like Forever 21 (according to our teacher, H&M, Zara, etc.) have been very closely copying designer clothing. This particular teacher, who works for Anne Valerie Hash, showed us how embroidery techniques and hand painting can be a kind of safeguard for designers against copying. These techniques are time-consuming and result in expensive garments, but for designers, it is worth it to not be copied. We watched a video of Anne Valerie Hash's fall/winter 2009 ready-to-wear collection and photos of embroidered designs by Alexander McQueen, Dior, Chanel, Galliano, Hermes, Cavalli, and Chloe.

At 10am, we got to be the very first group to see the new Valentino exhibit in part of the Louvre. The clothes were AMAZING and our tour guide was wonderful (kind of like Franc from Father of the Bride movies). He told us that Barbie is the Valentino woman. We learned that traditional wedding dresses in Europe are red, but Valentino made a (the first?) black wedding dress for a woman who did not want to celebrate her marriage. Valentino's three types of designs/women are the fleur, the panther (v!), and the madonna. We got to see Julia Robert's black dress from her Oscar win, with the signature V in the front. We also saw some of Valentino's designs worn by Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Sophia Loren, and Jackie Kennedy.

After lunch, we took a bus to Sacre Coeur, Sacred Heart. We walked way up stairs to get there, and we could see all of Paris. It's a dome-shaped church that is not the same as a cathedral - I can't remember what it's called. I think it is much prettier than Notre Dame, which I haven't seen from the inside yet. In the same area, we visited several fabric stores and took notes on them. Lindsay and I are trying to get our travel journal assignments done sooner rather than later.

Today is Lindsay's birthday so we will probably try to celebrate some tonight before we have to wake up at the crack of dawn to fly to Rome tomorrow. Last night we met some students from U. of Illinois who were very nice, so we'll try to have a little more fun with our new tips from our bud James.