Lancel

[this is all getting posted out of order...sorry!]



I first have to start off by thanking the wonderfully fabulous Mrs. Marty for getting this internship for me! Without her, I wouldn't be back here living this fantasty life!

Lancel is a french luxury company that specializes in purses, luggage, etc. www.lancel.com I am "une stagiere" (french for intern) in the Style Department. My first day, Ellen took me around the office and my jaw dropped to the floor when i saw the view. The office is on the 6th & 7th floor above la Fondation Cartier & you can see an aerial view of Paris! From the moment I stepped out of the glass elevator, which is strangely similar to Willy Wonka's, I felt like I had just walked onto the set of The Devil Wears Prada. Everyone was dressed to a tee in true Parisian fashion, there were Lancel ads and posters on the wall displaying the "BB" bag and everything just looked super modern and chic. The building in completely glass, so every time you look around, you're looking at another spectacular view of Paris. Before I started to work, I was introduced to Alexandra and she showed me around then took me to Heaven, I mean the Lancel Show Room, where all the buyers come to place their order. I swear I saw a gold halo around the door when she opened it! It had all the Lancel collections & my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. I tried SO hard to keep my cool, but inside I was freaking out. There were purses, clutches, evening bags, wallets, luggage and the new BB line on display & everything was beautiful!

When I got back up to the 6th floor, I met Guy (who is a dead ringer for Nigel from The Devil Wears Prada) & Thonsgananh, both who are on the Style team. The other 4 members of the team were in China on business. My task for the first week was to research luggage & flower trends in fashion on www.wgcn.com! Did I mention that it was also Haute Couture Fashion Week & Gossip Girl was being filmed in Paris as well? Amazing. Everyone was so nice & there are about 8 interns on the right side of the 6th floor. I was introduced to Marine, who introduced me to everyone else! She is so nice! One major difference I noticed from interning in France instead of America is that everyone is really quiet when they work. Hm. We'll see if I can be quiet!

At work, I speak as much french as I can & everyone helps me if I dont know how to say something. I spoke more french in 3 days than I did the entire 5 weeks I was here last year! This is going to help me become truly fluent! Hours are from 9:30-6:30, which is a LONG day for this girl! Thankfully, there is a coffee machine at work and for 30 centimes, I can get a teeny tiny wake-me-up coffee. Literally, the cups are the size of Dixie cups. Alex said there is a cafe that has BIG coffee and I believe she called it "American sized." I NEED TO FIND THAT CAFE ASAP OR IM GOING TO FALL ASLEEP!

In all, this internship is a dream come true. I couldnt think of a job or work environment that was more perfect (SO CHIC!) I didn't go to Fashion School like some of the other people, so I'm learning new things every day!