When I first moved to Paris 15 years ago as a slightly hapless twenty-something London girl, still stumbling my way into adulthood, I became quietly obsessed with the Jane Birkin narrative—the English ingénue who arrived as an outsider and ultimately embodied Paris so completely. I devoured everything I could about her through books, music, film, old interviews, and I even procured a Birkin basket bag of my own. I never actually wore it out of the house mind you; it simply sat on my shelf next to my writing desk like a good-luck talisman; a small piece of Jane’s legacy keeping me company while I chronicled my earliest Parisian adventures on this blog. | Fast forward to Paris Fashion week 2025, and Jane is coming to Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, courtesy of New York Times bestselling author, Marisa Meltzer, with her highly anticipated new book, It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin. | I first heard whispers of a comprehensive Jane Birkin biography at a dinner party over a year ago. By the next morning, I was in Marisa’s inbox with a proposal that she join us for the Paris Writers & Readers Club the moment the book was ready. And now, with Fashion Week in full swing, the timing feels just right to slip back into 1960s Paris after dark and revel in the untold stories of a style icon in the making. With red wine to loosen the conversation, we’ll wander into the deeper terrain too — female iconography, the commodification of identity, and how it sometimes takes an outsider to define the very essence of a place. After all, outsiders are often the only ones who see the codes clearly enough to break them. | It could be said that the only Paris Fashion watch party you need an invite to is this one (tune in Thursday October 2nd, 6.30pm Paris time). When in-person seats at the Cabinet are sold out, you’ve always go t a front row seat to join the Paris Writers & Readers Clubremotely. Marisa will also be signing book plates, available to all to pre-order for in-store pick up. | Now on to the Paris catwalks, but with a time machine! Rewind to discover fashion week before the Parisian Runways, when the peacocking spectacle was was born on the side of the racetrack. Dive into Marie Antoinette’s closet and indulge in the underrated influence of Erté. But if you find it hard to keep up with the trends, how about an ode to true French fashion mavericks; small town folk giving us some serious haute couture. | Last up, this might also be a fitting occasion to drop the first breadcrumbs of my upcoming collaboration with Olympia Le-Tan, the Parisian fashion house and maker of exquisitely embroidered literary-inspired clutch bags. Five years after our first collaboration for the Don’t be a Tourist books, this new collection I’m calling Bibliotheque Bizarre will introduce three clutches inspired by ‘lost literary classics’ you’ve never heard of! And that’s all I’ll say for now. Save the date for an in-store soirée to unveil the new collection at Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, October 21st. Stay tuned for more details. | Until then, your 13 Things await amidst your conversation starters below, including one of my favourite interviews with Ms. Birkin at number 13. | Stay curious, | Nessy | | | | | |  | Fashion’s Forgotten Bébé | Fabulous, free and fashionable, France bloomed in the 1930s. The avant-garde arts flourished, Paris was at the centre of it all and her output was bountiful. The creative giants of the day, Picasso, Cocteau, Coco Chanel, May Ray, Beauvoir and Sartre, the Lost Generation and their cultural circle basked in a warm summer evening’s glow of new culture and liberalism. But there’s one name that was very much a part of this moment, who you must meet. Bébé, aka, Christian Bérard. | www.messynessychic.com/2023/06/15/fashions-forgotten-bebe |
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