Many years ago, when I was but a junior in college fresh off a semester abroad in the City of Lights, I foolishly (and accidentally) booked my flight home out of Nice during the very week that neighboring Cannes was hosting its famous festival. Attempting to find a hotel room only a week in advance was my second mistake, and I had to resort to begging a bed off my very kind host mother from the first two weeks of my sojourn.
Sadly, that was my closest brush with the glamorous event, but it’s been enough to arouse a delusional sense of “I’ve been there” at the beginning of the festival every year since. Today kicks off the 2008 run, promising a flock of Hollywood A-listers and their international counterparts, as well as a red carpet that rivals the Oscars and lasts eleven days longer. The always insightful style.com took a look at the festival’s fashions through the years, and it got me thinking (okay, daydreaming) about the dresses I’d wear were I to attend the star-studded event.
First and foremost I’d don the Jovovich-Hawk Paloma Long Dress (pictured above). It’s old Hollywood glamour and incredible comfort (a necessity of luxury, per Ms. Chanel) rolled into one. Day two would find me in Milly’s Coin Beaded Long Halter Dress for a beachy take on elegance, and day three would be reserved for a little sass in the Vera Wang Lavender Label Sequined Sheath. Days four and five would return to glamour with Alice + Olivia’s Beaded Cross Chest Long Dress and Jovovich-Hawk’s Mina Dress. But what about days six through twelve, you ask? That’s when I’d ditch the flash bulbs in favor of the blue waters and picturesque beaches this coast is known for.
It’s a dream perfumed with champagne and sea spray, and I won’t be letting it go anytime soon. Because, let’s face it, everything’s a little more romantic en français.
