One of my favourite things to do on a sunny day in Paris is stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries, the former gardens of the old Palais des Tuileries.These formal gardens run parallel to the River Seine from the Louvre to the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. The royal gardener Andre Le Notre, royal gardener to Louis XIV, who also created the gardens of Versailles, created the original landscaping design. An extensive renovation and replanting of the Tuileries in recent years incorporated a striking mix of contemporary and classical sculpture.
Photo credits: Ingrid Mida copyright 2009I was quite taken with this little patch of brilliant purple irises. They brought to mind Van Gogh's magnificent iris paintings as well as Yves Saint Laurent's exquisite embroidered and beaded iris evening jacket (Tribute to Van Gogh, summer 1988 collection).
Photo by Francois Gandier in Lesage by Lydia Kamitsis, published by Assouline 1999
Photo from Yves Saint Laurent Style Published by Abrams, New York, 2008According to the book on Lesage, Les Iris de Van Gogh jacket took 600 hours of work to complete and includes 250000 paillettes in 22 colours, 200000 beads and 250 metres of ribbon!!!
