Zara coat (similar)
Noul sweater (similar)
Aritzia leggings (similar)
Le Chateau boots (c/o)
Chanel handbag
H&M hat (similar)
Celine sunglasses
Keltie Leanne Designs ring (c/o)
Strut Jewelry ring (c/o)
Olive + Piper ring (c/o)
I want to tell you about all the places I’ve been. I want to be able to express the feeling of walking on a cold Vancouver street at 6 am and recalling so strongly a similar walk one September morning in Paris that for a moment, I am transported to the cracked and heaving sidewalks of boulevard Richard-Lenoir. I want to, but the more I think about how to say these things, the more I think I need to create new words to properly convey my memories. There is no adjective to accurately describe the smudgey white grey colour of the winter sky in Sofia, Bulgaria. There is no word for the feeling that comes over you when, for the first time, you are asked to stand in line at an immigration check point with citizens who hold passports from allegedly undesirable countries; in the past eight years, I have searched for a way to explain what it was like to see the world through the eyes of people that bureaucracy considers to be of second class for the first time, but I have never found a way to sum up the poignancy of recognising my own privilege for the first time while at once feeling grateful for and utterly outraged by it. Even my own country, which should in theory feel like home, continues to surprise me in every new place that I visit. I had never been to Victoria before this past December, it turns out – my mom let me know my memories of 1986 are not quite as strong as I had imagined. I have lived in Vancouver for ten years without ever visiting the provincial capital, a place whose historical significance and present importance I have, it turns out, vastly underestimated. I knew that as soon as I set foot on the grounds of the British Columbia legislative building, a looming stone behemoth, the likes of which simply doesn’t exist in the city I call home. I wish that I could tell you about all the places I’ve been as much as I wish that my feet could tell you all the paths they have walked. I remember my travels in shoes; the boots that accompanied me on my first move to Paris in 2009 remain favourites, though I had to get rid of them years ago, after wearing through both heels, because of all the places they took me. Since then, I have always associated new boots with new adventures. I picked out these Le Chateau boots just before our visit to Victoria, which felt only too appropriate, and they were perfect for walking all over the city. It’s a shame they can’t tell you about Victoria from their own perspective, but for now, it seems, we’ll all have to settle for my filling in the blanks where words fail me with mementos from the one thing I do take with me that can tell it’s own story – my camera.
Je voudrai vous raconter toutes les villes que j’ai visité. Je souhaite pouvoir exprimer le sentiment de traverser une rue à Vancouver, tôt le matin, et de me souvenir avec tellement d’éclat d’un matin à Paris il y a plusieurs années que, pendant un instant, je me sens acheminée aux trottoirs fissures du boulevard Richard-Lenoir. Je voudrai, mais plus je songe à comment vous dire ces choses, plus j’ai l’impression qu’il va falloir que j’invente une nouvelle langue afin de communiquer mes mémoires. Un adjectif qui décrit la couleur gris blanc estompé du ciel d’hiver à Sofia en Bulgarie n’existe pas. S’il y a un mot pour le sentiment te gagne lorsque, pour la première fois, tu es obligée de faire la queue pour passer la douane avec des citoyens des pays dite indésirables, je ne le connais pas ; depuis huit ans, je cherche une manière d’expliquer ce que c’était de voir le monde à travers les yeux des personnes que la bureaucratie juge comment étant de seconde zone, mais je n’arrive pas à résumer l’intensité de reconnaitre combien je suis privilégiée, de reconnaitre ma chance et d’être, à la fois, indignée par le fait que tout le monde n’a pas cette chance. Même mon propre pays, un endroit où je devrais à priori me sentir chez moi, continue à me surprendre chaque fois que je découvre une nouvelle ville. Le mois de décembre, j’ai vu la ville de Victoria de mes propres yeux pour la première fois – c’est ma maman qui m’a corrigé sur ce point, il parait que je ne me rappel pas l’année 1986 aussi clairement que j’avais cru. J’habite à Vancouver depuis une décennie et je n’avais jamais mettre les pieds sur le terre de la capitale, une ville dont j’ai évidemment sous-estimé l’importance historique et courante. Je me suis rendue compte de ma sous-estimation dès que j’ai vu le palais législatif, un immeuble qui s’annonce au loin et qui n’a pas d’égal dans la ville que j’habite. Je voudrai vous raconter les villes que j’ai visité autant que j’aimerais que mes pieds puisse vous raconter tous les chemins qu’ils ont marché. Je me rappel mes voyages à travers mes chaussures ; les bottes que j’ai porté lors de mon premier déménagement à Paris en 2009 demeurent parmi mes chaussures préférées, bien que je ne les ai plus, à cause de toutes les merveilles que nous avons vu ensemble. Pour moi, des nouvelles bottes signifient des nouvelles aventures. J’ai choisi ces bottes Le Château juste avant de partir vers Victoria, et elles m’ont accompagné partout dans la ville. C’est dommage qu’elles ne puisse pas vous raconter Victoria de leur propre point de vue, mais jusqu’à ce que mes chaussures apprennent à parler et que je crée des nouvelles mots, il va falloir que nous comblons les trous avec des souvenirs de la seule chose que je possède qui a la capacité de raconter ses propres histoires – mon appareil photo.
Same as how you’d like to describe with the right words the places you have been, I feel for photographs.
Regardless of how good the images are and how perfect the sky is, nothing beats the naked eye – that moment that you stand there and just admire that sunset. I think it has to do with wanting to describe all senses in words, all those feelings in paper – and even if you do, perspective will always be different.
I love that great grey jacket-
Lorena
http://www.myeverydaywear.blogspot.com
It’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria, but it’s on the list (once the weather warms up, oh man) and I can’t wait! And the idea of getting new boots to do so?! Well, you’re definitely speaking my love language! 😉 Love both of these looks, plus always so fun seeing Lyndi pop on your blog, and hope your week is a fantastic one… we’ll have to find time to do 2017 cocktails!! xo
It’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria, but it’s on the list (once the weather warms up, oh man) and I can’t wait! And the idea of getting new boots to do so?! Well, you’re definitely speaking my love language! 😉 Love both of these looks, plus always so fun seeing Lyndi pop on your blog, and hope your week is a fantastic one… we’ll have to find time to do 2017 cocktails!! xo
I am such a fan of those boots – and I really your words about, well, the troubling with finding words to adequately express travel experiences, etc. I’ve struggled with the same thing when I think my time living in, for example, San Marino and walking each day through the posh neighbourhoods and the Huntington botanical gardens to take my seat in the Huntington research library each day. Just the smells in the gardens, the way the light hits things, and so much else.
Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines
♥
It’s sometimes strange to think that we travel the world and see as much as we possibly can of other countries before taking the time to properly explore our own. I do like associating what I wore while visiting a place just as closely with my memories of what I saw or ate or felt, they become just as important.
http://www.iamchiconthecheap.com/
It’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria, but it’s on the list (once the weather warms up, oh man) and I can’t wait! And, love the idea of getting new boots to do so… especially ones as pretty as yours! You’re definitely speaking my love language! 😉 Love both of these looks and hope your week is a fantastic one… we’ll have to find time to do 2017 cocktails!! xo
Eeeps, fingers crossed this comment takes, perhaps third times the charm! 😉 As I was saying… it’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria, but it’s on the list (once the weather warms up, oh man) and can’t wait! Plus love the idea of getting new boots to do so… especially ones as pretty as yours! You’re definitely speaking my love language. Haha! Hope your week is a fantastic one… we’ll have to find time to do 2017 cocktails!! xo
PS – Also loved reading your comment today! Really wonderful to know my thoughts resonated with you and I’m thrilled to hear you’ve taken the pressure off and made some major strides!!
Eeeps, fingers crossed this comment takes, perhaps fourth times the charm! 😉 As I was saying… it’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria, but it’s on the list (once the weather warms up, oh man) and can’t wait! Plus love the idea of getting new boots to do so… especially ones as pretty as yours! You’re definitely speaking my love language. Haha! Hope your week is a fantastic one… and we’ll have to find time to do 2017 cocktails!! xo
PS – Also loved reading your comment on “How To Love Your Body”… really wonderful to know my thoughts resonated with you and I’m thrilled to hear you’ve taken the pressure off and are making major strides!!
Eeeps, fingers crossed this comment takes, perhaps fourth times the charm! 😉 As I was saying… it’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria, but it’s on the list (once the weather warms up, oh man) and can’t wait! Plus love the idea of getting new boots to do so… especially ones as pretty as yours! You’re definitely speaking my love language. Haha! Hope your week is a fantastic one… and we’ll have to find time to do 2017 cocktails!! xo
PS – Also loved reading your comment on “How To Love Your Body”… really wonderful to know my thoughts resonated with you and I’m thrilled to hear you’ve taken the pressure off and are making major strides!!
Eeeps, fingers crossed this comment takes, I’m now commenting from my iPhone! 😉 As I was saying… it’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria, but it’s on the list (once the weather warms up, oh man) and can’t wait! Plus love the idea of getting new boots to do so… especially ones as pretty as yours! You’re definitely speaking my love language. Haha! Hope your week is a fantastic one… and we’ll have to find time to do 2017 cocktails!! xo
PS – Also loved reading your comment on “How To Love Your Body”… really wonderful to know my thoughts resonated with you and I’m thrilled to hear you’ve taken the pressure off and are making major strides!!
Cee! This is probably the most beautifully written blog post I’ve ever read. You are so talented, my friend. (And I love your boots.)
Pictures & videos will always say everything Cee. I enjoy reading about & looking at the places you visit. Keep them coming.
http://www.averysweetblog.com/
Since I’m on a roll… here’s the comment I was trying to leave yesterday! 😉 As I was saying… it’s been far too long since I’ve visited Victoria and after reading your description — I can’t wait! I found it magical then and I’m sure now I’ll totally fall in love! Plus love the idea of getting new boots to do so… especially ones as pretty as yours!
PS – Also loved reading your comment on my body post! Really wonderful to know my thoughts resonated with you and thrilled to hear you’ve taken the pressure off and made some major strides. Congrats, it’s a big deal! xo