My favorite part of the summer is my holiday at the Château de la Messardière in St. Tropez. I always look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new people. The Château is the best place to stay because it’s quiet. St. Tropez can get a bit wild, so if you want to be with the crowd, there is a navette shuttle service from the hotel that will take you into town for nightlife and shopping. The concierges, Joel and Frank, are the best. They cater to every need and can get you into those hot spots with tough reservations.
Shopping
The style here is unique to St. Tropez and I can’t imagine it worn anywhere else (except, perhaps, St. Barth). One might accuse the St. Tropez style of being “over the top,” but it works while you are here. I wouldn’t call it chic in the classic Brigitte Bardot sense, but I sometimes find myself adapting the look here regardless. My advice when shopping in St. Tropez is to keep in mind that it’s fun. The clothes and accessories I buy here won’t work for me back home — and I say to myself, “Why did I buy this?” — but the good news is that I know I am going back and will inevitably immerese myself in the St. Tropezian spirit once I’m there.
- Susan outside Louis Vuitton
Some shopping suggestions:
Louis Vuitton – They have the best bathing suits
Dolce & Gabbana — Great eyewear and shoes
Roberto Cavalli — Sexy, yet sophisticated. One can find fabulous dresses for all the fun parties
Senso — The best jewelry – costume and real – unique designs, although it can get pricey
Edouard Rambaud — Fun costume jewelry – I always find great pieces that can I wear all the time
The Flea Market — Every Tuesday and Saturday from 8 am to 1 pm vendors come to the center of town. There is a wide array of booths selling food, housewares, clothing and jewelry. You can breeze through the alleys at your own pace and if you have a good eye, you can sometimes find something special. I found some great pashminas and summer handbags there. Last summer I bought a ring for 30 euros, I still get lots of compliments on it.
- Susan and Alexis at the flea market
Restaurants
Lunches are a big part of the day. Usually, the lunch hour begins around 3 or 4 pm. The hot spots are Club 55 if you want to see everyone you know. During lunch at Le Voile Rouge, you can be entertained by a fashion show. By late afternoon, the fashion show gives way to partying with champagne and dancing. During one lunch, I bumped into Tara Reid. For a more sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere, try Palmiers – this year it was my favorite.
- Fashion show at Le Voile Rouge
- Tara Reid and Susan
- Susan at Palmiers
Lunch at Palmiers usually ends around 6 pm at which time people congregate at the beach. It’s the nicest time to enjoy the sun and take in those long sweet summer days.
Since lunch ends so late, dinner doesn’t begin until at least 10:30 pm. My favorite restaurant for dinner is L’Escale. There is always music and dancing.
- Hermann Bühlbecker and Heydi Nunez Gomez
- David Rueff and Susan
- Lena Thomas of Nina Ricci and Alex Friedrich
For dinner, I would also recommend Strand and Yaca.
Nightlife
If you are not going to a private party, the nightclubs can be fun. Les Caves du Roy at Hotel Byblos is always packed especially on weekends. I suggest you make a reservation. Try V.I.P Room – this year I saw P. Diddy perform there. Fortunately, I was upstairs away from the crowds. Masses of people rocked around P. Diddy as he rapped. I was happy to be an observer from above. Champagne flowed like water. Each time someone ordered champagne, P. Diddy made an announcement as to which country bought it. The night I was there, a German ordered 30 bottles of Cristal. I thought that was a bit much.
White Party
The parties are truly beyond compare. Claude Ott’s White Party was the most coveted invitation of the week.
- Hermann, Susan, host Claude Ott and an attractive brunette
All of the guests were required to wear all white. I wore Azzedine Alaïa, one of my favorites, which I coincidentally bought in Paris just the week before my arrival.
- Hermann, Susan and Sarah Marshall
Sarah, Jean-Claude Jitrois’s model, is the granddaughter of French actress Michèle Morgan.
The evening was an incredible night as everyone danced until dawn.
August 20, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Susan, your best blog yet! you are so lucky you met Tara Reid. You seem to exude a unique spiritual energy in your photos. I love your tips, look forward to the next one.
August 28, 2007 at 12:46 am
Hi,
I used to date Claude Ott’s wife’s (Cindy) sister. Is Claude still married to Cindy? I was at the wedding in Paris in the late 80’s, and have lost touch with her.
Please let me know and thanks.
August 30, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Susan,
It was great reading your note on St. Tropez. Like you, I vacationed there this summer during the first two weeks of August. After two summers and extensive traveling experience throughout France, I can say with certainty that St. Tropez is the most electrifying spot in South France. It remains old-fashioned in its architecture and walkways, yet contemporary in its social offerings. I agree with your comment on how fashions don’t typically leave St. Tropez and turn into international fashion trends. Also, I love your reference to how you have the comfort and pleasure of knowing that next summer, you get to return to another exciting summer. My only feeling is that after each summer, the influx of extreme new money leads to the dilution of the cultural richness that is St. Tropez. Great you saw Tara Reid. Great you saw Pdiddy (as did I), but isn’t true that these ultra-celebrates aren’t here to soak up the French vibes, but rather “to see and be seen” by the megaplayers of the world? Is that what brings you back each summer, or is it something else entirely? Being 18, I can tolerate that kind of stuff, but at your age, but latter on, it might grow tiresome. Well, I guess the alternative is your own quite, private villa… Not too bad.
March 15, 2008 at 11:46 am
I will actually be travelling to St Tropez next week for easter weekend to my parent’s villa. I find the ’socail scene’ that has developed there quite ghastly. The idea of attempting to plaster myself in photos with a whole load of wealthy white trash who have developed pretences on the mere fact that they won the so-called lottery of life is sickening. The fact that people actually give a damn about whose party they’re invited to reminds me of prep-school. It would be much better there without these tedious individuals, some of whom seem to invariably invite themselves to supper chez nous which generally spoils the evening as it becomes filled with competition and fake laughter. xxxxx
April 14, 2008 at 5:29 am
JE SUIS MASSEUSE JE PRATIQUE LE MASSAGE DE L ILE MAURICE JE SOUHAITERAIS TRAVAILLER AU CHATEAU DE LA MESSARDDIERE ET M INSTALLER A ST TROPEZ MERCI DE VOTRE COMPREHENTION
August 7, 2009 at 1:50 am
I find yoy reaylly beautiful, may I ask if yoy do a lot os sport and your hair is always perfect, yoy do that yourseld?
Kind regards Aleida