Paris Visit: Eshakti Dress & How To Avoid Crowds At Eiffel Tower 'Top Of The Tower' Visit

I am back home after a fun trip from Amsterdam and Paris. We were there for a short week and I can't wait to go go back there again to see and explore more. We did all the 'touristy' stuff as we were short on time and I hope next time I get to stay longer:-)

I know there is a lot of information available on Paris travel on Trip Advisor and travel blogs, but I wanted to share some quick tips (and my own experience) for visiting Paris, specially the typical tourist attraction like Eiffel Tower and Louvre museum etc.

First of all, if you want to avoid crazy crowds, (and believe me, it is crazy in the sense of sheer number of people who visit these places!), visit these places early in the morning. For Eiffel Tower 'top of the Tower' tour, the lines start forming as soon as 8;30 AM! Due to heightened security (sad sad sad reality of our world!) there are couple of check points to get into the elevators. They check your bags and you go through the metal detectors. For the "general admission" the lines are HUGE. But we found out (thanks to our hotel concierge at Shangri-La) that there is another "reservation/invitation only' line that has virtually no queue, but for that one needs to book the specific date and time for the visit via a tour guide. The tickets are 60 Euroes per person and you need to book them well in advance, (unless you get lucky like we did and found out that the tour company had couple of tickets available for the next day when we inquired! At least that's what they told us that it is not usual that the reservation tickets are available on short notice). So ask your hotel concierge or search online for getting the invitation/reservation tickets to visit the top of Eiffel Tower.

 We had reached Paris in the afternoon around 2;30 PM. Our hotel was literally a stone's throw away from Eiffel Tower (in fact I could see the Eiffel Tower right from our suite's terrace! I highly recommend this hotel (and the terrace room). We decided to take a stroll to the Eiffel Tower and Seine river. I loved the energy and the sights, but it was way crowded to take good pictures without being photobombed. So we came back next morning (advantage of living near the Eiffel Tower) and got some great family pictures with crowd-free Eiffel Tower in the background.

So, the moral of the story- go early to get great views and great pictures without the crowd!

By the time we reached the Tower for our 9:15 AM scheduled tour for the top of the tower, there was already a huge line formed for the security check-in. Luckily, the 'invitation only' gates allowed us to simply skip the lines and breeze through security (Again, I highly recommend booking the tickets in advance for a specific time if you can to use the skip-the-line service)

You can see the whole city of Paris from the top of Eiffel Tower!

Dress - eShakti (customize any dress for your measurements!)

Coming back to the outfit, this maxi dress if from eShakti and it fits perfect on my because it was MADE JUST FOR ME! That's the unique thing about eShakti- they design dresses and you can customize their designs to fit YOUR body! For example, on their website this dress was a midi length, sleeveless and deeper V neck, but I customized it to be maxi length (gave them my height so its a maxi dress for ME), added flutter sleeves and made the neck modest V! I am loving this retailer because all the dresses I have ordered so far have been perfect fit, quality is impeccable and they have some really pretty and fun prints/graphics for Spring/Summer. If you have never checked out eShakti, you have to today! You will love it as much as I did. (BTW< this is NOT a sponsored post!)

PS: Almost all their dresses have pockets! (*happy dance emoji*)

A quick note about our hotel in Paris - Shangri-la: Their amazing location, splendor (it is a renovated mansion of Napoleon's nephew, so you can imagine the grand structure and all the luxurious details) and great service can't be beat. Also, if you plan to stay there, I highly recommend upgrading your room to the 'Terrace Eiffel Tower View Room". It is so worth the money.

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Lookbook - Victoria Beckham For Target Pink 'Suit'

As you all already know Victoria Beckham for Target collection was launched earlier this month and some of the pieces that were heavily promoted by Target and covered by press were quickly sold out. Although, you can still find many pieces online and in store. I had ordered bunch of stuff before my vacation and when I came back this week, it was waiting for me at home. {I like this kind of  homecoming!;-)}

One of the look I was very eager to try on was this hot pink 'pant-suit' - technically it is a top and pants co-ord but looks more like a suit because of the fabric and style of the pants. I love the color and the fit - however, I have to say these pants are not for women shorter than 5'5". I am 5'8" and I need to wear medium heels to get the full flare effect on the bottom. So if you are short-er, you may need to hem it. But a little trip to your tailor is totally worth it because these pants were really well made and color, style and fabric looks much more expensive than the $40 cost of these pants! In my local Target, some sizes of these pants (and bunch of other pieces from her baby/girls/toddler collection) are still available. Check online if your local store still has them!

This pant-top co-ord was VERY SIMILAR to Victoria Beckham's own line 'Victoria Victoria-Beckham'. She wore her own (much more expensive version) of this set in 2015. The Target piece is ALMOST IDENTICAL to VVB!

Overall, I am pretty impressed by the quality and price point of her collection for Target. I got couple of dresses for Mili too (couldn't resist the mommy-daughter coordinated dress!) and can't wait to wear my dress with her:-)

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Lookbook: J.Crew Off The Shoulder Top, Halogen Iris Lace Up Pumps

For Spring/Summer, one of my favorite  outfit combinations is the blue denim and white top. This J.Crew long sleeve off the shoulder top is a fresh take on the classic white cotton summer top. Off the shoulder trend was hot last year and it seems like it will be the trend this year as well.

Top - J.Crew (On sale and now 30% EXTRA off on sale!)

Jeans - Gap Midrise Boyfriend Jeans

Shoes - Nordstrom (Very striking red in person, I recommend!)

Bag - Chanel// Preloved version HERE

Striped Bandana Scarf - Old Navy

These Halogen 'Iris' lace up D'orsey pumps are even more stunning in person than they look in picture here. The tassels, the color, the pointy toe and comfortable block mid heel make these shoes a closet workhorse and I plan to repeat then as often as I can! 

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Lookbook : Ruffle Sleeve Striped Tee & White Denim Culottes

One of the biggest style trends this year (and last fall too) is all about dramatic sleeves. Ruffles, bell shaped, balloon sleeves, ruffled cuffs, split cuff - you name it. I love this striped ruffle sleeve T from J.Crew Factory for the cute details and of course for the stripes!. It is made with thicker fabric than usual tee shirts, so it keeps its shape but its not stiff or boxy. I like the nautical, preppy vibe of the stripes with feminine ruffles. I got my usual size small and it fits true to size.
These Gap white denim culottes are going to go on repeat this Spring/Summer. They are high waisted and their cinched-at-waist-with-belt look is very slimming. I am also crushing hard on these denim culottes with belt!

Ruffle Sleeve Tee- J.Crew Factory // Similar // Similar

Denim Culottes - Gap // Love this one in blue denim // This too // This one with belt

Bag - Chanel // Pre-Loved

Shoes - Zara (sold out) // Similar // Same Style In Flats // Espadrilles

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