Paris Fashion Week

Eleventh of Frost Month, 5 PM. 💣☆ 🍩♤

Inside the Tuileries Palace, newly adorned with countless ribbons, paintings, and billboards Paris Fashion Week, now the focus of attention across Europe, is about to open.

The Tuileries Palace is a castle-like building, surrounded by towering palaces on all sides, encircling a huge central square. Its original design purpose was to serve as the King's last stronghold in times of emergency, and the square was his Training Field for mobilizing troops.

However, at this moment, the Training Field was filled with thousands of tourists from all over the world who came to attend Fashion Week.

Many other tourists, unwilling to buy expensive seats, stood in the gaps between the plaza and the buildings, craning their necks to look curiously at the giant catwalk on the east side. Of course, even standing room only, an admission ticket costs 6 Livre.

Because Joseph had launched a massive advertising campaign in various countries beforehand, with slogans like "Paris Fashion Week, just for the most fashionable you," "Hand in hand with your loved one, the most romantic Paris," and "The wind of longing for you has still blown to Paris Fashion Week," the ears of Nobility in various countries had long been worn out.

With such a huge hype, Paris Fashion Week has become the focus of heated discussion among the Nobility throughout Europe. Unless one is truly unable to afford to travel to Paris, no one wants to miss this grand event—otherwise, they would be ashamed to face those who have experienced Paris Fashion Week.

This resulted in at least 100,000 visitors attending Paris Fashion Week this year!

Although the opening ceremony tickets were quite expensive, they had sold out a month in advance. After that, any Nobility who wanted to buy tickets had to pay four or five times the price and endure the exploitation by scalpers.

At this moment, on one of the luxurious seats on the east side of the Tuileries Palace Square —a prime spot very close to the runway, with official tickets costing 80 Livre —a middle-aged United Kingdom man in a black velvet coat, with sagging eye bags and prominent ears, was staring wide-eyed at the resplendent Tuileries Palace, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"When I first saw the newspaper article saying 'Experience your Royal House life at the Tuileries Palace,' I just thought it was the France bragging. I didn't expect them to actually do such a good job."

The young man next to him, who had been holding Notebook and pen, nodded and smiled.

"Mr. Walsh, actually, this Tuileries Palace used to be the royal palace of the France."

"Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Alvin." Walsh nodded in surprise and exclaimed, "No wonder it's so luxurious! It seems my money wasn't wasted this time."

His wife laughed:

"Darling, I remember you saying on the ship that the France are only good at making fancy things like food and clothing."

"Well, I have to admit, their palace is not bad either."

Just then, melodious music filled the air, and the elegantly dressed Lord Keeper of the Seals the Versailles Palace Barandon, took to the stage first and delivered a very lengthy opening address in aria.

Then, Queen Mary, dressed in a white gown and with her hair piled high at a height of one and a half feet, walked gracefully out from backstage, surrounded by her attendants and maids. Brilliant fireworks then burst into the sky.

The surrounding France Guard and officials immediately bowed their heads in salute. The tourists, who had not expected the Queen of France —a symbol of Europe fashion and luxury—to be present, quickly stood up and politely nodded to Queen in respect.

The atmosphere in the venue immediately reached its peak.

Queen Mary smiled and gestured to the crowd, then began her speech according to the script her son had written:

"Welcome everyone to Paris, the city of fashion and romance, for the largest fashion event in all of Europe..."

Walsh couldn't understand French, but he was eagerly anticipating the start of the "five fashion shows a day, with hundreds of beauties showcasing their talents" that the newspaper had mentioned.

Fortunately, Queen Mary did not keep him waiting for long. After saying, "Please enjoy this wonderful week," she turned and returned to the third floor of the Tuileries Palace, to the room facing the runway.

Following a performance by a renowned singer, the main event of Fashion Week officially began.

Accompanied by Light Express music, three tall and beautiful models, dressed in the latest glamorous gowns, strode out from the end of the runway.

All the audience members present were stunned.

This was completely different from any fashion show they had ever seen!

They weren't just simple clothes hangers, nor did they rely on their looks to attract attention. The models exuded elegance and nobility in every gesture, their expressions cool and natural, like three confident Nobility ladies who happened to be passing by.

This also highlights the elegance and individuality of their fashion choices.

Meanwhile, on two display boards, each over four meters tall, on either side of the runway, information such as the designer, design concept, features, and price of the long dresses worn by the models appeared.

Fashion Week staff members mingled among the guests, politely reminding them that if they liked any of the clothes on display, they could place an order with them at any time.

This fashion display and sales method, which became commonplace in later generations, was the most creative and trendy model in the 18th century.

Mrs. Walsh immediately took a liking to the light green dress worn by the model on the left, and then glanced at the price tag on the display board—220 Livre.

She lowered her head, silently converting the price to Pound Sterling, making sure her husband wouldn't object. When she looked up again, she wore a charming smile, took Mr. Walsh's arm, and whispered, "Darling, what do you think of that green dress?"

Walsh, busy looking at the plump "White Rabbit" (a type of milk tea), glanced at the price and nodded absentmindedly. "Buy it if you like it."

"Thank you, darling!" The wife immediately summoned the staff.

However, she quickly regretted it, because the model who came out next was wearing a purple Puffy Skirt that she found even more alluring than the green dress she had just seen.

The fashions that followed were increasingly trendy and beautiful, leaving Mrs. Walsh dazzled and with only one thought in her mind, "Buy them all."

An hour later, the first fashion show ended.

Mrs. Walsh, through desperate restraint, bought only three outfits. She also bought her husband a dark blue suit.

Mr. Walsh, having had his fill of admiring the slender waists and "White Rabbit" breasts, only discovered at checkout that he owed nearly Pound Sterling 40!

This is a gold pound; one pound is worth approximately 25 Livre.

However, the wealthy United Kingdom businessman, who was in the Wool business, paid the bill with an air of nonchalance.

Countless customers from various countries were in similar situations to him. Only the 23 employees in charge of pre-sales at Fashion Week worked until 4 a. m., their hands cramping, before they finally finished processing all the orders.

Meanwhile, Alvin, the United Kingdom journalist who accompanied Mr. Walsh, immediately returned to his reserved room, compiled a Fashion Week news article of more than ten pages, and sent it back to the United Kingdom overnight.

That evening, the Walsh couple enjoyed authentic French court cuisine at the "Royal House Restaurant" on the first floor of the Tuileries Palace — Sugar Beet gratin with beetroot, Crown Prince Oysters, Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Cherry Sauce, Red Wine and Truffle Roasted Pigeon...

A table laden with delicacies left the two, hailing from a culinary desert, so engrossed in the meal that they lingered, their mouths greasy with oil, until they were so full they had to lean against the wall to leave the Dining Hall.

Although the meal required them to queue for more than 40 minutes and cost 1 pound 12 Shilling, they felt it was worth every penny.

Upon returning to the Tuileries Palace, the Walsh couple intended to have a couple of drinks, but on the way, they came across a Hall shimmering with colorful lights and displaying all sorts of strange Machines. It was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation. The two were immediately drawn to it.

The translator and guide in our group pointed to the Hall and said to them, "This is the Arcade Hall; there are many fun games to play."

Mr. Walsh walked in with great interest and immediately saw a young man who looked to be Spanish Descent pulling a handle in front of a Machines that was taller than a person. The rollers inside the Machines immediately began to spin rapidly.

The Spain stared intently at the drum, muttering, "Stop! Stop!"

After a moment, the front of the roller stopped, displaying a pattern of yellow Fleur-de-lis from the French Royal Family.

Then, the roller stopped in the middle, where an Fleur-de-lis was displayed.

The Spain's breathing began to quicken.

Soon, the speed of the rollers slowed down considerably, and the last part slowly rotated from a longsword to an apple, eventually coming to rest on Fleur-de-lis.

The young Spain man cheered wildly, repeatedly pumping his fists and leaping into the air.

The Machines emitted a series of clinking sounds, Spain hurriedly bent down and took out a Wooden Box from the bottom of the Machines. Inside was a full box of Silver Coin, at least seventy or eighty.

"What is this?" Mr. Walsh turned to the guide in surprise.

The latter gestured to the Machines: "Mr. Walsh, this thing is called a ' Slot Machine.' You insert one Livre and pull the handle once. The cylinder inside will spin. If it stops on three identical patterns, you can get several times or even dozens of times the amount of Silver Coin back."

"That young gentleman just now won the highest payout multiplier—one hundred times."

Walsh was immediately intrigued. He looked around and found that dozens of Machines in the Hall were being used by people.

Finally, he paid 10 Livre to take over a Slot Machine from a middle-aged man, eagerly tossed 1 Livre into the coin slot, and then pulled the lever hard.

After spinning rapidly, the roller stopped on a cat, a shield, and a cross.

Obviously, you didn't win.

He pursed his lips, threw in another ball, and still got nothing.

Finally, on the 15th pull, a pattern of three apples appeared on the roller, and a crisp sound of Silver Coin clinking came from below the Machines.

Walsh took out the Wooden Box, excitedly picked up the five Silver Coin inside, looking even happier than if he had won five Pound Sterling.

An hour later, Mrs. Walsh yawned and returned alone to her reserved room on the second floor.

Mr. Walsh noticed that no one was playing the pinball Machines next to him, so he curiously switched to that machine.

Insert a coin, pull the lever, and the pinball bounces around in the Machines, finally landing in a small hole marked X3. Three Silver Coin then fall out from under the Machines.

Walsh was overjoyed and immediately switched his attention to playing Pinball Machine.

The entertainment Machines in this Hall were specially prepared by Joseph for celebrations like Fashion Week.

The internal structure of this thing is not complicated; it consists of a mainspring, Flywheel, and some gears. It was made by Craftsman from more than ten watch shops in Paris over several months, and its complexity is much lower than that of a clock.

Although they were all very simple game consoles, people of that era had never seen anything like them before. They were all like they were possessed, pulling the handles or levers over and over again, unable to stop.

There are more than 70 such Machines in the Tuileries Palace. Each one is greedily devouring tourists' Silver Coin.

Around 3 a. m., Mrs. Walsh was awakened from her sleep and, finding her husband still hadn't returned to the room, hurriedly dressed and rushed to the amusement Hall. There she found Mr. Walsh, his eyes bloodshot but his spirits high, still pulling the levers incessantly...

The next day.

There are no fashion shows in the morning or at noon.

So after breakfast, Mrs. Walsh dragged her husband, whose face was half covered in dark circles, to the Eden Amusement Park, which everyone was raving about as "extremely fun" and "you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't go."

Outside the amusement park gates, which seem to have been moved from a fairy tale world, several "big rats" dressed up by workers, with fluffy black round ears, big eyes, and pointed noses, are greeting visitors.

Yes, these adorable dolls are none other than Mickey Mouse from later generations.

However, in the 18th century, Disney didn't bother Joseph, so he simply copied it without hesitation.

A large number of tourists were drawn to the incredibly cute Mickey, either following behind them or gently patting its head, occasionally exclaiming "Wow!"

Mickey enthusiastically pointed out the location of the ticket window to everyone.

Tickets aren't cheap at all—30 Livre per person for all rides, plus complimentary tea and snacks. 18 Livre per person for four steam-powered rides, no drinks or desserts included.

Mr. Walsh generously Shilling over Pound Sterling 2.10 to the ticket seller – all you have to do – and then entered the amusement park with his wife.

His wife, who was over thirty, immediately transformed into a teenage girl, skipping and laughing joyfully between the carousel and Coffee Cup.

After Mrs. Walsh had finally had her fill of fun, she dragged her husband along, saying they wanted to go to the flagship store of Paris Angel Boutique. Although there were Franchise Store in the United Kingdom, the Paris flagship store supposedly had a new "Eye Cream" product that was on sale recently—how could they resist buying it?

They had originally intended to call Carriage, but a Public Carriage happened to pull into the station. On the guide's suggestion, the two curiously boarded the enormous Carriage, which could hold 25 people.

Two horses pulled the Public Carriage along the newly paved Wooden Railway. The wheels had very little resistance, allowing it to travel at a very fast speed. Moreover, thanks to the New Leaf Spring Suspension System installed in the bus, and the fact that the Wooden Railway were already very flat, there was almost no bumpy feeling inside the bus.

Mrs. Walsh felt as comfortable as if she were boating on a stream.

She looked around with delight. "This Carriage is really nice."

The guide immediately chimed in, "You have excellent taste! This was made using the technology of the royal Carriage. Similar Carriage are now the preferred choice of Paris high society."

Mrs. Walsh quickly asked in a low voice, "How much does one of these cars cost? I mean, the kind that seats four."

"Probably less than 600 Livre."

Mrs. Walsh immediately looked at her husband with pleading eyes. He nodded generously. "Let's go to the Carriage House tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)

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