Petrina and I had a girls’ day out last weekend with an inadvertent French theme! First we hit up a ‘locals’-love-it’ French cafe (creatively called Mon Petit Cafe) and then I visited Laduree for the first time.

In this coordinate, I took a fashion risk and decided to go for a soft blue accent. The leather jacket was a fun pop-lolita look to wear, but as with many lolita styles, an ordinary jacket’s waist was a little too long for the naturally-waisted cut of the Angelic Pretty onepiece.

Blue leather jacket: Wet Seal / Bow, onepiece: Angelic Pretty / Scarf: Swimmer / Bag: MILK

This was my first time visiting Laduree since they opened their New York City location on the Upper West Side. It’s a beautiful boutique, and it smells like the delicate perfume of sugar, macaron-scented candles, and a general air of expensiveness. I was excited to purchase a keychain or something Laduree-themed, like their signature perfumes, but it was really even too expensive for this lolita! If you’re going, plan on brand-worthy prices. My Baby the Stars Shine Bright keychain and a Laduree keychain are about the same price.

I did buy a small box of macarons, just to try them and see if the hype was worth it. For $21, their cheapest assortment, I got six macarons in a Laduree-labeled pink box embossed with their logo and the word ‘Paris’. I’ve had plenty of macarons before, but these are honestly the best I’ve ever had. They’re soft, crisp where they should be, and never sticky, gummy or chewy. The centers are soft creams infused with different floral extracts, since most of mine were floral-flavors like rose petal or orange blossom. Final verdict? They’re worth it. While I won’t be dropping in often, it was fun to sample them and say I’d been there. If you’re an out-of-towner, this is an especially fun place to visit!

coordinate photo and Laduree window photo by Petrina Cheng