When it’s time to do a life assessment, if your journey thus far has been filled with elegant and magical memories, you’ve done so many things right.

Please keep it up. Life is short.

Researching the life of the regal shapely French model Johanna Gray can be enlightening, revealing and an exploration in elegance.

It reminds you of what the good life should be like and who you would love to spend it with.

“Money doesn’t buy elegance. You can take an inexpensive sheath, add a pretty scarf, gray shoes, and a wonderful bag, and it will always be elegant.”….. Carolina Herrera

The epitome of the elegant actress is Isabella Rossellini.

She adds filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model to her resume. Ms. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.

Regarding elegance she was once quoted as saying, “Women who stay true to themselves are always more interesting and beautiful to me: women like Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe and Anna Magnani – women who have style, chic, allure and elegance. They didn’t submit to any standard of beauty – they defined it.”

Johanna is a beautiful young woman with a global following and an impressive resume. The industry site listal.com expresses, “Johanna Dray is a ground breaking French plus model from Paris.  When Dray first began modeling there were no plus size agencies or plus size divisions. Educated in fashion design, she became the first plus size model in Europe to launch a collaborative plus-size clothing line.

If you have a chance to view her images online you will see that she wears ivory with perfection. Light colors in soft solids of Sea Blue or Mild Gray are ideal adornments as well.

Johanna Dray worked John Galliano’s ‘Everybody is Beautiful’ Spring 2006 show and then appeared in the French Vogue editorial of that collection. It was Johanna who wore Galliano’s best-selling dress of the show. Dray has appeared in French Vogue, Elle France, Gala magazine, as well as being featured model on Vogue Italia’s “Vogue Curvy” website.

Johanna Dray is definitely one of the top plus models today.”

The name of Johanna’s exquisite clothing line is Tend@nces en clair par Johanna Dray.

“The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.”…. Diana Vreeland

 

For a touch of elegance her favorite perfumes are Chloé, Eau de parfum, Flowerbomb, Viktor & Rolf, Amber, Prada, Angel, Thierry Mugler, N° 5 Eau Première and Chanel to name a few.

Very nice selection.

An informative industry insider thecurvyfashionista.com is very impressed with her.

They smile “We have been enamored with her French curves and enveloped in her first plus size modeled fashioned clothing line, yet, there are only a few who have had the opportunity to capture the essence of the infamous French model, Johanna Dray. Appearing in French Vogue, French ELLE, Gala magazine, campaigns for Marina Rinaldi and Giani Forte, and most recently on the Price of Beauty with Jessica Simpson, Johanna Dray is a pioneering plus model in her own right!”

Ms. Dray started her modeling career at 21 and has found over 10 years of success.

When you look at this gorgeous Parisian, wouldn’t you love to take her out to dinner at one of the most elegant restaurants that you can find?

Of course you would and only her hometown of Paris will do.

It’s a wonderland of fantastic sights, romance, great wine and divine restaurants.

Please meet L’Abeille. They welcome you.

Located on the Shangri-La Hotel upscale premises, as you arrive its elegant façade brings to mind its legacy as the former home of Napoleon Bonaparte’s grandnephew, Prince Roland Bonaparte. Attentive staff and a pleasantly discreet check-in ensure that you receive the royal treatment right from the start.

The hotel smiles, “Named in homage of Napoleon’s favorite emblem, the bee, our French gastronomic restaurant, L’Abeille, offers sophisticated cuisine made by Executive Chef Christophe Moret.

In an enchanting atmosphere next to the garden, L’Abeille promises to reveal new emotions in aesthetics and flavors through hallmarks of culinary excellence including exceptional products and technique.”

Now for a review.

At the enjoyable site gayot.com they gently praise, “Christophe Moret knows how to artfully showcase topnotch ingredients, especially thanks to sauces. Sea urchin tongues are drenched in dashi broth with eel moss and caviar. Scallops from Normandy are glazed and served with beetroot, Xeres vinegar and scallop butter sauce. Sea bass is enhanced with cockles, ground oysters, lemon and buckwheat. Pheasant quenelle is extremely tender, in Albufera sauce with black truffle and salsify. From pastry chef Michaël Bartocetti, you may encounter Maury wine-marinated cherries with cardamom ice cream. To match this sumptuous fare, the wine cellar features a few hundred vintages, among them a 1971 Pineau des Charentes for dessert, which reminds us of crystallized apricot. This culinary treatment comes at a price, but it is impeccable, as is the service.”

Now that sounds mesmerizing and unforgettable. There is another bonus.

If you wanted to go shopping before you dine, here in the heart of Paris, the exclusive fashion designers on Avenue Montaigne and Avenue George V are just around the corner, waiting for your attention.

It’s easy to let your imagination run wild with a fantasy that has you spending the above memory with Johanna.

“Elegance isn’t solely defined by what you wear. It’s how you carry yourself, how you speak, what you read.”…. Carolina Herrera 

So what is elegance? It is hard to define but Johanna seems to define her own persona in glowing Parisian lights.

In viewing one of her videos she softly relates that being sexy is an attitude in the way that you walk and the way you dress.

In the way that she walks and the way that she dresses, she styles and enhances elegance in another magical realm seldom seen.

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Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.

http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/labeille-paris-75116-france_10pa110601-02.html

http://www.shangri-la.com/paris/shangrila/dining/restaurants/labeille/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/248049891949930587/

http://thecurvyfashionista.com/2010/03/johanna-dray-french-plus-size-model/

http://www.listal.com/johanna-dray

http://www.vogue.it/en/vogue-curvy/beauty/2010/02/johanna-dray