Wednesday, May 9, 2012

shopping: a first-rate guide to first-time paris

So as I have said many many times now, I went to Paris last week, and I have been meaning to write up a sort of "guide" (well, it's not really a guide, more me gushing about shops I went too,  but "guide" does sound better) to the shops that I thought were good in Paris. Here we go...




Let's start with Marais: Oh My God. If you take a detour of the tourist track into around Rue de Rosiers and the streets round there, it is an abosolute gold mine of gorgeous boutiques, vintage shops, and incrredible bakeries, not to mention the famous falafels of the district. My favourite shop there was definitely Coiffeur Vintage, and insanely cheap little vintage shop with absolutely amazing clothes. You can get dresses for €10 and Levi's shorts for €10 (which are what I bought) and there are a lot of accessories too, while listening to Two Door Cinema Club and other suitably amazing bands.

There's also an amazing haberdashery called La Mercerie, which has like a million different ribbons and Liberty fabrics and old sewing machines - even if you're not a DIY fan it is worth a look, and if you are, it's heaven!


I love sunglasses (my prescription glasses, not so much) and Mode de Vue has loads of perfect and vintage sunglasses and glasses, I saw some Chloe ones I really liked and they have Marc Jacobs, Cutler and Gross, vintage YSL and a tonne of unique and extremely cool frames that I would have killed to have. Also, they're a proper opticians so you can get prescription ones fitted, and getting glasses would surely be way more fun surrounded by vintage Balenciaga, right?


The green stalla of the Bouquinistes are really really famous, for a good reason. There are so so so many old books and magazines and pictures, anything you can think of, it's here. Well, not anything, but you could easily find something you liked. I got some old Vogues, but I could have spent all day there just looking.


Avenue Montaigne: In the words of Rachel Zoe, I was so so having a Chanel heart attack right then. And Rue du Faubourg Saint-HonorĂ©, I mean those streets were paved in Prada, Dior, Sonia Rykiel, Dolce & Gabbana, Chloe, Jil Sander... aaaagh. And I'm only young so it was my first time going to those places and I have to say I was a little intimidated, I don't know why! There were these impeccable older women just sat in Chanel, just sipping champagne and talking very fast French, I was like "Please be me in 50 years!" I was so tempted to steal one of the evening dresses from Sonia Rykiel though, they were seriously perfect. Everything was perfect. Ahhhh. If you go to Paris I think you have to go here, just for the atmosphere and because it's so iconic. I went on a monday morning so it was nice and quiet, a billion times better then the insufferable Galeries Lafeyettes on saturday. Ugh, painful memory. But yeah, this street = perfect.


Wait did I say that street = perfect? I meant DIOR = PERFECT. I worship Dior, I really do, and my ambition is to one day live out the Miss Dior commercial (Maryna Linchuk, not natalie portman!). So I went to my future home, Dior, in search of a perfect dress (which of course I wouldn't buy, my money is definitively non existant), which I found in this pink leather confection (bottom right). I think I stroked it. Creepy. Anyway, I left with a bottle of Miss Dior and the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face ever. I think it's safe to say that I love, love, love Paris.

Such a long post sorry, but if you want to correct any mistakes I've made or gush over Dior with me, hit the comments people.

Where are your favourite shops in Paris? x

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