Micah3

We will only be in Paris for 4.5 days and at this point I've bought a book outlining things to see and do. Already I'm feeling overwhelmed but to me, the reports saying you can't do it all say a lot. It's better to savour what you do see than run around to see everything. One question we four ladies are wondering about (being typical girls)is shopping..we keep hearing how expensive it is (at the moment I think it's about $1.69 Cdn. to 1 euro) and while we aren't poor, we certainly are far from being able to buy designer clothes. With this in mind, we'd be looking at perhaps buying ourselves one special clothing item (like a sweater $150+/-Cdn or a pair of shoes in that price range). Would anyone be able to lead us to a shopping area that would even be close to that price? We are not planning on shopping much but perhaps one-half day out of the 4 1/2 days would be good. Our biggest plans include a few churches (Notre Dame, La Chappelle) 2 or 3 museums, Versailles, walking and browsing, eating and drinking. Would anyone suggest a fashion show to us? We will be staying in either Arind 3 or 4 so any recommended restaurants would be appreciated as well. I am looking for a lady who wrote a gem of a travel report (she travelled with her mom) but I can't think of her name. Help!! As always, any responses are appreciated.

ira

Hi M,

I suggest the major department stores: Au Printemps, Bon Marche, Galleries Lafayette

Micah3

Thanks for responding,probably you could spend 1/2 day in one dept. store!

Christina

You can easily buy shoes and clothes for that price, but what would be the purpose of just buying something cheap? They might be made in China or Mauritania, whatever, some cheap country. So it would be no different than buying it at home. There are plenty of cheap shoe stores for example, where you can buy shoes for 25 euro or so (probably made of vinyl or something, of course), you'll probably see them around as they are chains.

So you want something special, designer and French for 75 euro, is that really what you want? Because a lot of good shoes are Italian, for example, you'll find them in the expensive shops.

There are lots of shoe shops in St Germain around rue du Four and rue du Cherche Midi there are some, and some are the cheap stuff (but will not be French nor good).

cigalechanta

There are alot of shoe store on the Rue de Rivoli.

Guenmai

OK. I'm a shopper, but I don't buy shoes as I'm a size 10 and in France, we size 10s have been nearly made non-existent. I used to buy lots of shoes when I was a size 8 to 9.

You can go to the major department stores. My favorite one happens to be Bon Marche in the 7th at the Sevres Babylone metro stop. Maybe you can find something there, on reduction, but your budget sounds VERY tight for Paris.

If you go to the major department stores to look for shoes then you can get a big overview of the different shoe companies and then go to the individual boutiques, by the same companies, that are spread out throughout the city. That way you can get more of a variety.

How much is $150. Canadian dollars in U.S. dollars?

As for a sweater, I don't buy sweaters in Paris. I've never seen any sweaters there that were anything special and that I couldn't get here in the States for half the price or less.

A Parisian friend of mine brought me a cashmere sweater, as a gift, very sweet of him, when he came to stay with me here in L.A., for two weeks in Oct/Nov. I kept thinking to myself what a pretty penny I know that he paid for it in Paris. I have at least 20, 100% cashmere sweaters/shawls/capelettes here at home (Macys , T.J.Maxx, and Calvin Klein), so I know cashmere. I've been wearing it for decades.

One day he and I were in the T.J. Maxx store and he noticed the 100% cashmere sweaters for $49.99 (before being red tagged) and couldn't believe the price. He got my sweater probably at Monoprix and I'm sure paid quite a bit. As for the quality of the cashmere, the T.J. Maxx ones were of higher quality, than the Monoprix one that I have. I've always washed my cashmere sweaters in the washing machine without any problems what so ever, but the Monoprix one didn't come out looking as good as my other ones which look like new after washing. Plus, before washing it, I could tell that the quality was different. So, I handle it with different care.

As for sweaters, of other fabrics/materials, again, I personally haven't seen anything too exciting in Paris at your regular department store price point. I love sweaters and wear a lot of them as here in L.A. I don't need anything much heavier all year round, so I look out for them in various countries that I travel to.

When I'm in Paris, I buy handbags. That's my passion and it's great fun to shop for them in Paris as Paris is handbag heaven. Two stores that I especially love are Karine Dupont and Un Apres Midi de Chien. You can google them, but what's on their website is much different than what's in their boutiques. I don't know why the websites aren't better.

Karine Dupont is my favorite. There's a boutique on the rue Cherche Midi, a 10 minute walk from Bon Marche department store and a few steps down from the great Poilane bakery, located on the same street. This is in the 6th. You can easily locate it on a map. It's in the low numbers of rue Cherche Midi. There are a lot of boutiques in that area and in those streets of Cherche Midi, rue de Four, rue Grenelle, rue St. Peres, etc...Shopping galore in the 6th and 7th.

The Un Apres Midi de Chien boutique is, on the right bank, on rue Etienne Marcel right near the Etienne Marcel metro stop off of line 4. It's about a 5 minute walk from the metro station. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

Oh, I forgot to add that two books that would be worth buying are the "Where to Wear-Paris Shopping Guide book -$14.95" and the "Born To Shop" book. Both are American written and should be easy to get a hold of for you.
Oh, Karine Dupont happens to be at 16, rue Cherche Midi. I just looked it up in my Where to Wear book. That book is great, as in the back of it, they list boutiques by district. So, since I knew that Karine Dupont is in the 6th, I just went to the 6th section and there was the address. Happy Travels!

bardo1

Micah,

Sorry for going off topic but,... may I humbly suggest that your trip is way too short to include a day trip to Versailles?

TravelsWithStDavid

There are two places I love to shop in Pais. For handbags, there is a store called Maroquinerie Saint-Honore at 334, rue Saint-Honore. It has a great selection of unique styles that are not too expensive. I bought a wonderful leather messenger style bag there last year for around $100. There is a jewelry chain which sells attractive costume jewelry. They also have a store on Madsison Ave in New York where the prices are much higher. The name of it is Agatha but I'm not sure where it is located. I also like the Bon Marche. It may sound funny, but I bought my daughters wonderful dish towels as souveniers. And, a quick word about souveniers, you can't beat the D'Orsay and Louvre museum shops for small, French remembrances. Have fun!

sf7307

Christina, do you speak French? I googled Un Apres Midi de Chien and there's a bag I like a lot, but I can't tell what the measurements are. How do I ask -- What are the measurements of the bag? and What is on the inside of the bag (one large space, zip pockets, etc.)?

I love purses, too, and a lot of these are very moderately priced. Are they good quality?

Micah3

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out. Guenmai - you had some specific tips, I really appreciate this!

sf7307

Sorry, my request should have been made of Guenmai (although if Christina speaks French, I'd appreciate the help any way I can get it!)!

lilaki

hi micah,

i'm also canadian and went to paris this past september.

i found everything to be UBER expensive - maybe not for locals but definitely for us with the lagging canadian dollar.

my 'splurge' was a pair of mephistos .. 135 euros ... so about $200 canadian by the time my visa statement showed up! however, these same shoes were over $300 at the mephisto store in toronto. in general, the shoes i saw were around that price or more expensive. otherwise, they were 'cheap' shoes that you can just get at your local payless or whatever.

some things i did find to be of 'good' value:
- food products - mustards, salts, french olive oils, etc. (i LOVE to eat so this is good for me)
- toilettries/make-up - check out the line 'bourjois'
- kitchen 'things' - e. dehillerin, mora, etc. etc.

monoprix had good gift items (food related) for those at home. i didn't find their clothing selection to be great though.

i think BHV is the 'discount' arm of lafayette. didn't find much there but it certainly was 'cheaper' than lafayette. C&A is a bit like old navy or H&M ... but if you can get that kind of stuff at home, why bother getting it in paris?

i didn't travel with my mom, but here's my report (there is fashion show info in it):

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35161688

have a great trip!

Guenmai

sf7307- I posted the Un Apres Midi de Chien info. The bags are very good. I've been buying them for some years. We even had our own boutique here in L.A. on Melrose near the Blue Whale and Bloomies in L.A. carried the bags for quite some time. Things change so quickly here in L.A. until what's popular one minute is out the next. So, I haven't seen the bags here in over a good year. I've purchased at the Etienne Marcel store in Paris. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

I would absolutely skip Versailles, too. Happy Travels!

TPAYT

I agree with the above posters.

Also, I found a shop called "57" on Rue St. Louis en I'lle(the main street of St.Louis en I'lle, just down from Notre Dame).

I was able to find a very cute short , trendy coat for my businesswoman daughter for $135 Euro. Very reasonable I thought, and she just loved it.

I also liked the shops on Rue de Rennes on the left bank.

A scarf is the thing to wear in Paris, and they have many shops in all price ranges. I bring them back as gifts, easy to pack.

The scarves I bought for myself are complimented every time I am in mall or grocery store at home. My favorite scarf shop is also on Rue St.Louis en I'lle, "Dawali", a little further down the street from "57". All prices, and gorgeous colors.

I wish I was going with you.

Guenmai

As for Agatha jewelry, I've been buying it in Paris since either the late 70s or 80s. I can't remember exactly as it's been so long ago. There are Agatha shops all around the city. There's one on rue de Rennes, in the 6th. I've shopped at that one since the 80s, I think it's been.

As for the handbag store, mentioned above, on rue St. Honore, it is quite good. I've been in there several times although have not made a purchase.

Another good handbag store is the Italian company,
" Brics". It's on the rue Boissy D'Anglais which is the side street to the left of the Hotel Crillon which is at Concorde. The Buddha Bar is on the same street. You'll pass the Buddha Bar first and then walk another block and the Bric store is in the second block of rue Boissy D'Anglais and on the right side. I do purchase Brics items. We also have a boutique, here in L.A., in Century City. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

By the way, the person who was traveling with her mom and wrote the trip report might be Kristina who's a regular over on the Asia forum where I'm a regular. I know her personally so I'll e-mail her to look at this thread. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

OK. I just e-mailed her. She's a local , so we're in the same time zone. Happy Travels!

Kristina

Thanks for the head's up Guenmai!

Micah3-Guenmai thinks it might be my trip report you are looking for?
I don't have the link to the report here on Fodor's right now, but the whole trip is on my website:
http://www.wired2theworld.com/PARIS2008.html

If you are looking for info from someone else on the actual thread here, then do a search for "Kristina's Big Fat Fortieth in France".