Trip Report: Baby makes 3 . . .(shopping edition)(LONG!)

Ok -- so here's the shopping edition of my trip report. If you read the other one you know that my husband and I took our 11 month old to Paris for a week in May. The main purpose of the trip was shopping. It was my reward for losing all of my baby weight! If you thought I was sentimental about my baby in Paris just wait till I get started on shopping! Baby Schmaby! Just kidding. First of all -- I need to thank everyone for their responses to my Specific Shopping Questions for Paris post. You were all extremely helpful. By the way -- Ira's advice was the funniest -- our apartment was actually on Rue Bonaparte so that was perfect!
Ok here goes. We hit up as many of the shopping areas as we could -- the Champs Elysees, Rue de Faubourg, St Germain, the Marais,the area right around our apartment and 3 major department stores.
The Champs Elysees:
Not great shopping but great people watching. The stores weren't terrible but they were pretty much all chains and there were better examples of these chains elsewhere. They were all super crowded and messy. We happened to be there the day before the Champions League Finals (a big soccer match) and watching the roving groups of fans and listening to them spontaneously sing fight songs was a ton of fun.
Faubourg (and surrounding areas):
Oh . . . my heart. I loved this area. I love Louis Vuitton, Hermes and all the others so close to each other. However, I wouldn't reccomend this area to the faint of heart or the slender of wallet. I only enjoyed it because I had a large enough budget to, if I had to just window shop it would get old (and sad) for me after a while. I thought the customer service was amazing in most of these stores. I'm pretty young and in most stores I was trailed by my husband and a baby who wasn't always happy to be there and I was never given the impression that this was annoying. I think sometimes the high end stores get a bad rap for being overly snobby, but I didn't get that feeling. They were the perfect amount of snobby!
St. Germain (rue des Rennes, rue Bonaparte) and the area around my apartment:
I thought this area was great. It was exactly what I imagined Paris shopping to be -- lots of great boutiques, inexpensive mixed right in with the not so inexpensive. My favorite was Stella Forrest. It was a sweet little store where I found an amazing khaki skirt with a tie around the waist. I came out of the dressing room with it tied in a bow. The saleswoman took one look at me, clucked her tongue and came over and undid my bow and retied it for me. I felt a little manhandled but I appreciated her looking out for me. This happened again in Infinitiff. I was trying on a pair of black lace up ballet slippers. I didn't know the french for "little sanitary nylon for trying on shoes when you're wearing socks" and I didn't want to look like a germ obsessed American so I just put them on over my socks. The saleswoman who didn't speak english just came over and started tugging on my sock saying No! No! I tried to explain and I think she understood because she finally found me the little nylons. I bought the shoes and they are fabulous. This area also had a decent Zara. I know I know, it's an inexpensive chain that people frown on here. But I think the essence of style is being able to mix expensive and inexpensive pieces into amazing and unique outfits and that didn't just walk off a manequin.
The Marais:
I have mixed emotions about this area. I know the Marais is up and coming but it seemed pretty chill to me. I think I had higher expectations. The day we were there they had a new designer expo. We didn't realize this ahead of time, just noticed every pretty young thing carrying nondescript brown or white bags. Well, not one to miss a new exploding trend we traced the bags back to the expo. Again, I think my expectations were too high, it was interesting but I only ended up with a messenger bag and some costume jewelry. However, I did find a store that stole my heart. Ted Baker. It was so great. Hip and trendy without being ridiculous and very reasonably priced. I found a pretty little green skirt with cutouts on the bootom for $125. It was pretty tame, definitely something you might see back home. But I also found a huge cableknit sleeveless cardigan with a tie around the waist that is so much cooler than that description. The young guys working there were also very nice. When I went to buy it all the guy thought I was trying to put it on hold. Once I finally convinced him that I would be purchasing it he apologized for being so stupid. I told him he wasn't stupid, I was the one that couldn't speak french he laughed and said "well, yeah." My husband still laughs about that. Oh and there is a store in the Marais that is completely devoted to white blouses. That was one of the few actual stores that I researched before we went and was determined to find while I was there. My advice: skip it. Very pirate-y, early 90's stuff. Extremely disappointing. So -- the best and the worst in the Marais!
The Department Stores:
So -- I hit the big 3: Galeries Lafayette, Printemps and Le Bon Marche. Why all 3, well, becuase I'm a dope and because I found the most beautiful pair of Marc Jacobs silver ballet flats. I found them at Lafayette, who didn't have my size and who sent me to Printemps who didn't have the shoe at all and who sent me to Le Bon Marche who also didn't carry the shoes. Galeries and Printemps I found to be mostly annoying. They were super crowded, busy and messy. I know things can get hectic, but I hate to have dig my way through the merchandise to find what I'm looking for. Their overall design was also pretty tacky. I felt like I was in an over priced JCPennys. Just stuff everywhere. I really enjoyed the Bon Marche though. A guide book described it as being similar to Bloomingdales and I agree. It was less messy and I really felt as if the merchandise was treated with respect, both by the shoppers and the salespeople. If I'm going to pay $200 for jeans I don't want to think that they were thrown on the floor by the person before me. Oh -- and the cafe there made for the quicked meal in Paris, just point and eat!
So that was for the individual areas but here are my opinions on general shopping in Paris. I was terrified of the whole "don't touch the merchandise" situation. I went into a few stores, looked around and left without really checking things out because I didn't know how. Then I went into Tara Jarmon (who is now designing a line for Target by the way) and watched all the women who I assumed were French, by the way that they were speaking, flipping through the racks. After that, I mostly just watched and mimicked. My biggest mistake was being overly intimidated. I went into a store over by faubourg that was extremely quiet (and therefore no one to copy). I had to ask the saleswoman to try on a blouse, which was cute but by no means fantastic. She found my size and then took my down a spiral staircase to the dressing room. I tried it on while she waited outside. I came out, looked in the mirror and we talked about how much I liked it and how well it fit. It wasn't until I went back into the dressing room that I looked at the price -- 250 euros. I didn't know how to tell her that there was no way I would pay that much for that shirt. So, I didn't say anything and now that shirt is hanging in my closet. A huge reminder to myself to not let others' opinions effect my way of thinking.
So that's it. I had a wonderful time and feel really lucky to have had such a wonderful opportunity. Not very many new moms get a week in Paris to buy a new wardrobe with their husbands being so supportive and carrying all the bags! If you guys have any questions let me know -- I can talk shopping in Paris all night!