we are currently in Paris for 8 days. My wife works ( USA) in a university office. We were wondering where she could get some clothes for work without going crazy on price. I know its probably cheaper in USA but thought i would get some suggestions. Suits skirts jackets pants etc...

Tell her to try C&A ~ they have locations all over the city, including a nice one on rue Rivoli. We visit every year, it's a big department store, no one bugging you so no need to feel intimadated, prices are reasonable and there is lots of selection. Think maybe an upscale Target.

Jo

Zara is nice and inexpensive!

Perhaps you might like something a bit more French - rather than C&A and Zara which are not french. Anyway, isn't Zara in the US?

How about

http://www.1-2-3.fr
http://www.alain-manoukian.fr/
http://www.caroll.com/
http://www.comptoirdescotonniers.com/
http://www.morgandetoi.com

"Zara is nice and inexpensive!"

... but dearer than C&A, quite strongly fixated on 20-25 yos, and available in the US anyway.

C&A has an unfortunate reputation in the UK, which it ran away from 15 years or so ago (mainly because it just couldn't keep up with Britain's endlessly changing fashion).

But it's survived in most of the rest of Europe (it's the biggest garment retailer in Germany), and is probably a better place for affordable everyday work clothes than anywhere else in France. They're also the world's largest buyer of organic cotton and Europe's largest winter sports apparel retailer

Their AW 2011/2 range is visible on the web in English: www.c-and-a.com/uk/en/corporate/fashion/trends/

I did not thnk Zara ia in the US - if so, I have never seen one. I would probably go in there - several locations - easy to find - clothes are inexpensive - conservative for work.

More expensive than Zara (which is available in the U.S.) and C & A, but still moderately priced is Un Jour Ailleurs, which specialises in mid-priced clothes for middle-aged French women. Very suitable for office wear. Far from trendy, but well made and most of it is machine washable - very little is dry clean only.
http://www.unjourailleurs.com/fr/col...iver-2011.html
They have stores all over France, several in Paris - I've bought a few things from their shop on the Avenue Victor Hugo in the 16th. Note: if your wife sees something she likes but can't find it in her size, ask. They do keep clothes in the back.
I also suggest looking at the Mayerline brand. It's Belgian but sold in France.
http://www.mayerline.be/Content/Collection_FR.htm
From our years in Brussels, I picked up quite a few Mayerline pieces, mostly separates, and they've worn well.

C&A is indeed one of the cheapest options. There are huge C&A stores on both rue de Rivoli and boulevard Haussmann.

H&M is also good, but don't stop at just one store. Each H&M store has an independent policy, so there are sometimes very huge differences from one store to another.

Two malls that should be visited, depending on one's age, are the Forum des Halles (younger fashions) and Quatre Temps (more traditional variety) at the La Défense end of metro line 1.

If you want cheap, I think C&A can't be beat. When I need some cheap duds in Paris (like I need a warmer sweater than I packed or some jeans), I always go there. Zara is Spanish and certainly is in the US, there are two stores alone in the city where I live (Wash DC), and about six in New York city. I don't think of Zara as being particularly cheap myself.

I think Monoprix's children's clothes are very nice, sort of Marks and Spencer quality and better than Target, but haven't much of a clue about their women's clothes, could not shoe-horn myself into them. I think they have fun, young-looking handbags and costume jewelry.

My impression of the shops/boutiques on St. Germain and St. Michel and all the side streets in and around Pl St Sulpice is that there's a decent range of price points, many shop windows show the clothes' prices. Of course, some are very high end.

Within Printemps and Galeries Lafayette you'll find a wide selection of styles and, again, a fairly good range of prices and sizes. What I think younger women wear that has the most French flair are their
jackets and scarves. In fact a scarf or cap would be a good accessory to bring back. Dewali on the Isle St Louis has beautiful scarves at reasonable prices. I would opt for one good jacket or pair of trousers over quantity.

Bookmarking.

Try Camaieu. Inexpensive and very good quality. You may google it for different stores around Paris.

Another inexpensive and good quality would be Cyrillus.

Bea

The shopping malls will of course give you the opportunity to see all such chains under one roof.

Monoprix isn't that cheap, actually (although I guess all of this is relative, but I don't really see the point of going to Paris to pay 2-3 times for the same thing you could get at home or easily online). However, they don't really have that many clothes for women that are work wardrobe type of things. They don't really have a big selection of women's clothes, but a few casual things, sweaters, etc., but it's not a good place to shop for a work wardrobe. Actually, that was one point about Zara I didn't name, also, I don't really buy much if anything there (I think I got something once on sale) because it does skew pretty young. Most of these suggestions aren't really where you would shop for a work wardrobe for someone who says they work in a university office and want suits, jackets, etc (I mean none of the places like Monoprix or Zara). C&A does have a wide range of stuff, I don't know some of the other brands people have named. H&M is another example of a place that is mainly casual, young, and has a lot of stuff that isn't wellmade and doesn't fit very well. But it is relatively cheap. I don't think I'd go there shopping for a serious career wardrobe at all.

annesherrod-Zara is all over the US!

I love Sinequanone at 16 rue du Four in the 6th.

Bookmarking

Try Naf Naf, Etam, and Promod. DD found lots of stuff at each of these stores. She really liked H&M also, and as already mentioned, each store can be quite different and we found the stores in Paris carried very different merchandise than what we find in the same stores here.