Kay

Is there a garment district in Paris...where clothes can be bought direct from the manufacturer? If so, is it worth hunting down? I will be in Paris for a month and I enjoy shopping but I especially like to feel like I came away with quality at a great price. Also, is there an area where I can hit a lot of shoe stores at once?<BR>Kay<BR>

Eye Spy

Kay, you can go to the manufacturer's in the Sentier in the 2nd arrondissement around rue du Faubourg St-Denis; rue d'Aboukir; rue des Jeuneurs; rue Beauregard -- all just south of Bouelvard Poissoniere (metros: Sentier / Reaumur-Sebastopol) or east at Strasbourg - St. Denis. Many advertise &quot;Prix de gros&quot; or &quot;Vente en gros&quot; on banners in their windows, but you can always go in and ask. There are a lot of illegal immigrants who work in the ateliers and the streets are narrow and crowded with deliveries but you can see what you can come up with. I'm sure if you went into the storefronts and asked, you just may get something. There are also similar ateliers around rue d'Alesia (Metro: Alesia) or Metro: Denfert-Rochereau but far less interesting or obvious than the Sentier.

kay

Thanks for this ; its exactly the info I wanted. Any suggestions for shoe stores?

Eye Spy

Try in the same places but also perhaps in the 7th around rue de l'Abbe Gregoire (I believe there were one or two there at one time). I have also seen such places in the Marais in a street around rue des Francs-Bourgeois. Yet, I believe your best bet would be in the Sentier so be sure to ask in the ateliers you visit there -- they would doubtless know. I have seen some inexpensive direct French porcelain places in the 10th, just north of Sentier on rue du Paradis. That just came to mind.

Vincent

For shoes, the best place to buy them out of the factory is a bit further afield: Romans, the French capital of high end shoes (Jourdan, Kelian, Fenestrier, Manoukian, etc. ) lies 580 km south of Paris, but it's only a 2h15 TGV ride to the new Valence TGV station + 30 mn bus. All the outlets are concentrated in the same area (it's a small town anyway).It can easily be done in a day, but then you'll have to buy a few pairs to break even...<BR><BR>The lovely medieval town of Troyes, 150 East of Paris, is also home to lots of textile factories, and they have their own outlet mall, called &quot;Boulevard des Marques&quot;, if I am not mistaken. There are frequent trains from Gare de l'Est, and you should be able to find out more on the net about this outlet.

kay

Vincent:<BR><BR>Thanks so much for the outlet information. I'm sure I wouldn't have found out about these places otherwise. I'm going to have fun. There are all kinds of outlet malls here but it will add alot to my shopping fun to see them in France. Thanks again, K.