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Nothing, but nothing, can push you into the current of Parisian life faster than a few hours of shopping. Follow the lead of locals, who slow to a crawl as their eyes lock on a tempting display. Window-shopping is one of this city's greatest spectator sports; the French call it lèche-vitrine—literally, "licking the windows"—which is fitting because many of the displays look good enough to eat.
Store owners here play to sophisticated audiences with voracious appetites for everything from spangly flagship stores to minimalist boutiques to under-the-radar spots in 19th-century glass-roofed passages. Parisians know that shopping isn't about the kill, it's about the chase: walking down cobblestone streets looking for items they didn't know they wanted, they're casual yet quick to pounce. They like being seduced by a clever display and relish the performance elements of browsing. Watching them shop can be almost as much fun as shopping yourself.
And nowhere is the infamous Parisian "attitude" more palpable than in the realm of fine shopping—the more haute the more hauteur.
Parisians are a proud bunch, and they value decorum. So dress to impress—and remember your manners. You must say bonjour upon entering a shop and merci, au revoir when leaving, even if it's to no one in particular. Think of it more as announcing your coming and going. Beyond this, protocol becomes less prescribed and more a matter of good judgment. If a salesperson is hovering, there's a reason; let him or her help you. To avoid icy stares, confidence and politeness go a long way.
As for what to buy, the sky's the limit in terms of choices. If your funds aren't limitless, however, take comfort in knowing that treasures can be found on a budget. And if you do decide to indulge, what better place to make that once-in-a-blue-moon splurge? When you get home and friends ask where you got those to-die-for shoes, with a shrug you'll casually say, "These? Oh . . . I bought them in Paris."
The candles made by Cire Trudon have illuminated the great palaces and churches of Paris since the 1600s. Nowadays their products provide the atmosphere for tony restaurants and exclusive soirées. The all-vegetal, atmospherically scented wares come in elegant black glass, pillars of all sizes, or busts of clients past—like Napoléon and Marie-Antoinette.
A Paris mainstay since 1961, Diptyque's flagship shop is famous for its candles, eaux de toilette, and home fragrances in a huge range of sophisticated and subtle scents like myrrh, fig tree, wisteria, and quince. They're delightful but not cheap; the candles, for instance, cost nearly $1 per hour of burn time.
Never mind the creaky stairs: E. Dehillerin has been around for almost 200 years and clearly knows its business. The huge range of professional cookware in enamel, stainless steel, and fiery copper is gorgeous; rely on the knowledgeable staff to locate specific items in the vast expanse of this store. During her years in Paris, Julia Child was a regular.
The raison d'être of the organization Métiers d'Art is to reward and promote French savoir faire—the traditional expertise of France's many fine craftspeople and artists passed down from generation to generation. To this end—and to the delight of local bobos (short for bourgeois-bohème or bourgeois-bohemians) decorating their Marais lofts—Métiers d'Art opened the capital's first crafts "concept store," which assembles the work of dozens of craftspeople and artists on four floors, including impeccably crafted glassware, porcelain, jewelry, leather goods, furnishings, housewares, fine art, and much more. It's an excellent place for a souvenir of French art de vivre.
Come here to learn the secrets of Paris's chicest apartments and upscale boutique hotels, brought to you by the sought-after Parisian designer herself. The boutique carries everything from textiles, throw pillows, tableware, and accessories to furnishings and lighting, all in Lavoine's signature jewel colors and luxe textures and shapes.
Artist and illustrator Marin Montagut's whimsical boutique near the Luxembourg Gardens is filled with hand-painted porcelain, glasses, paper boxes, globes, notebooks, and just about anything that is decorative and useful. His tea towels and silk scarves, which feature original illustrations in cheerful pastel colors of the gardens' famous green chairs, or a map of the gardens themselves, are perfect souvenirs for lovers of the Left Bank.
Parisian chefs have been coming here for their kitchen needs for more than a century, from plates and glasses to pans and wooden spoons. The section for pastry-baking accessories is one of the best in the city. There's also a great selection of white porcelain baking and tableware.
Come here for tongue-in-chic interpretations of 18th-century table settings and furniture. You can live out your Baroque or Empire fancies with lots of mahogany and milk-white china sets made in the artisan ceramic workshop—the only one of its kind in Paris. The paper goods come from France's last typographic printer on the outskirts of the city. Moody candles, incense, and bespoke perfumes complete the atmosphere.
Poetically binding thousands of strips of washi (Japanese paper) into handcrafted, one-of-a-kind lighting fixtures has made Céline Wright a familiar name in Paris's art and design community. Her famous "cocoon" lamps reflect artisanal, eco-friendly traditions while evincing a thoroughly modern sensibility.
Founded in 1830, Christofle has fulfilled all kinds of silver wishes, from a silver service for the Orient Express to a gigantic silver bed. Come for timeless table settings, vases, jewelry boxes, and more.
One of a slew of cannily resurrected ancient brands, Cire Trudon traces its origins to a Paris candle works founded in 1643, later dubbed the royal candle supplier in 1811. Now this bijoux of a boutique carries elegant tapers and sublimely scented candles in a range of sophisticated fragrances dreamed up by Parisian perfumers and poured into elegant Italian glasses. Cheeky wax busts of French personages—made in partnership with the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, makers of the official replicas from French museums—are de rigueur for chic Parisian apartments. You’ll also find a line of perfumes for you and your home.
Le Monde Sauvage is a must-visit for home accessories. Expect reversible silk bedspreads in rich colors, velvet throws, hand-quilted bed linens, silk floor cushions, colorful rugs, and the best selection of hand-embroidered curtains in silk, cotton, linen, or velvet.
Little items for the home in a riot of colors are sold here, but you'll also find fabulous rubber jewelry and funky stuff for kids big and small.
Kanketsu (simplicity) is the guiding philosophy at Muji, and the resulting streamlined designs are all the rage in Europe. Must-haves include a collection of mini-necessities—travel essentials, wee office gizmos, purse-size accoutrements, plus the best notebooks and pens around. They're so useful and adorable you'll want them all.
Paris designer Hervé van der Straeten started out creating jewelry for Saint Laurent and Lacroix, designed a perfume bottle for Christian Dior, and then moved on to making rather baroque-style and often wacky furniture. In his loft gallery-cum-showroom, furniture, lighting, and startling mirrors are on display.
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