Hi Guys!

So I’ve lived in Paris for almost 2 years now (time flies, huh?) and receive tons of e-mails asking Where to Shop in the City of Lights. I’m actually moving back to the States very soon, so figured it was high time to give you the scoop!
Check out a few of my favorite boutiques, neighborhoods, and shopping strips:

1. Le Marais (Métro: Saint Paul):

If you follow me on Twitter, you’d know that I love, love, love the Marais for shopping! Chock full of unique and eclectic vintage and luxury stores, the Marais is a fabulous neighborhood to see, be seen, and get your shop on. If you want vintage digs, stop into Noir Kennedy (22 Rue du Roi de Sicile) or Free P Star (8 rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie) for antique furs, hats, and other knick-knacks.

More of an uptown girl? Make Rue des Francs-Bourgeois your go to strip.

You’ll find everything from Ted Baker to Barbara Bui to your run of the mill MAC store. Bonus: At the end of Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, you’ll be in Place des Vosges, a lovely little park where you can cool your heels post shop.

Other musts in the Marais: K. Jacques (16 rue Pavée) for lovely yet slightly overpriced flat sandals that are the toast of the fashionable crowd. Another one of my fave shoes stores is Garrice at 30 Rue de Rivoli. They have tons of shoes by Stuart Weitzman, See by Chloé, and Fornarina at affordable prices. Also, don’t forget to pop into The Kooples at 31 Rue des Rosiers (I wrote about them here).

2. Rue Saint-Honoré (Métro: Tuileries or Concorde):

Rue Saint-Honoré is indisputably chic and is of course my second favorite place in Paris to spy fashionable things. Walk along Rue Saint-Honoré west from the Marais and you’ll see all the hot shops in Paris: Giuseppe Zanotti, Givenchy, John Galliano, Miu Miu, and Goyard. Rue Saint-Honoré is super duper pricey, but you can find diamonds in the rough. My favorite store on the street might have to be Tara Jarmon (400 Rue Saint-Honoré), a store that carries super girly, somewhat preppy separates for the chic set.

Another must stop: Colette (213 Rue Saint-Honoré):

Considered a bastion of fashion by industry insiders, Colette carries everything from Balmain to Jeremy Scott to Comme des Garcons. If you can’t splurge, they have a well stocked fashion and art book section on the first floor, a cafe in the basement, and host frequent art exhibits.

Once you’re done at Colette you can walk straight up rue du 29 juillet to Place du Marché Saint Honoré for an American Apparel (19 Place du Marché Saint Honoré), Marc by Marc Jacobs (19 Place du Marché Saint Honoré), and a handful of chic cafés.

3. Saint Germain des Prés (Métro: Saint Germain des Prés):

The lovely area in the 6th arrondissement is the home to tons of world famous cafés like the Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore, and a bevy of uber fashionable shops like Louis Vuitton, Chistian Dior, and Sonia Rykiel. Go to Saint Germain des Prés for the new Ralph Lauren (173 Boulevard Saint Germain) or Giorgio Armani (149 Boulevard Saint Germain) stores–they both have their own adjoining restaurants for you to get your sip or eat on after you shop.


Saint Germain can be pricey, but if you walk down Rue de Rennes towards the Tour de Montparnasse, you can find plenty of mid-priced stores like Zara, H&M, and Mango.

Veer slightly off Rue de Rennes for Rue due Four, which has tons of shoe stores. Continue east of Rue du Four to Rue du Cherche Midi, and you’ll find even more local stores that sell handbags, shoes, and cute dresses. At the end of Rue du Cherche Midi, you’ll find popular department store Le Bon Marché (24 Rue de Sèvres), a good place to scour for designer digs.

One of my favorites shops by Saint Germain des Prés is well known glove store JB. Guanti (59 Rue de Rennes). You can find leather gloves in every color and style, with fingers or without, for reasonable prices.

I also love the shoe store CosmoParis (24 Rue du Four) that has great, durable shoes with lots of Parisian style.

4. Avenue Montaigne (Métro: Alma Marceau or Franklin Roosevelt):

If you want to ball out like Beyoncé, Avenue Montaigne is the place to be. Chanel, Christian Dior, Prada, and Chloé call this street home. Walk up Avenue Montaigne towards the Eiffel Tower and turn right onto Avenue George V for even more stores like Givenchy, Hermès, and Balenciaga.

If you’re not ready to drop thousands, pop over to restaurant L’Avenue (8 Avenue Montaigne) to soak in the luxury and people watch.

The food is delicious and you can typically spot tons of models and other fashion insiders (I spied Edward Enninful when I went).

5. Boulevard Haussman (Métro: Havre-Caumartin, Opéra):

A shopping trip to Paris would not be complete without a stop at the big department stores, Les Printemps (64 Boulevard Haussmann) and Les Galeries Lafayette (40 Boulevard Haussmann).

The crowds can be overwhelming, but inside you’ll find Parisian and European treasures that you can’t find anywhere else. Try to come during the Soldes Season in late June/early July to find items by hundreds of designers at discount.

Fun memory: I bought my first pair of Kurt Geiger shoes at Les Printemps. Je l’adore!

In addition to your typical neighborhoods, there are a couple stores you should definitely put on your shopping itinerary:

Réciproque (95 Rue de la Pompe 75116. Métro: Rue de la Pompe or Trocadéro):

Réciproque in the 16th arrondissement is the largest luxury consignment store in Paris. I bought my first vintage Gucci bag at this store. Pop in for tons of second hand designer goods for reasonable prices.

Christian Louboutin (19 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001 Paris. Métro: Louvre-Rivoli):

Need I say more? Though there’s a store on Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the flagship Christian Louboutin store at 19 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau is super cute and the customer service is the bomb. My friends and I stopped in 5 minutes before closing and they still opened the doors to allow us to try shoes on and look around. I bought my first pair of pumps there and what you heard is true: Louboutins are cheaper in Paris.

All the shoes ring in at 395 euros, which translates to about $512 with the exchange rate. I see Loubie’s going for $700+ on some sites, so I think it’s worth it to check it out here.

Notes about Paris shopping:

*The exchange rate does not work in our favor (1 euro is currently worth $1.30), but you can find distinctly Parisian items for less than retail.

*At Colette and in several stores on Avenue Montaigne, you will probably get followed around if you’re a person of color (by security guards of color). It’s sad, but true, so be prepared (remember the scandal with Oprah and Hermès?). Racism is real in the field, but if you can ignore it and go about your business, you’ll be fine. This is not true in all stores. The people at Christian Louboutin, Tara Jarmon, and even Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton were very nice and accommodating.

*The culture is not service oriented at all, so don’t be surprised if you don’t get a friendly greeting or help with your purchase. C’est la vie!

Though generally more expensive than the States, Paris is the bomb for shopping and I found a lot of my investment pieces here.

This is not an extensive list (there are books written about this), just my faves. If you have anything to add, please do leave a comment:)

Bisous!

*PS Most pictures I took with my Iphone! I was biting my nails about how I would illustrate this and realized I’ve been documenting my shopping via Twitpic since I got here. Ha.