On Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the same great names are still there. And one shop window is more beautiful than the next. And prices are such that talk about them takes a back seat. Here the ritual itself matters - selection, fitting, service. Anything bought here certainly won't end up lying around in closets.
Those who like to go from store to store can stroll along Boulevard Saint-Germain or Place Vendôme, where fashionable French jewelers - Cartier, Boucheron, and Arpels - have settled next to the respectable Ritz. In Paris there are generally many boutiques scattered throughout the city. And finding them is sometimes not easy. For those who prefer to buy everything at once and under one roof, there are the famous grands magasins - Printemps on Boulevard Haussmann, Samaritaine on Rue de Pont-Neuf, from whose roof you can enjoy a panorama of Paris completely free of charge. And, of course, the famous Galeries Lafayette. Its main building with a magnificent glass dome is a true masterpiece of Art Nouveau style.
You don't need to search for these large shopping centers. They are located on the main tourist routes. During the winter sales season, which begins in early January and ends in late February, they are bustling with unprecedented activity. At this time, Paris becomes a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of fashionistas flocking here from all over the world. And it's no surprise that for several weeks the French capital is in the grip of a shopping frenzy. Parisians don't even marvel at the long queues that form outside the entrances to famous stores. In the first days of the sales, it's not even a queue but a huge crowd, noise, scandals, police, numbered tags on hands, and nightly vigils on folding chairs.
But in Paris, you can dress chic at very reasonable prices not only at sales. You just need to know some secrets that French women themselves often use. On Rue Saint-Placide in the Saint-Germain quarter, there are many little shops selling dégriffé clothing - leftovers from fashion houses without labels. Famous firms sell last year's collections there at reduced prices. Savvy hunters for outfits look for signs saying "en detail," which mean that the store sells directly from the sewing factory without retail markups, and a purchase here will cost 15-30% less than in a boutique or department store. Such little shops are especially numerous in the triangle between Place de la Bastille, the Louvre, and Place de la République. Alas! They work mainly with wholesalers. But why would you need 20 pairs of trousers of the same style? But if you do find yourself in this area, drop by the multi-level underground shopping complex Forum, built on the site of a market with the highly unromantic name "Le Ventre de Paris." Another giant shopping center, uniting more than a hundred stores but growing upward, is located in the modern business district of La Défense. These two shopping complexes are known for their fairly moderate prices, wide selection, and quality of goods. The dream of real Parisian chic may well come true in second-hand stores. The largest chain of such stores is on Rue La Pompe, from number 89 to number 95. Clothes by great designers worn no more than once or twice cost here from 10 to 2,000 euros.
At Christmas, the most popular store in Paris is the Fauchon delicatessen on Place de la Madeleine, selling delicacies from around the world. At this time, expensive limousines patiently doze by its doors, and their owners stand in line at the counters to buy elegantly wrapped baskets of treats for the holiday table for 5-6 thousand euros, or a bottle of Château d'Yquem wine for a thousand.
Main Trophy
Hermes is as much a symbol of Paris as the Eiffel Tower or the tricolor flag over the presidential palace. Behind this oldest French firm is a 170-year history and the glory of a national brand. Hermes is elegance and taste. It is luxury that does not shout about itself and does not tolerate counterfeits. A leather handbag, gloves made of the finest chamois leather, a strap with a gold buckle in the shape of the letter "H," a silk scarf tied in a casual bow - all these accessories intended to adorn your life acquire special significance in the Hermes interpretation.
Best Position
Just a hundred years ago, the Galeries Lafayette store had a facade only three meters wide. Today, this largest fashion store in France receives up to half a million shoppers a week, including world-famous Catherine Deneuve, Prince Charles, Claudia Schiffer, and Hillary Clinton.
But most importantly, as a hundred years ago, Galeries Lafayette remains a true embodiment of a lady's happiness. Three quarters of all purchases here are made by women. The remaining quarter - by men, who are happy to buy a gift for the same women. Which, however, is not surprising. After all, almost all modern fashion houses collaborate with the store - Kenzo, Chanel, Nina Ricci, Ungaro, Christian Dior. And many leading perfume companies consider it the only possible place to present their new fragrances. As for men themselves, they are remembered in the store only when another episode about James Bond is released, and Galeries Lafayette, seizing the opportunity, presents the goods preferred by Agent 007.
Sometimes bold advertising decisions turn into real scandals. At the end of the 90s, feminists took to the streets to protest against the display of too revealing lingerie on live models in store windows. Then the Greens were outraged when, for the sake of an advertising shoot, France's living symbol Laetitia Casta took a bath in a huge bowl filled with sturgeon caviar. But the biggest confusion in customers' minds is caused by the annual advertising campaign 'Three Days,' when the store sells off fashionable goods at incredibly low prices at the end of the season. On each of these three days, the store sees 200,000 to 250,000 customers, who finally can buy fashionable designer items at the price of a ready-made dress. But that's not all. Both those who wear shoes costing four and a half thousand and those who buy suits for 100 euros rejoice like children when the store announces its traditional Christmas sale. At that time, prices on some items can drop by up to 50%.
Foreign tourists make up only a quarter of shoppers. The best of them are the Japanese. Some fragile Japanese lady leaves the store laden with purchases like a porter with suitcases. It is no accident that the store employs 25 Japanese translators. And it is no coincidence that a sushi restaurant was recently opened on the fifth floor.