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PARIS
Petit dolls and PhD cosmeticians in
Paris
Shopping in Paris, like being in love in Paris, is
often romanticized. Everywhere you turn, there is another little shop, a
better vista for canoodling - so much so that there is a kind of performance
anxiety built into your trip. Maybe that is why so many couples find
themselves arguing in hotel rooms instead of strolling by the Seine River,
while shoppers run blindly from the Galeries Lafayette to the Left Bank in a
quest for a shopping story to tell ("Oh, this old thing? I found it in
the greatest little shop in Saint Germain.") That said, there are a few
places around the popular 1st arrondissement and on the Left Bank that,
unlike love, are guaranteed not to let you down.
In the 1960s, husband-and-wife team André and
Coqueline Courrèges designed clothes for the future. And on rue François 1er,
where designers go in and out like the seasons, their all-white, minimalist
boutique, Courrèges (40, rue François
1er; 33-1-53-67-30-00; ), is timelessly different. It's as if a UFO had touched
down on Earth to bring a fashion message of white boots, vinyl and simplicity.
Inside, the staff are haughty enough to make you feel as if you are from another
species (and so are the out-of-this-world prices). But you won't see the
space-age jackets, tights and shiny accessories anywhere else.
On the other hand, Victoire
(12, place des Victoires; 33-1-42-61-09-02; ) is a mini-chain with labels
that the habitués of designer row might consider "up and coming," but
to anyone from outside the land of Chanel and Christian Louboutin, it will
satisfy that Paris shopping ideal. After all, those luxury brands are dreams
that anyone can buy into around the world, while here a sexy-but-cute merino
wool dress, a trench and a stealth-chic handbag by Ramica, an Italian label, are
not only at prices the average fashionista can afford (about $200 to $500), but
one-of-a-kind in style. (In Parisian fashion, the shop's philosophy is "to
be avant-garde by uniting the classic and the ephemeral.")
For a child, the Boutique de Palais Royal (Jardin
du Palais Royal - 9, rue de Beaujolais; 33-1-42-60-08-22) offers a sense of
magic, time travel and toys. The shop itself is a surprise, set in a glassed-in
corner below a covered arcade that leads to the enchanting square of the old
Palais Royal. Among miniature theatres and puppets, the many Petitcollin dolls
steal the show - the soft-bodied kind with expensive heads and realistic hair.
It is up to you whether to tell your offspring about Colette, the naughtiest of
schoolgirls, who once lived above here.
Similarly, of the many romantic-looking cheese shops
in Paris, Barthélémy (51, rue de Grenelle, 33-1-42-22-82-2) is the one
you are looking for. The cheese is fantastic and impeccably packaged, but that
almost isn't the point. As many as five staff members can be found serving
stylish hostesses in a store so small that to enter it feels a bit like getting
into a packed elevator. "In 36 years, I have never counted," I was
told when I asked how many cheeses the shop sold. "It's like age, madam. We
change a bit every day."
There are also few places still worth visiting even
though they are on the beaten path of shopping. Le
Bon Marché (22, rue Sèvres; 33-1-00-46-19-33; ), considered the
world's oldest department store, still has the last word in snacks, with the
countries of the world arranged by aisle in its food hall. Any location of Petit
Bateau (9, rue du 29 Juillet; 33-1-42-96-28-15; PetitBateau.com) is a great
way to stock up on cute-but-sensible basics, no matter how much the trendy
T-shirts fetch in other parts of the world. And Colette
(213, rue Saint-Honoré; 33-1-55-35-33-90;), the original art gallery-style
lifestyle boutique, may be overrun with hip tourists, but that only gives
visitors an interesting perspective on the season's trends - if only so you can
reject them.
In St. Germain, Karl Lagerfeld's bookshop 7L
(7, rue de Lille; 33-1-42-92-03-58) is surprisingly laid-back for the designer
behind Chanel, Fendi, etc. But it is fun to eavesdrop on the
black-glasses-wearing staff (who might stop by today?) and peruse the books on
design, photography and style - a selection that may be modest in some of its
ambitions, for such a famous literary quarter, but which is not modest in its
ambitions for how to decorate your coffee table.
And there is nothing like a French pharmacy. Now is a
good time to pay homage, because recent legislation is allowing big-box stores
to compete with these traditionally independent, guild-run operations for the
first time. Pharmacie Homéopathique Weber (8, rue de Capucines;
33-1-42-61-03-07), a favourite of Sofia Coppola, has none of the distractions
you might find in a North American drugstore; the yogurt, the skydiving coupons.
Instead, you'll find high-tech Fluocaril toothbrushes, rare skin-care products
and expert advice (where else can you get a PhD to choose your lipstick?). If
you're a bit heartsick after the strain of Paris, they probably have a something
for that too. - 2007 November 2 GLOBE
& MAIL by Jessica Johnson
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