All posts tagged: shopping

Princesse Tam Tam Is Entry-Level French Lingerie, and I Love It

I remember when I first started looking to buy a bra in France and walked into Princess Tam Tam. I had been raised on apple pie and Victoria’s Secret — where were the bras with padding? With small pillows, embedded in the stitching? Mais non. It was such a sartorial shift from what I was accustomed to that I think I walked out without buying anything. These were the non-inflated bras I had always dreamed of; I just couldn’t believe they existed. That was a while ago now, and obviously we’ve collectively moved beyond the trend of B cups dressed up as D cups. I still love Princesse Tam Tam, and all my favorite underwear is from there. It’s definitely not cheaper (there are cheaper options on this list), but it’s a fraction of the truly pricy lines, like Eres. It’s probably no accident that the line was founded by two women, Loumia and Shama Hiridjee, almost 40 years ago (1985, specifically). Like Eres, it feels like lingerie designed by women for women, not by some …

eres lingerie

5 Excellent Lingerie Selects from Eres

Eres makes some of the world’s most in-demand swimwear — and wouldn’t you know it, some of its loveliest, and priciest, lingerie as well. Eres makes exceptionally well-made and attractive lingerie, but I don’t think it’s particularly sexy. Or maybe it’s that French brand of sexiness, which is so often not exactly the same thing as American (or even British) sexiness — obvious, over-the-top, “feminine” in the most clichéd way. (See: Agent Provocateur.) Eres is lingerie for the female gaze, if you know what I mean: sexy but not a stereotype, made to last, made to be beautiful. One big plus in Eres’s column is its quality. If you’re not bothered about quality, I feel like Princesse Tam Tam does a very similar look, it’s just not as well made. With some luxury brands, you are legitimately just paying for the brand, but swimwear (which is the brand’s bread and butter) is activewear, and much has been made of Eres’s commitment to creating performance fabrics. This WWD article reads like #sponcon, but it goes deep …

sezane marais

Ranking the Sézane Shops in Paris

Depending on how you count, Sézane has about a half-dozen shops in Paris — but they are not created equally. Let’s rank them so that your shopping time may be well spent. A few things to note: I was surprised by how bad the reviews are for the shops on Google — they all hover around 3.5 stars — and I think most of it is international shoppers colliding with French customer service. For what it’s worth, I actually think Sézane staff is nicer than average. Oh, also, the lines: When I complain about lines below, I don’t mean the lines to pay; those move pretty fast. I literally mean the lines to get in. If you hate lines, go straight to #3. We publish two great newsletters: Sign up for a weekly dispatch about travel and Paris — or for our new weekly email about shopping (mostly French brands but a mix of everything!) Several of the Paris shops are closed on Mondays, and many close for big chunks/most of August, so be forewarned. …

maje pink dress

7 Picks from Maje’s Summer 2023 Sale

I think of Maje as a meeting point between Sandro (a little primmer/properer) and Zadig & Voltaire (a little more rock ‘n’ roll.) I don’t like everything (like this — what is happening here?), but every once in a while I’ll get something I love here, like my favorite winter coat — not cheap but made to last. Prices are deeply changeable: These reflect a 20% off for the Fourth of July, so who knows how long that will last. FYI the dress above is not on sale, but it’s here if you’re interested. I am hesitant to call this, as Maje does, a “playsuit,” but I guess it’s better than when they were called rompers. Wow, those cowboy boots. Sequined playsuit, was $415, now $199 As a past Maje coat-buyer, I love this coat, though note it’s made from a “wooly fabric” (78% wool, 22% polyamide). Maje single-breasted coat, was $645, now $361 A (pink) variation on a theme. This one is 67% wool, 33% viscose. Maje pink coat, was $715, now $400 Another …

Best Beauty Shops Paris

The Best Beauty Shops in Paris (2019)

The best beauty shops in Paris offer a wide range of shopping experiences, from the super chi-chi Chanel-ness of the brand’s dedicated shop in the Marais to the actually quasi-violent daily scrum of CityPharma. What are you in the mood for today? A couple ground rules: You’ll find all the usual suspects in Paris, including standalone shops from Kiehl’s, Jo Malone, M.A.C., and plenty others. These, of course, must be ignored in favor of France’s famous pharmacy brands. And though CityPharma is the destination shop, most any Paris pharmacy will offer a wide range of skincare products. Most are exactly what you’d expect of a French product: subtle and un-dramatic. If you’re looking for pots of neon glitter eyeshadow, look elsewhere: Here, you’re more likely to find gentle toners, serums, cleansers and creams, as well as industry-best (i.e., non-clogging) sunscreens.

Shopping in Paris: The Five Best Home Stores (2019)

Paris is underrated as a destination for homewares shopping, since most people, when they come here, are focusing on fashion. (This is also maybe because they aren’t looking for a couch to ship home.) Nonetheless: Shopping in Paris for design — whether fancy candles, fancy knives, fancy bowls, or just about any other fancy thing — is excellent. Go do it. Without further ado, our miniature shopping in Paris guide: our top picks for homewares and design stuff.

the shoe selection at sezane

Sézane: Paris Field Trip

As you consider a trip to Sézane, see our extremely detailed rendering of how much it costs to buy the exact same Sézane pieces in the U.S. versus in France.  Much is made of “French girl” allure. Maybe the reason why it’s so easy to conjure up that term is because — at least in Paris — it’s a real thing. “American girl” — what would that be? We are multitudes, we are that Coachella girl in the fringed poncho in Mitski’s video, we are Mitski in the raspberry pantsuit, we are Mitski in the gold mini-dress, we are myriad and various. Parisian girl style — not so much? I can’t describe it better than a French person, so here’s the situation, straight from a Parisian Instagram star: In France, we have style but the problem is that this style could be so boring. This is the same for every woman: In the upper class in Paris, you have a slim jean, you have ballerinas [flats], you have a simple tee shirt, you have a …

paul and joe sister

Paris Shopping Guide: Paul & Joe Sister

Today’s shopping review: Paul & Joe Sister Shopping in Paris is weird, because it tends to be both incredibly expensive and incredibly monochromatic. Well, I guess that doesn’t make it weird so much as consistent: Honestly, take the names off the shops, and I’d walk up on down the streets trying to figure out why there were five versions of Theory, all selling slightly different collections at basically the same price. (For example: Sandro, Maje, ba&sh, Claudie Pierlot, Comptoirs de Cotonniers, etc.) In my shopping experience, the French love a pricey basic—the kind of thing where you’re like, “Ugh, it’s so boring, I don’t understand why this costs $200,” but then you wear it every day for three years and it all makes sense.