My Paris Shopping Haul
The What, Where, & Why of My Shopping Plan
There’s a million different blog posts about what to buy in Paris, but if you’re like me, you’re more interested in the “why” and where of what to buy while there. What I mean is that everyone has a different budget, different taste, and different interpretation of what something “special” means. Sure, if you have the money to purchase a Channel handbag while in Paris, by all means, do it, but despite how romantic that may sound, it’s not in my budget.
So… where in Paris can a frugal fashionista, that enjoys cooking, and acquiring curated souvenirs, go to shop?
The Why
Gifts - There are so many things you could purchase while traveling, and everything might feel extra special while you’re there, but why should you buy it? Some great advice I heard from a Rick Steve’s lecture, was that you shouldn’t purchase souvenirs for other people… “let them acquire memories from trips that they take.” While I don’t hold fast to that wisdom, I do purchase WAY less than I used to, in favor of sending a postcard or purchasing some sort of unique treat (candy or a cookie of some kind) for them to try. In other words, I’m not going to check an extra bag for gifts… after all, I’m a carry-on girl and don’t want to struggle under the bulk of extra luggage.
While it can be difficult in the moment, I try to only buy things that I either can’t get anywhere else, or that are of substantial quality. What do I mean by that? Here’s a breakdown of two items that I bought while in Paris, one which I treasure, and one which I regret:
The Poor Purchase - I had waited to make a “special” item purchase until we had time to shop, a.k.a the days in Paris at the tail-end of our 16 day trip to France. I was eager and maybe a little nervous that I may have waited too long and had already passed on a number of items that could have served as my “treasure” from the trip. Well, the day came that we finally found ourselves in Le Marais (a district famed for it’s many vintage, resale, and boutique shops). One of the very first resale shops we went into, I found a faux cardigan that was helled closed with two metal links. I hadn’t seen anything like it before, thought it was cute, but the tag had been removed at some point, so I had no idea as to the original brand or material content. The sweater was being sold for 69 euros (which is roughly $81 at the current exchange rate). I bought the sweater. This purchase isn’t a terrible “fail,” but had I been thinking with a clearer head, I would have noted that the sweater was 100% synthetic, making it a poor quality, $80, used sweater… it was not a good purchase due to it’s lack of quality in relationship to the price.
The Great Purchase - A little while after making the sweater purchase, we entered a much higher quality resell store. Upon crossing the threshold, a heavenly light shown down on a coat, hanging on a rack, on the back wall of the shop. I was magnetically drawn to it, as it was exactly the kind of coat that I’d been coveting for YEARS, but only ever found as a fake replica, or in the $2k range. It was a vintage, sheepskin bomber jacket, and it was exactly my size, in near perfect condition (other than a strong “in storage” smell), and it was priced at 480 euros.
For context, I’m an extremely frugal person that is never flush with extra cash. Any item that costs more than $100, is likely to make my pulse race and require me to mental math to make sure that I’ll be able to cover my bills. Additionally, I rarely purchase anything new, but like nice things… but had never spent that much money on any item of apparel before.
However, I had been saving for this shopping experience, and I knew full well the average cost for level of quality that I wanted in this style of coat. Any yet… it was a ton of money and I just needed some air before blowing it on a single item. We left the store and continued walking down the endless street of resale shops, ducking into many of them while thinking that perhaps I’ll find something I love just as much, for less money. Six blocks later, I began to feel a sense of panic that it might take us too long to walk back to the coat and someone else would scoop it up! With my feelings acknowledged and my mind made up, we hiked back and I bought the coat. In fact, upon our return to the store, there was a group of three Amerian tourists inside, who upon seeing me beeline it to the back and pulling the coat back off of the rack, all verbally validated me for having noticed it in the first place and what a fantastic find it was.
That’s my long winded way of saying that I try to buy less, but buy better, unless you have money to burn and have a Sherpa for your bags, in which case, go crazy.
The What
We found some great treasures on this trip, probably more than on any of our trips in recent years. My husband really enjoyed clothing shopping in Bordeaux, while the bulk of what I purchased for myself, as well as what we bought together, was in Paris, so I’ll mainly focus on what we bought together, as I’ve already mentioned the above two items that I bought for myself.
Art - We bought two pieces of art on this trip. The first was a framed ink and oil pastel, which we found in an antique store in Bordeaux. It’s an original of the character, "‘Puss n’Boots.” It was simply too whimsical to pass up! The second piece we purchased, was an original impressionist landscape of Paris, done in oil paint, with a pallet knife. We bought it from a street artist in Monmartre.
Kitchen Supply - We visited the famous E.Dehillerin, kitchen supply store. While I would have loved to have purchased a copper pan, we opted for an embroidered kitchen towel, an etched wooden spoon, and monogrammed silicon baking sheet. All items which we would use regularly, were inexpensive, and would serve as functional reminders of our visit to the store.
Beauty - This was another personal purchase, but anytime we go to France, I try to stock-up on the french made items that simply cost more in the US, due to import tariffs and shipping in general. This includes not just the french perfume that I wear, but also my skincare products.
Gifts - While I did talk about buying gifts for other people earlier, i also mentioned making exceptions. In this case, we stopped into s Parisian pet store and purchased Paris themed stuffies for the dogs belonging to the person watching our dog while we were away, as well as purchased them a small box of macrons for themself.
The Where
My most treasured travel finds are rarely things that were mass-produced and bought in a store. A travel treasure is as much about the story of how you came to acquire it as it is about the thing itself. "I bought it in a gift shop" doesn't illicit the same feeling as "I found it in a box of items being sold by a street vendor in Vietnam." I like to own things that people ask about — things that have a story attached to them.
Don't get me wrong, I love shopping, but there's a line between shopping as an experience and shopping for the sake of shopping. You can shop when you're at home, but when you're in Paris… BE in Paris. In other words, don't spend your entire day in one place or one frame of mind. The right items (if any) will present themselves, and if they don't, at least you've been somewhere!
I'm fortunate in that my husband enjoys shopping at brocantes, flea markets, and antique stores, which makes finding unique items much easier. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I'm a bit of a fashionista on a budget, which makes resale stores an attractive option for my wallet. To that end, Paris has many areas where antique shops tend to cluster and where sidewalk flea markets pop up. However, we did the majority of our brocante and antique shopping while we were in Bordeaux, so we didn't visit any while in Paris — instead, we focused on clothing resale boutiques in the Le Marais neighborhood. I didn't know where to start when I went, but once there, everything reveals itself. Simply find an address for a single shop and then go from there. Feel free to start at the store where I found my coat: The Statement — 51 Rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris, France.
At the end of the day, the memories you make and the photos you take are your greatest treasures. I always create a digital photo album of each and every trip, which I then have printed and place on my bookshelf. It's a souvenir that you don't have to fit in your luggage. 😉
In conclusion: be present while you're traveling, don't bog yourself down with stuff, and certainly don't spend your time doing the same things you could do any other day. You may never find yourself in this place again — go see and experience as much of it as you can. The mental pictures are priceless.
