Saturday, I was taken to Paris courtesy of Eurostar with a few other fashion bloggers for a "Little Fashion Break". There was an itinerary planned that involved a lot of interesting things for Londoners in Paris, to me it just meant "taking le métro on a Saturday", so I went my own Parisian way. Spending the day in Paris wasn't an opportunity for me to visit museums and discover the city, as it is where I grew up and it doesn't really have any secrets for me anymore. I took it as a way to revisit my old habits, enjoy a quick catch up with friends and walk around le Marais, soaking up the atmosphere of my old neighbourhood. There is something very comforting about being able to jump on the Eurostar and spend the day in Paris, while still sleeping in my own London bed at night. Tiring, but comforting!
I thought this day in Paris would be a good opportunity for me to share some of my addresses with you, as I realised with horror I had never thought of doing this before... I can't believe I did it with Stockholm before Paris. I am going to try and make it up to you now. I am mainly focusing on Le Marais, I will get around the rest in another post.
In the past few years, Paris seems to have woken up to Vintage... It went from having a few 70's friperies boasting mainly groupie coats and Adidas shell suits to vintage shop saturation. These days you can't walk in Le Marais without seeing a new vintage shop... but they aren't all worth a visit. Here is my selection of places to visit:
La Belle Epoque, 10, rue de Poitou, 75 003 Tue-Sat 13h30-18h30. M° Filles-du-Calvaire.
This shop opened in 1996, way before vintage became popular, and it holds many treasures
I thought this day in Paris would be a good opportunity for me to share some of my addresses with you, as I realised with horror I had never thought of doing this before... I can't believe I did it with Stockholm before Paris. I am going to try and make it up to you now. I am mainly focusing on Le Marais, I will get around the rest in another post.
In the past few years, Paris seems to have woken up to Vintage... It went from having a few 70's friperies boasting mainly groupie coats and Adidas shell suits to vintage shop saturation. These days you can't walk in Le Marais without seeing a new vintage shop... but they aren't all worth a visit. Here is my selection of places to visit:
La Belle Epoque, 10, rue de Poitou, 75 003 Tue-Sat 13h30-18h30. M° Filles-du-Calvaire.
This shop opened in 1996, way before vintage became popular, and it holds many treasures
La Jolie Garde-Robe, 15, rue Commines Tue-Sat 14-20 h. M° Filles-du-Calvaire.
This is a Parisian's well kept secret worth visiting.
Odetta, 76 rue des Tournelles, 75 003 Tue-Sat 12-19h30, Sun 15-19h30 M° Chemin-Vert.
Opened fairly recently and offers a good selection of "modern vintage" mixed with last season's designer pieces.
This is a Parisian's well kept secret worth visiting.
Odetta, 76 rue des Tournelles, 75 003 Tue-Sat 12-19h30, Sun 15-19h30 M° Chemin-Vert.
Opened fairly recently and offers a good selection of "modern vintage" mixed with last season's designer pieces.
Photo by Alexandra Chalaud for Odetta
If you are feeling brave, you can go have a look in Free'p'Star, 8 rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie. Personally, I don't like it that much, as they mostly seem to have 80's polyester dresses and smelly shirts. The good point is that everything is cheap... But I wouldn't want to pay more than €10 for their stock anyway.
Before I let you go, I would like to recommend a delicious restaurant called Monjul. I was lucky enough to be taken there for lunch by my dad once and it is absolutely delicious. Make sure to check it out if you are in the area!
Next time, I will give you more vintage addresses in the rest of Paris.
Thanks again to Eurostar for this little break.
Before I let you go, I would like to recommend a delicious restaurant called Monjul. I was lucky enough to be taken there for lunch by my dad once and it is absolutely delicious. Make sure to check it out if you are in the area!
Next time, I will give you more vintage addresses in the rest of Paris.
Thanks again to Eurostar for this little break.
Oooooooh excellent. This is just in time as I am going to Paris for the first time on the 15th August.
ReplyDeleteIf I had read that two months ago... I went to Paris in May and didn't know a lot of places there. I walked through Le Marais on my last day and I felt frustrated of only having 2hours to enjoy it as I realised that it was a wonderful area full of surprises. Happy you enjoyed it on a full day! Are you half French, half English??
ReplyDeletefantastic! can't wait for your next Paris post as I'm just about to book a weekend trip. If you have any more recommendations for good places to eat, please do tell :-) Cheers and thanks for a great blog, Mette
ReplyDeletethanks so much for sharing! and any other great places you know would be great toooooo! i'm going soon and adore vintage shops!
ReplyDeletexoxox
mary jane
Kim - I am 100% Parisian! Grew up in Paris and moved to London when i was 25.
ReplyDeleteMette - There is a really cute place rue des Rosiers called "Le loir dans la Theiere", great cakes and quiches there.
Mary Jane - I will write another post soon with more addresses.
You're so lucky, I haven't been to Paris since... since I was too heavily pregnant to walk around and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWill you tell about the nice shop around les Abesses? Not sure it's still as good as few years ago, but I'm very curious to hear what you think about some of those shops.
Oh I'll get in touch soon with you for a new mum style consult. yeaaahh!
Wheretheprettythingsare - I try to go back regularly to see my friends and family, but I hadn't been since March, so it was nice to go even just for a day.
ReplyDeleteI remember going there while I was pregnant, and it wasn't fun!
I will talk about les Abbesses sho,p, I think I see the one you are referring to!
Feel free to contact me when you like about the New Mum consultation, my offer has no expiry date :). x
I think it's about time I got back to Paris to do some serious shopping! Thanks for your vintage shopping list...
ReplyDeleteDamn -- a couple of weeks too late for me :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is making me want to go to Paris even more... ;) I'm hoping one day I'll get over to Europe for a bit of sight seeing and fashion shopping! ;)
ReplyDeleteHow funny it is. I'm Parisian and I am in London for a month. I write down your adress about this delicious restaurant called Monjul, that I never heard about !
ReplyDeleteNext time you do something like this you should make a short film out of it for MRtv! Oh, and yes...you can use my music as background filler when you shoot the film ;)
ReplyDeleteWow, I will have to remember this next time we head to Paris...though it may be a while.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering where you were. Lucky you get to go and explore your own way, if it was me I'd be scared, clueless...possibly lost.
ReplyDeleteK
Style Slicker
Style Slicker - Yes, I had arranged to do this beforehand with S... Since Paris is my hometown, it seemed a bit silly to do all the "touristy" stuff. It didn't give me much of an angle to write a post... It would have been nice to get to speak to you though, judging from your blog, we'd have had stuff to talk about. x
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Le loir dans la Theiere tip. Found some pics on another blog and it looks amazing and just like the kind of cosy and casual café that I often miss here in London. Can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteMette
Bookmarking this because as god is my witness, I will go to Paris before I turn 30. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a good post. i was looking for this. i want to go paris once in my life.
ReplyDeleteIts pretty cool friend i like listening it very much. Thanks for the blog.
ReplyDelete