The Belstaff look

Belstaff also makes coats, light jackets, sweaters, trousers, shoes and accessories for men. They have a womenswear line.

One of the best places to shop for Belstaff is Rome, Italy which stocks the full selection of men’s jackets and accessories. Service at the Rome boutique is excellent; staff provide good advice on the styles that fit you and the store carries a wide range of sizes. The store is located on the via del Babuino, close to the Piazza del Popolo. It is also a few minutes away from the via Condotti and Spanish Steps, the heart of designer shopping in Rome.

I have written a separate article entitled Where to Shop in Rome for Men’s Clothes, which lists the best stores in Rome for menswear, shoes, and accessories.

Belstaff jackets for men: modern take on the motorcyle jacket is a post by Arnon Kohavi on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Very Sixties Max Mara winter coat is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Funky patent leather car shoes from Max Mara is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

I walk a lot in Paris so flat comfortable shoes are absolutely necessary. Often I wear sneakers when running around doing the grocery shopping, which entails visiting local farmers’ markets, or making trips to the butcher, fishmonger, charcuterie (for cured meats), fruit and vegetable stand, boulangerie for bread and fromagerie for cheese. But there are days when I want to look a bit more elegant, especially if I have to go to a lunch or dinner at a nice restaurant.

Here’s where Repetto comes in. Repetto is a French company that began in 1947 making ballet slippers. It still makes footwear for ballet dancers, but it has branched out to make shoes for the rest of us who need comfortable footwear in our daily lives. In a big city with an underground metro, daily life entails walking several kilometers (especially if you have to change metro lines at the dreaded Chatelet/Les Halles interchange here in Paris) and climbing stairs, lots and lots of stairs.

Repetto’s signature product is the “ballerine” (or ballet flat), a round-toe shoe with a little bowstring in the front. It comes in different colors and materials (leather, patent leather, python, and more). After the ballet flat, Repetto began making shoes with heels for those who, like me, are vertically challenged. The shoes with heels are not as comfortable as the ballerina flats but they are better for walking than stilettos.

Repetto’s ballerines are great for walking around Paris when it’s not raining. The shoes are dainty and refined, so they will get ruined very easily in the rain. Wear boots instead (of course, Repetto makes those, too).

Repetto has boutiques in Paris and you can buy them in large department stores and independent shops. They even have an e-boutique if you want to order ballerines in different colors.

Long live the ballet flat! is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

If you are looking for chic leather bags that don’t cost a fortune, check out French indie leather goods firm, MySuelly. I found the cross-body bag shown in the first photo above in a lovely boutique called Arty Dandy in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. You can buy MySuelly’s delectable creations online at the MySuelly website or in person at Arty Dandy and Le Bon Marché in the 7th arrondissement.

Well-known international designer brands make bags that look like these, but sell for hundreds of Euros more. MySuelly’s leather products are well under 500 EUR and they don’t have hideous logos plastered all over them. You don’t have to worry about showing up at a party carrying exactly the same bag as everyone else.

The cross-body bag is practical for everyday use in Paris, especially if you use the metro. Because it is slung across your body, it is difficult to snatch. The Paris metro and other areas frequented by tourists (which is increasingly all of central Paris) are notorious for pickpockets, scam artists and bag snatchers. What I love about these is the combination of practicality and style – you give up neither.

I also like buying accessories and clothes from independent brands like MySuelly, instead of contributing yet more money to the empire of billionaire Bernard Arnault (major shareholder of Dior — the holding company of LVMH, which in turn owns Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, etc.). I prefer to support local designers who create beautiful products at reasonable prices. (Note: Two Parisian entrepreneurs, Géraldine Cohen and Adélaide Salvi, founded MySuelly in 2009.)

MySuelly: chic retro style bags in Paris is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

I am a fan of Goat Fashion dresses. They’re always simple and elegant, emphasizing cut and color, not useless ornamentation. You can buy them online at Matches.

Goat Fashion spring-summer 2012 collection is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Ah, the Bon Marche department store in Paris! If you have been to Paris and shopped at the Galeries Lafayette or Printemps, the two largest department stores in Paris, chances are you will have bumped into hundreds of tourists, struggled to make your way through the narrow aisles and wandered around in confusion. Le Bon Marché in the 7th arrondissement, a quieter part of Paris with fewer tourists, is nothing like them. Consisting of two buildings one of which has a marvelous food hall called La Grande Epicerie de Paris, Le Bon Marché features a curated selection of men’s and women’s fashion, beauty, housewares, furniture, books and stationery. The store is open and airy, uncluttered and serene, elegant and chic. Shopping at Le Bon Marché is such a pleasure.

Le Bon Marché
24, rue de Sèvres
75007 Paris, France
Metro: Sèvres-Babylone

Le Bon Marche: fabulous Paris department store without all the tourists is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Pink knitted jacket from GOAT Fashion

Perfect knitted jacket for spring 2012 is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

The mid-heel buckled pumps are from Prada. They look much like the suede Celine pumps I bought in the late 1990s back when Michael Kors designed their collections. The ballet flats are made by Attilio Giusti Leombruni. I have worn these flats for three years. They are the most comfortable, stylish flats I’ve ever owned. You can buy them in the US at Nordstroms. The Prada shoes are seasonal so if you like this style, get it now as they probably won’t make them again.

Bags: The aqua blue is Dior, which is pricey but maybe worth a splurge. The lip-shaped bag is Lulu Guinness, who makes the most feminine, playful bags in the world. The pink bag is Dolce e Gabbana and the purple one is Loewe, the luxury Spanish brand, whose bag designs have been improving year after year.

Classic looks for early Spring 2012 is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Thom Browne bag

Tila March bag

Bags 2.0: simple, elegant, minimalist is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.