agnes b. does it again for fall-winter 2010: classic French style with a modern twist. Unfortunately, it’s harder to find agnes b. stores, except in Asia, where they seem to be expanding. She closed her US boutiques last year, although Americans can order online at agnesb.com. The best thing is still to visit her stores in Paris.

See the fall-winter 2010 collection at www.agnesb.fr.

See the previous collection.

That’s why I am so thrilled to see Juliette Hogan, a New Zealand designer, come up with a gorgeous Winter 2010 collection called “so pretty it hurts” that celebrates what she calls the “demure muse”. Check out the dramatic cape coat in lavender, the floaty dresses in dusty pink tones and the flirty corset plus miniskirt ensemble that is sexy and playful. I dare say that Hogan’s style is very French, like agnes b. and Claudie Pierlot.



She has a boutique in Auckland, New Zealand. Her clothes are carried in other boutiques in New Zealand (and one in Sydney).

Juliette Hogan
170 Ponsonby Road
Auckland, New Zealand
+64 9 360 9347
www.juliettehogan.com

I have selected my favorites from the 2010 spring-summer collection. You can find many more at agnes b. stores worldwide. Unfortunately, they closed their US stores. But it’s better to go to Paris anyway; they have a vast selection of clothes, shoes and accessories there. My favorite agnes b. stores are listed in this shopping guide to Paris.

www.agnesb.fr

Kate Spade‘s clothes, shoes, bags and accessories are never timid or ordinary. The style of this design house is classic, feminine, colorful and whimsical. For spring 2010, they have a range of dresses that can take you from a lunch outdoors in Biarritz to cocktails in Ibiza. I simply love this collection because they have their own distinctive style and they don’t follow what everyone else is doing.

One of my favorite French designers is Claudie Pierlot, whose boutiques I always check out when I am in Paris. Her style is casual but very chic with a French twist. She has several shops in Paris but my favorite is on 1, rue Montmartre. Check out my other favorite Paris shopping destinations.

Comptoir des Cotonniers
12 Place St. Sulpice
75006 Paris
France

*Check out our Paris shopping guide.

One of my favorite clothing brands, Comptoir des Cotonniers, is opening a store-in-store at Bloomingdales’ 59th Street flagship store in New York City. What do I love about Comptoir? The style is very French and feminine, like agnes b. but more informal, relaxed and much less expensive. Comptoir is a great place to buy basics like t-shirts (long and short-sleeved), breezy summer dresses, jackets, and trousers for everyday wear.

Comptoir des Cotonniers’s first boutique in New York City is located at 155 Spring Street in Soho. With the opening of this branch in Bloomingdales, the company just made it more convenient for women to buy their clothes. If you are in Paris, make sure you stop by any of the Comptoir des Cotonniers boutiques in the city. Check out my Paris shopping guide.

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Check out our sister site, Mapplr.com, for travel reviews of the coolest boutique hotels and restaurants around the world. Make sure you visit Mapplr before going to Paris, NYC, Amsterdam . . . .

Here’s my latest article on NBC Bay Area news about Cop.Copine, a French brand that has just opened a store on Union Square in downtown San Francisco. Cop.Copine’s style is edgy and urban, a bit more high-tech and futuristic than agnes b. and Comptoir des Cotonniers, my other favorite French brands. But it’s still very feminine. What I like about Cop.Copine is that the clothes are eclectic and distinctive, but they don’t fall into the purgatory of the weird and unwearable. Once you’re in the store and you begin trying on the clothes, you’ll have a very difficult time figuring out which pieces to buy. You’ll want them all.

Cop.Copine
343 Powell Street (at Post)
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 989 9035
www.cop-copine.com

They just opened a store in the 2nd arrondissement in Paris, one of my favorite areas in the city, right on the rue Etienne Marcel. Watch the store opening video showing a model wearing some of their clothes. Cop.Copine has several stores in Paris.

Cop.Copine 2nd arrondissement store
37, rue Etienne Marcel
75001 Paris, France
+33 1 5300 9480

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Related articles:

Shopplr’s favorite boutiques in Paris

Shopplr’s favorite boutiques in San Francisco

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Check out our sister site, Mapplr.com, for travel news and reviews of the coolest boutique hotels and restaurants around the world.

The designer spotlight this week focuses on Philippe David, an artist and textile designer from France. Philippe designed fabrics for 6 Mandel, an elegant chambre d’hôte not far from the Eiffel Tower in the chic 16th arrondissement in Paris.

Born in 1961, Philippe received his diploma from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Appliqués et des Metiers d’Arts de Paris (Olivier de Serres) in 1985. He was selected by fashion designer Thierry Mugler to create prints for Mugler’s fashion shows, as well as for the fashion house’s Japanese lines and the bedding collection for the US market. Philippe moved to New York City and began doing work for the Clarence House; he has also worked with Fujie textile putting together several exclusive home funishing lines. These days he splits his time between Paris and New York, working on many diverse projects.

Photo of Philippe David by Céline Niezsawer

• Favorite restaurant: Indochine on Lafayette Street in New York City where he recommends the steamed fish in banana leaves.

• Favorite food shopping area in Paris: rue Montorgueil (a pedestrian-only street near Les Halles) and rue due faubourg Saint Denis.

• Favorite patisserie: Stoehrer on rue Montorgueil (the bouchée à la reine is divine).

• Favorite shopping area: the Palais Royal which has boutiques such as Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney and Didier Ludot (vintage classics).

• Fabric shopping: boutiques along the rue du Mail.

• Best vintage garage sale in Paris: in the 2nd arrondissement, the “vide grenier” on the 18th of September.

• Favorite holiday location in France: his small farm near Bernay in Haute Normandie (30 minutes drive from Deauville/Honfleur/Trouville).

• Inspirations: People watching in Paris and NYC; street fashion; the verdant lush natural beauty of Normandy, contemporary art galeries in West Chelsea and the Marais, students in his textile classes at the Paris Fashion Institute, his manufacturers’ great use of silks, natural fibers and pigments.

On 1 September 2009, Philippe is hosting a cocktail party in the Marais in Paris (on the rue Saint Paul) to kick off a month-long exposition of his work. On 23 September 2009, he is holding a cocktail presentation of his new collection of area rugs and fabrics in New York City (at TexStyle 200 Lexington, Suite #423). Find out more at TexStyle. Philippe’s work was featured in a TV show last fall in France: http://www.france5.fr/question-maison/index-fr.php?page=article&id=1880

Philippe David Dessins
251 Rue Saint Denis
75002 Paris
France
+33 (0)6 71 18 15 21
http://philippe-design.blogspot.com

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6 Mandel: artistic, elegant chambre d’hôte in a 19th century mansion in Paris