Shopplr » paris

agnes b. spring-summer 2010 collection: classic, romantic and fresh

Esme Vos — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 01:46:43 +0000

I have been a fan of agnes b.’s clothes and accessories for more than a decade. Season after season, she manages to deliver classic French style that feels young, fresh and vibrant. The clothes are timeless and feminine, never harsh or aggressive. For spring and summer, she has dreamy linen dresses, trousers, skirts and blouses that make you feel as if you’re on holiday in the Provence or on the island of Île de Ré.

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

French style: Claudie Pierlot

Esme Vos — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:41:16 +0000

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 opens Paris flagship store

Esme Vos — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:34:39 +0000

Comptoir des Cotonniers has opened a flagship store on the Place St. Sulpice in a space formerly occupied by the Yves St. Laurent men’s store. CdC has a lot of boutiques in Paris but this one is huge. It even has a library! I love CdC’s clothes which are very French like agnes b. but cost less.

Comptoir des Cotonniers
12 Place St. Sulpice
75006 Paris
France

*Check out our Paris shopping guide.

Apple opens store in Paris

Esme Vos — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:52:40 +0000

Apple has finally opened its first store in Paris. The location couldn’t be better: beneath the Louvre Museum in the shopping center called Carrousel du Louvre. Although Apple has enjoyed a significant share in France, it’s been a mystery to me and to many French Apple fans why Apple has delayed opening a store in Paris.

Designer profile: Xuan-Thu Nguyen

Esme Vos — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:32:28 +0000

This week, I am profiling fashion designer, Xuan-Thu Nguyen, a young Vietnamese woman who emigrated to the Netherlands with her family, but now lives in Paris. She has both ready-to-wear and couture collections. Her boutique is in the fashionable district of the Marais. I met Thu in Amsterdam a few years ago. I have always loved her clothes and accessories. They’re feminine and modern, and they do not borrow slavishly from the past.

Via email I posed several questions which she answered, as usual, with the same modesty that is uncommon in many young designers.

(1) What were your inspirations for the fall/winter 2009 collection?

The collection is about sand lines, water wrinkles. Starting something that can go either way . . . gone quietly or having texture like: pleats or ruffles to enhanced the shape.

(2) What are the advantages of having your own label vs. working for a fashion house? What are the disadvantages?

The advantage of having your own label is that there are no restrictions and fewer expectations. The disadvantage is not having a readily accessible network and the financing that a larger fashion company possesses.

(3) When you first came out of design school, did you already think of opening a Paris store? Or was that a distant dream?

I did not think about having a Paris store at all. I always thought it would be too much work to have my own boutique. But in 2005, we opened one anyway, in the Marais, which is a trendy district in Paris. And it was the best decision I have ever made.

(4) Why did you move from Amsterdam to Paris?

I moved to Paris because we opened the boutique and I needed to be there full-time. Originally, the plan had been to open the first shop in Amsterdam, but after thinking about it, we thought it was better to open the first one in Paris. After all, Paris is the fashion capital of Europe. My sister, Lan, also moved to Paris and has been of tremendous help to me.

(5) What advice would you give to any young designer who wants to start his or her label? What advice would you give about opening a shop in Paris?

My advice is if this is really what you want, then go for it! It is a lot of hard work and there is nothing glamorous about it. I do it out of passion!

Here are two pieces from her fall/winter 2009 collection:

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Spring/Summer 2009 Couture Show

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Xuan-Thu Nguyen
1, Rue Ferdinand Duval
75004 Paris
France
+33 (0)1 42 770 860
www.x-tn.nl

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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.

Cop.Copine adds a quirky twist to French chic

Esme Vos — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:47:30 +0000

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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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.

Comptoir des Cotonniers: French style at a reasonable price

Esme Vos — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:34:55 +0000

Do you like APC and agnes b., but feel like fainting when you look at the price tags? I’ve been wearing agnes b. and APC for years. I love their modern take on classic French style, which means you can wear their clothes and accessories season after season without looking outdated. But during this recession, it’s hard to justify paying the prices these brands demand, especially in the US where I am temporarily based. So where to go for the same classic French style? Comptoir des Cotonniers.

Comptoir des Cotonniers (CDC) opened its first US store in New York City so you don’t have to go to Europe to find their clothes and accessories. But if you are in Europe, you must look them up. They have shops all over Paris (and other French cities), but also in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Britain and other countries. Their coats and dresses are well-made and their take on classics such as the trench and the A-line summer dress will attract a lot of positive comments. If you are in France, you can order from their online shop.

If you like my style, you will definitely like Comptoir des Cotonniers.

Hotel Particulier: new concept store in Paris

Esme Vos — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:21:58 +0000

I had just posted an article on Merci, a new store in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, when I found out that a new concept store called Hotel Particulier has opened in the 2nd arrondissement near the Rue Montorgueil (a pedestrian-only street filled with restaurants and food shops). Hotel Particulier is owned by Vanessa and Laetitia Roggwiller. It functions as an art gallery that also sells furniture, beauty products, perfumes from État Libre d’Orange, clothes from Gaspard Yurkievich and Kris Van Assche, and graphic t-shirts.

Hotel Particulier
15, rue Léopold-Bellan
75002 Paris
France
www.hotelparticulier-paris.com

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Check out all of my favorite shops in Paris.

Merci: new quirky concept store opens in Paris

Esme Vos — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:02:39 +0000

If you’ve been to Colette, you’ll love Merci, a new design concept store which opened this week in the 11th arrondissement, close to the Marais. Started by Bernard and Marie-France Cohen, founders of Bonpoint (probably the most chic line of children’s clothes in the world), Merci carries a quirky mix of high fashion (YSL, Stella McCartney, Marni and Isabel Marant) at 40% off prices in other shops. They also sell Bonpoint’s clothes and Annick Goutal perfumes at 40% off (Marie-France is the sister of the late Annick Goutal), books, furniture and flowers in a 1500 square meter light industrial space. Merci donates all of its profits to a children’s charity in Madagascar. A must-see when you are in Paris!

Merci
111, boulevard Beaumarchais
75003 Paris
France
+ 33 1 42 77 10 38

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Go to the reviews of Mapplr’s favorite hotels, restaurants and cafes in Paris (also on a Google map).

Shopplr’s favorite boutiques in Paris

Esme Vos — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:45:23 +0000

It’s impossible to come up with a Paris shopping guide that fits on one page but I’ll try. Here’s a small selection of boutiques I always visit when I am in Paris.

For women’s clothing, I like the modern, chic French style exemplified by agnes b. Budget versions of this look can be found at Comptoir des Cotonniers. My other favorite is Sportmax: they have a boutique in the 7th arrondissement. There are so few Sportmax boutiques around the world. Max Mara stores carry Sportmax but not the entire collection.

I love shoes and Paris is the place to shop for fabulous shoes (although Milan and Rome are just as good). All you have to do is walk down the rue de Rennes on the Left Bank. I’ve included my favorite shoe store on that street: Christian Louboutin.

For men, Killiwatch is the place to shop for the French “grunge” look. Kitsune, a quirky Japanese brand, has just opened a boutique.

Agnes b.: the epitome of French chic, but the modern, urban version. Her Agnes Troublé began making clothes for her friends in the early 1970s, setting up her art gallery/shop in the Les Halles area when it was still home to butcher shops and flower stalls. Today, agnes b. has shops al over Paris, but my favorite remains the original space on the rue du Jour which has a raw, loft-like quality. The other store I visit is on rue du Vieux Colombier on the Left Bank, close to the St. Sulpice church. Unlike other brands, agnes b. despises marketing and does not advertise. She actively supports young artists (several of her shops are also galleries). It’s not surprising that she has a large group of loyal customers around the world. Her clothes for men and women are stylish and funky, elegant and playful. Best place to shop for clothes in Paris.

6, rue du Jour
75001 Paris
France
+33 1 45 08 56 56
www.agnesb.fr

6, rue du Vieux Colombier
75006 Paris
France
+33 1 44 39 02 60

Comptoir des Cotonniers: if you are on a tight budget but you love the agnes b. look, this chain of boutiques, which can be found all over Europe (and recently New York City), is the key to understated, relaxed French style. I love their summer dresses which evoke the Côte d’Azur when there were only fishing villages and a young Brigitte Bardot was riding around on a moto. The spring coats are also a must: unlike Max Mara and Sportmax which can be too overwhelmingly Milan-chic, CDC does a more innocent look. Great place for neutral toned basics like t-shirts, cardigans and trousers.

Flagship store:
12, Place St. Sulpice
75006 Paris
France

10, rue du Jour
75001 Paris
France
+33 1 53 40 75 77
www.comptoirdescotonniers.com

Claudie Pierlot: like agnes b., Claudie Pierlot does French style very well. This is a good place to shop for knitwear: cardigans, sweaters and dresses.

1 rue Montmartre
75001 Paris
France
+33 1 42 21 38 38

Sportmax: the younger, funkier sister of Max Mara, Sportmax makes gorgeous coats, dresses and jackets that truly stand out. This is my second favorite place to shop in Paris, after agnes b.

72, rue des Saints Peres
75007 Paris
France
+33 1 45 49 22 03

Christian Louboutin: no one does chic, sexy high-heels like Louboutin. They’re comfortable despite the vertiginous, vertigo-inducing heights. The rue de Grenelle shop is opulent and quirky at the same time. Worth a visit even if you won’t be buying shoes.

38, rue de Grenelle
Paris, France
+33 1 42 22 33 07
www.christianlouboutin.fr

Parfums Frederic Malle: I love this perfume boutique on the rue de Grenelle across Louboutin. These mysterious perfumes – created by some of the greatest “noses” in the world (such as Jean-Claude Ellena and Dominique Ropion) – are unique because they were not the brainchild of a large company’s marketing department. Each perfume bears the name of the person who created it (and its creator had been given the freedom to create whatever he or she wanted). Extremely limited distribution ensures you won’t smell like everyone else (least of all Britney Spears).

37, rue de Grenelle
Paris, France
+33 1 42 22 76 40
www.editionsdeparfums.com

Kitsune: funky men’s and women’s clothing from Japan; check out their music CD compilations, too.

52, rue de Richelieu
75001 Paris
France
+33 1 42 60 34 28

Colette: a concept store that is art, entertainment and retail therapy rolled into one giant space on the rue St. Honoré. This is the place to find clothes for men and women, accessories, perfume, candles, and other pieces you can’t find anywhere else.

213, rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris
France
+33 1 55 35 33 90
www.colette.fr

Kiliwatch: trendy menswear, urban warrior style

64, Rue Tiquetonne
75002 Paris
France
+33 1 4221 1737
http://espacekiliwatch.fr/

Assouline: this is the headquarters of the Assouline publishing house which specializes in “fine illustrated books, luxury editions and an exquisite gift line dedicated to fashion, photography, art and design.”

35 rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris
France
+33 1 43 29 23 20
www.assouline.com

Merci: new concept store in the 11th arrondissement featuring a cafe, bookstore, gorgeous clothes.

Merci
111, boulevard Beaumarchais
75003 Paris
France
+ 33 1 42 77 10 38

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Go to www.mapplr.com to find out my suggestions for the best boutique hotels, restaurants and cafes in Paris.