The big list of French women's clothing brands to shop for in Paris
Oct 4, 2010
Paris is such a wonderful shopping city, I’m sure everyone who travels there comes away with their own secret boutiques and amazing French finds. A Paris shopping tour is personal—though getting a custom guided tour from a style blogger like our friends at French Chic Shopping, isn’t such a bad idea. The following stops for women’s clothing are my favorites. They’re mostly either stand-alone stores of brands found in Paris but not the U.S. (Princesse Tam Tam lingerie) or brands that, while they’ve made inroads in the U.S., are originally French and have wider selection and perhaps better prices on their home turf.... Unfortunately, most of it is still very expensive. Hey, is a $220 t-shirt that you wear hundreds of times actually cheaper than a $12.99 shirt you wear twice? Hm. Paris is also a wonderful place for justifying excess….
View Big List Of Paris Clothing Brands in a larger map
Acquaverde
This mysterious brand may not be French, but I discovered it in Paris and bought my favorite-ever jeans there. (There may have been a stand-alone store that has since closed).
Available at:
Binôme, 5 rue de Condé
Le Dressing de Brigitte, 3 rue de Bucci
Le Dressing de Brigitte, 85 rue de Rennes
American Retro
Tant pis if it’s silly for an American in Paris to buy a French version of hip Americana. This chain has fashionable casual-ish dresses and slinky skirts and tops that often turn into wardrobe staples.
10 rue du Vieux Colombier
8 rue des Abbesses
40 rue des Francs Bourgeois
382 rue St Honoré
A.P.C.
Oh how we love and hate thee, A.P.C, with your mean salesgirls, sky-high prices, tiny sizes and really, really great casual-French-chic clothes. If you are wearing even one item of A.P.C.—no matter what you are wearing it with—you will look effortlessly fashionable.
4 rue Ampere
5 rue de Marseille
38 rue Madame
112 rue Vieille du Temple
20 rue Andre del Sarte
This is a grown-up brand for classy, subdued office girls who want a bit of femininity and whimsy and really nice t-shirts in good colors. The men’s selection is also fantastic for a dude with a skinny build.
Locations throughout Paris: http://europe.agnesb.com/fr/boutiques
The Russian girls love this ultra-feminine, slinky, somewhat tough high-fashion designer who does leather and silks and furs (there’s one Barbara Bui in the U.S. but three in Russia). If you do not wear stilettos, this brand is not for you.
62 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
50 avenue Montaigne
67 rue des Saints Pères
35 rue de Grenelle
43 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
23 rue Etienne Marcel
D.Dikate
The opposite of Barbara Bui, these are the casual urban girl’s fashionable, roomy, lace-and-plaid dresses, tops and skirts that look great with opaque tights and your rain boots.
Available at: Brand Bazar, 33 rue de Sèvres
Le Mont St Michel
The hip knitwear and baggy culottes and stripey boatneck sweaters from this Paris brand seem to be sporadically available at Urban Outfitters in the U.S. but for super-high, un-Urban Outfitters-like prices. See if you get luckier in France.
29 Rue du Jour
This elegant and unusual sexy-librarian-type women’s wear from a small designer has a 40s twist.
Available at: Rose Durantin, 30 rue Durantin
An intellectual high-fashion label to rival Prada, MMM’s clothing is minimal, deconstructed, elegant and sometimes a bit weird. Paris, of course, is where the brand was born.
23/25 bis rue de Montpensier
13 rue de Grenelle
24 rue de Sèvres
61 rue Caumartin (men's only)
64 Bld Haussmann (women's only)
We’ve long had a theory that some of the highest fashion is designed to be so hideously unflattering that only the most gorgeous women in the world can wear it. If you look good in Isabel Marant’s high-waisted tulip micro-mini or oddly cut fashion-lumberjack top—congratulations, you are a model! For the rest of us, she has genius (but ultra-expensive) basics.
47 rue Saintonge
1 rue Jacob
16 rue de Charonne
Manoush
A crazy, unusual, ultra-girly, sparkly, risky brand that nonetheless we find ourselves drawn to every time we’re in Paris.
75 rue Vielle du Temple
217 rue St-Honore
16 Avenue Montaigne
Paul & Joe
Another label that’s easily accessible at department stores worldwide but has a certain cachet when pursued in Paris. We love the textures, colors and packaging of the cosmetics and the way the brand does feminine without edging into sweetie-sweet.
2 avenue Montaigne, +33 (0) 1 47 20 57 50
46 rue Etienne Marcel, +33 (0) 1 40 28 03 34
64/66 rue des Saints-Pères, +33 (0) 1 42 22 47 01
Princesse Tam Tam
Only in Paris would there be twenty-two outposts of a gorgeous lingerie brand to rival the best in the world, for (comparatively) low-ish prices, with pretty bras for all cup-sizes large and small. Yes, the French sometimes know what they’re doing.
Selected addresses:
19 rue Vieille du Temple
53 rue Bonaparte
23 rue de Grenelle
Sessun
Absolutely fantastic everything—shoes and accessories, dresses, colorful pea coats, jackets and jumpsuits and strangely patterened slouchy trousers.
34 rue de Charonne
Sonia Rykiel
Sonia’s patterned knitwear is one of the defining looks of Paris. She also has house & home and ridiculously cute children’s clothing.
175 boulevard Saint-Germain
24 rue de Sèvres
64 boulevard Haussmann
61 rue des Saints-Pères
8 rue de Grenelle (shoes)
40 boulevard Haussmann (accessories)
4 rue de Grenelle (children's)
