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Shopping
The shopping in Paris is amazing. You will be overwhelmed by
new styles, patterns, but also the prices. So be prepared. To
budget money, I would recommend putting aside separate money
just for clothes or shoes. Look for bargains—they do exist—but
don’t deprive yourself. My favourite store in Paris (for the
moment) is Zara. The clothes are really nice and really French,
but also reasonably priced. I got a great pair of jeans there
for only €40. Go there if you’re looking for blazers, skirts,
nicer kinds of clothes, but staple items too. They are all over
the place in Paris—you can’t miss them. Noticeably nice ones
are on the rue de Rennes (there are two on that street), and
on the Champs-Elysées, of course. Naf-Naf and Morgan are kind
of similar. More retro “must be brave to wear this” styles,
but often you can find just basic, cute tops and pants, almost
like a higher class (and higher priced) Wet-Seal in America.
Prices aren’t crazy though—they’re just normal Paris prices.
If you’re looking for really basic, really cheap, don’t care
about style clothes, you can try Monoprix. They have bras, underwear,
and socks as well. Monoprix is amazing- it’s the equivalent
of Wal-Mart in America. You can get anything- food, toiletries,
basic clothes, school supplies, seasonal gifts (like easter
candy), wine, etc… “normal” prices. You can get a weeks worth
of lunch supplies for €10-15 if you shop carefully. If you want
the best shopping in town and you don’t mind paying a lot, hit
the Champs-Elysées or the rue de Rivoli. That’s where the classy,
designer places are. Obviously, they are the most expensive
as well. Nice shopping at average prices can be found on the
rue de Rennes (especially for shoes), Boulevard de la Madeleine
(which becomes Blvd des Capucines et Blvd des Italiens), and
the rue des Ternes.
Films and music: be prepared to spend a lot.
Shoes: Cheap shoes can be found at André and Eram, but if I
were you I would splurge on one or two pairs of Parisian dream
shoes instead of settling for cheap ones.
For school supplies, BHV and Gilbert Jeune are both cheap.
English Bookstores include:
WH Smith - A large English bookstore chain. Near Skidmore.
248, rue de Rivoli,
75001 PARIS
Métro : Concorde
Brentano's American Bookstore
37 avenue de l'Opéra 75002 Paris
The Red Wheelbarrow
22, rue St. Paul
Metro: St Paul
Village Voice
6, rue Princesse
Metro: Mabillon
San Francisco Bookstore
17, rue Monsieur-le-Prince
Metro: Mabillon, Odeon
Tea and Tattered Pages
247, rue Mayet
Metro: Duroc
For US products, try:
The Real McCoy
194, rue de Grenelle
75007 M° Ecole Militaire
01 45 56 98 82
Bon Marché
24, rue de Sevres
75007 M° Sevres Babylone
BHV
rue de Rivoli
M° Hotel de Ville
Printemps
Blvd Haussmann, near school
- Kim Maresca, Libi Weymouth, Suzanne Dommerich
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