“If I can’t find it in Nantes, I’ll find it in Paris!”
Don’t count on me to help restart the economy, I’m apparently unable to buy anything.
Technically, I do need new clothes. I left for Brazil in December with seven tops (a couple of t-shirts and mostly tank tops), four shorts and a sweater, none of them particularly new and all of them picked for a trip where I’d spend most of my time at the beach in a tropical country.
Mind you, I do have tons of undies because I usually stock up in Brazil. A few years ago, when our bags were delayed (thanks, Air Canada), I had to buy underwear in São Paulo and I found the perfect brand with a perfect fit, bikinis from DelRio available in most Lojas Americanas if you must know. So I keep on buying undies every time I go to Brazil and I brought back another ten or so on top of the seven I had packed for the trip.
I was lucky enough to find a couple of Levi’s jeans and a sweater on sale when I arrived in France just before the lockdown, otherwise I would have had to borrow warm clothes from my mom, which is a bit of a problem since I’m taller and probably a size bigger.
When shops opened again on May 19, I started looking for t-shirts.
I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, as Bono sang in 1987 (possibly facing the same issue?).
When it’s not the fabric it’s the style and when it’s not the style it’s the pattern. I’m half-suspecting clothing stores didn’t believe they would stay open this time so they ordered the most generic fashion ever.
But hey, Paris should have what I need.
Except I still wasn’t motivated to actively look for the perfect tops. I don’t like shopping. If I stumble upon something I like, I buy it, but spending an hour in a store browsing around… I just don’t have the patience.
So I kept an eye on window displays when walking around, hoping something would catch my eye.
It didn’t take long. Two streets from the apartment where I stayed, perfect t-shirt.
I got closer to check it out.
The tag said €2,350.
I blinked, took a sip of coffee, made sure I was actually awake.
Then I looked up and realized I was standing in front of the Yves Saint-Laurent store. Oops.
Happened to me a couple more times walking through Paris’ posh “rive droite.” Apparently, I have a taste for luxury—and not a clue where to find fun t-shirts.
Since I’ve been back from Brazil, I’ve re-stocked my winter wardrobe (and the kids’) thanks to the local second-hand store and I must say I find a lot of very good brands, almost new, for ridiculously low prices (one of the perks of being “poor” in a first world country! 😆 ). The only clothes I have to buy in a “real” store are pants because even if I know where to find the ones that fit me (Reitmans) I absolutely need to try them on.
I wish I had the patience to browse clothes in second-hand stores! I like the idea, but Value Village is pretty overpriced and I gave up a few years ago. In France, “kiloshops” are also popular, where you buy second-hand clothes by weight. A twist on the comida por kilo 😆
Value Village is way overpriced for regular clothes, but I did find winter coats in good shape for less than 10x the price of new ones ! For kids clothes there are a few specialized second-hand stores that are well worth the detour (most kids overgrow they clothes before wearing them out), but my boys are at the edge of being too big for kids/youth sizes already… I mostly go to a very cheap, independent, messy, local store.
I used to rely on Winners (not second hand but reliably cheap) for winter clothing, but it started to get pretty expensive a few years ago. Apparently, second-hand shops truly deliver when you manage to find one in the right neighbourhood, i.e. posh 🙂
Same about Winners. I used to buy my shoes and undies there, but since I’ve been back, I’ve found that the price/quality is not worth it anymore.
I stopped shopping there around the time you came back to Brazil, come to think of it. It used to be the only place where I’d buy dirt cheap Levis’ jeans… then quality went down a lot and prices went up a lot.
Tho’ I dont like the city, I love your Paris’s posts. I found Paris is too big, too busy, too crowded but yeah! It’s Paris anyway. Once the travel ban lifted, dont mind coming back as transit city!
How do you like the city so far? As a French living in capital city?
I wouldn’t want to live in Paris, for me it’s not worth the “sacrifice” considering the price of real estate. I like the city as a tourist, though. I used to find Paris dirty and confusing but I learned to enjoy it (and it does get better when you know where to go, when to go, and when you have a decent place to stay).