Iro
Iro, one of the hottest French brands to emerge in the past decade, has seven locations across Paris. The women’s clothes, a combination of New York cool and Parisian sophistication, are produced for both a ready-to-wear line and a jeans collection. The label was founded by brothers Laurent and Arik Bitton after the end of the former’s career as a guitarist, though the musical legacy is clear in their rock aesthetic. If you can only splash out on one item from their collections, make it one of their signature leather jackets.
Open Monday to Saturday, 10:30am to 7:30pm, and Sunday, 12am to 7:30pm.
📍Iro, 53 rue Vielle du Temple, 75004 Paris, France
Garrice
Someone once said that ‘A girl can never have too many shoes’. They weren’t wrong, and Garrice is the top destination for shoe lovers in Paris. The store carries more than 70 designer labels including Marc Jacobs, MSGM, Vic Matié, and Maison Martin Margiela. They are partial to a flash sale in mid to late-January so you could be in luck if you fly in for a winter getaway.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 7:30pm, and Sunday, 3pm to 7pm.
📍Garrice, 30 rue de Rivoli, 75004 Paris, France
Galeries Lafayette
Most likely the Parisian department store which most outsiders are most familiar with, the Galeries Lafayette group, welcomes one million shoppers to its 280 locations, every day. The brand’s Haussmann store is worth a visit even if you don’t intend on spending any money, particularly its newly refurbished roof terrace and bar. But, with 65,000 square meters of retail floor space and more than 2,500 brands, you would be mad not to have a browse.
Open Monday to Saturday, 9:30am to 8pm (and till 8:30pm on Thursday).
📍Galeries Lafayette, 40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France
Isabel Marant
For almost twenty years, Isabel Marant has been the go-to brand for bohemian-chic and relaxed sophistication. Starting out in a former artists’ workshop in the Bastille district, the designer now has four boutiques in Paris and numerous more around the globe. Despite her success, she has stayed true to her vision of fashion: dressing real women for real life and keeping traditional manufacturing skills alive. To get the best sense of recent fashion history, visit the rue de Charonne location where it all began for Marant.
Open Monday, 11am to 7pm, and Tuesday to Saturday, 10:30am to 7:30pm.
📍Isabel Marant, 16 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, France
Montaigne Market
Montaigne Market opened in 2005 in Paris’ Golden Triangle and was the first concept store to take on this traditional retail turf. In 2014, the business expanded to the first floor of its building, becoming an 800-square-meter fashion lovers’ paradise. It now hosts nearly 100 international brands. Everything in the store is selected by owner Liliane Jossua, a woman with eclectic, daring, and impeccable taste. Her eye for jewelry is particularly renowned: if she’s selling it, you should be buying it.
Monday to Saturday, 10:30am to 7pm.
📍Montaigne Market, 57 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris, France
Printemps
Just to keep things really convenient, Paris’ two biggest department stores are located right next door to each other on Boulevard Haussmann. If anything, Printemps is the slightly more upmarket of the two, and its building which dates to 1865 is a treasure of the city’s architectural heritage. The women’s department is spread over nine floors and that’s not including the beauty department. Printemps’ visionary founder, Jules Jaluzot, was the first Parisian fashion magnate to institute sales and the dates for 2017 are January 11th to February 21st and June 28th to August 8th.
Open Monday to Saturday, 9:35am to 8pm (and till 8:45pm on Thursday).
📍Printemps, 64 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France
Christophe Lemaire
Christophe Lemaire is a high-end boutique that offers clothes for women and men that are inspired by life on Paris’ streets. It is led by the eponymous designer, formerly of Hermės, and this summer appointed as the new Artistic Director at Uniqlo, and Sarah-Linh Tran. The brand’s turnover has increased more than threefold in the past three years (since Lemaire left the iconic French house) and is very much the label to watch – and wear – for those serious about French fashion. Their team is based in the Marais and the studio is just a few doors down from the boutique.
Open Monday, 1pm to 7pm, and Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 7:30pm.
📍Christophe Lemaire, 28 rue de Poitou, 75003 Paris, France
Le Bon Marché
Le Bon Marché has been a Left Bank institution since it opened in 1852. The department store has recently added a new luxury section to its already substantial womenswear department, located on its bright and airy second floor. All the big names you would expect are on display – Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Dries Van Noten, Rick Owens – and there are a number of innovative spaces, too, including corners for denim customization, athleisure, and pop-up collections.
Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm (and till 8:45pm on Thursday and Friday).
📍Le Bon Marché, 24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris, France
A.P.C.
Another French brand to explode onto the scene recently, A.P.C. was founded in Paris in 1987 and has developed a reputation as the number one purveyor of simple, clean-lined garments. Though you can now pick up clothes from this ready-to-wear brand in Berlin, London, San Francisco, Tokyo and more, the brand remains quintessentially Parisian and you ought to pay its flagship store in the 6th arrondissement a visit.
Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7:30pm.
📍A.P.C., 38 rue Madame, 75006 Paris, France
BHV Marais
BHV Marais is the center of the 4th arrondissement’s shopping universe. Located directly opposite the Hôtel de Ville, and within a five-minute walk of the Centre Pompidou and the historic attractions of the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis, it is the ideal shopping destination for those wanting to combine fashion tourism with a few of its more traditional forms. Another major selling point is that it is the only one of Paris’ four major department stores to open on Sundays.
Open Monday to Saturday, 9:30am to 8pm, and Sunday, 11am to 7pm.
📍BHV Marais, 52 Rue de Rivoli, 75004 Paris, France
Sept Cinq
Sept Cinq is a concept store specializing in accessories, close to the ever-popular rue des Martyrs. The owners, Audrey and Lorna, set up the business fresh out of university, and, believe in putting front and center work created here in Paris. They strive to create a jovial, collaborative ambiance in their store – cake, tea, and coffee are always on the menu for shoppers looking to take it easy and spend some time browsing the collection.
Open Monday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm.
📍Sept Cinq, 54 rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, 75009 Paris, France
Le Boutique Ephémère
Good things come to those who wait. Or, as is more often the case, those who are in the right place at the right time. If you are lucky enough to be in Paris on one of the dates when Le Boutique Ephémère is open, we have one word for you: go. Every few months or so, since June 2011, it has brought together 30 creators of fashion, accessories, jewelry, and design under one roof in the Marais. The pieces are handmade, at a discounted price and limited edition.
Opening dates for 2016 are October 8th and 9th, November 19th and 20th, and December 3rd and 4th, 9th to 11th, 16th to 18th, and 21st to 24th.
📍Le Boutique Ephémère, Galerie Joseph, 7 rue Froissart, 75003 Paris, France
Des Filles en Aiguille
Another fantastic, though less frequent, pop-up fashion market, is Des Filles en Aiguille. Created in 2003, it takes over the Espace Beaurepaire in the 10th arrondissement twice a year, in the spring and winter, for two days of client-designer engagement. Young creative talent is prioritized and shoppers can come away with unique, often personalized, pieces from the French designers of the future at workshop prices – that’s up to 50% off.
The next dates for 2016 are December 13th and 18th.
📍Des Filles en Aiguille, Espace Beaurepaire, 28 rue Beaurepaire, 75010 Paris, France