Paris Shopping | parisian party

Tag Archive for 'paris shopping'

noel a paris, 2012

This time next week, we’ll all be lolling around in our new jammies, picking through the last of our Christmas chocolates and wondering what to do with ourselves for the last week of 2012. Before all of that, though, let’s take a few minutes to enjoy Noël à Paris, courtesy of Dior:

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments |

girl’s week-end in paris - jewelry atelier

Laurie from The Paris Blog was here in Paris this past spring, looking to add some French techniques to her jewelry-making skills. She was surprised to find that one-day workshops or short-duration jewelry making classes are pretty hard to come by- until she found her way to La Petite Manufacture in the 11th arrondissement. I saw this and thought that this funky little atelier would make such a cool addition to a bachelorette weekend in Paris. A great way to occupy the girls- at least until the sun goes down. Here’s an excerpt from Laurie’s post:

I finally landed on La Petite Manufacture, a jewelry boutique in the 11^th arrondissement with a sizable studio in back. The owner, Marie, gives courses on Fridays and Saturdays when not tending to the store and making her own creations. A look around the place and you know you’re in capable hands: besides Marie’s own jewelry, which is whimsical and well made, there’s a kiln; a wall of drawers for materials from stamps to glues to silver metal paste; and, on the large wood workbench, jars of scissors, colored pencils, and dentist tools.

The 3-hour, one-off classes cost 45 to 60 euros and range in subject from beading to metal paste to Murano-style glass-making. Students are provided with all the materials they need, and can also select from the boutique in front. In yesterday’s beading course, for instance, I “shopped” for ribbon, clasps, beads, wire, and fancy embroidery thread.

The real value of the class is in Marie. Patient and encouraging, she leaves the students enough free range to find their own way after ample instruction. She speaks English, in case your French is a little shaky and you need a few words translated (“melaxer” means “squish,” I learned).

Check out the rest of Laurie’s post on The Paris Blog to find out more about this hidden Parisian treasure.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments |

how to plan a wedding dress shopping trip in paris

If you’re thinking about a “quick little trip” to Paris to shop for your wedding dress, you may be in for a big surprise. While malls and Main Streets across America are teaming with one-stop bridal emporiums like Kleinfelds and David’s Bridal, most bridal showrooms in Paris only carry their own designs or label. So if you’ve narrowed your wish-list down to, say, Delphine Manivet, Max Chaoul and Suzanne Ermann - with the idea to check out a few others along the way, be prepared to visit 3 different showrooms in 3 different parts of town, with each visit lasting a minimum of 1 - 1.5 hours (if you’re visiting on a weekend and planning to try dresses on). With most boutiques closed on Sundays, your “week-end” buying trip in Paris could end up with you only seeing a handful of dresses and a whole lot of frustration.

If you want to maximize your time during your Paris wedding dress buying trip, I suggest hitting up the major department stores first- Printemps, Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marché all have bridal levels offering a small selection of a number of labels. Paris has several Pronovias, Pronuptia and Rosa Clara boutiques as well, but their collections may be what you would find at your home locations. The gold mine of multiple wedding dress options in Paris is Metal Flaque. Since 2009, Metal Flaque has been the main source in France to find designers like Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Jenny Packham, Marchesa and more.

Whether you choose to go the exclusive showroom route, or prefer to power through the multi-label boutique options, keep in mind that for many Parisian bridal stores, walk-ins can be frowned upon. And if you plan to try dresses on, a rendez-vous should be made in advance. Lastly, if you’re stumped for a last-minute option (a surprise Parisian vow-renewal, for example?) you can always rent a wedding dress in Paris!