General observations:
The trench-coat and ballet flats thing is for old ladies and self-conscious expats with normal jobs. It’s the West Village Girl of Paris. It’s fine. I wear these things in the states and I don’t need to look cool when I travel (presentable is enough of an accomplishment) and I don’t have much with me anyway since I came from clown school with a suitcase full of activewear. I’m walking around in boat shoes and a windbreaker and it feels good… I think of the prep/WASP/American sportswear look as quite neutral but it really stands out abroad and I like that. It’s like traditional ethnic dress for the recently assimilated. Ralph Lauren clothes are all priced higher in vintage stores but no one seems to be wearing them.
Guys are still doing the little beanie + Carhartt jacket look over here. I can’t believe this is a global phenomenon.
Coming from another major city, there is VERY little worth buying. My prerequisites are: cheap, unique, portable. That usually means vintage clothes, but unless you’re buying designer, the vintage here is all from the US. I went to Kiloshop and it was full of basics you can get at any swapmeet in Los Angeles—army jackets, college sweatshirts (suspiciously new and from the midwest), old lady sweaters, suede fringe, 80s boots, blah blah blah. But, even with the weak dollar, Kiloshop is very cheap. I popped in and bought some wool slacks for €5 because I was cold and didn’t pack proper pants. I’ll probably leave them here.
On the flipside of this rule, I am a sucker for souvenirs. I looooooooove all the glitzy little garbage things they sell at newsstands and museum gift shops and random street market tables. I even like souvenirs from my hometown. A staple Los Angeles souvenir is the fake novelty Oscar statuette. My boyfriend bought me one that has BEST GIRLFRIEND engraved on the plaque, and it is proudly displayed in my home next to stacks of books by obscure and misunderstood authors—but when I wanted a little stuffed lobster from Menemsha Fish Market that said MARTHA’S VINEYARD on it he bristled with disgust. “That’s so touristy” he said. Well guess what. I’m a tourist. I’m a tourist in my own country and my mother country and in the grand scheme of things we’re all tourists on EARTH, man. Ironically, the more at home I feel in a place the more I am prone to harbor sweet sentiments toward its regional tchotchkes (you should have bought me the lobster Reuben!!!) My Paris paraphernalia so far has been limited to a lighter in the shape of a bar of gold that has received universal reactions of delight every time I whip it out. Ultimately, I do understand that tchotchke is another word for junk so I’ve been limiting my souvenir consumption to looking only. My one regret is the bucket hat with the misspelled screenprint that said
I ❤️ PAIRS all over it. I should have got that.
I stumbled on a fun and tacky lingerie shop called Caprice, a blend of the stripper-adjacent boutiques along Hollywood Boulevard and the cheap Mexican/ Chinese panty shops of the east side, but full of European brands that are unavailable in the US. No Leg Avenue or Capezio in sight. A pair of black tights with red koi fish in the window caught my eye and I bought them immediately, along with a couple of bras (I haven’t regularly worn bras for forty years but my defiant D’s are embarking on their slow and bittersweet obeisance to gravity), some tights with butterflies, and a pair of opaque black and white polk dot tights, which seem like kind of thing that would be easy to find but that I have been searching for FOREVER. The owner said that he does have an online store, but the tariffs make all his things not really worth sending all the way to the US. The tights all seemed a bit thicker and better quality than the novelty stuff I usually buy and then tear on first wear because I didn’t file my nails before putting them on.
I went to the Paloma Wool pop up and bought the last of this absolutely dumb-ass tube top that looks like a t-shirt and I love it very much. I think the only way to continue to wear thrifted trash is start paying too much for basics. On the walk over I discovered a ton of decent vintage and resale stores along Rue de Turenne. When I say “decent” I mean predominately reasonable things and a few astronomically-priced designer items sprinkled in to justify the vibe.
I spotted a tangerine orange Chanel jacket at one of them for €2500 and nearly sent a picture of it to an evil real estate developer I went on one date with in 2023. Just to see what would happen.
I’m really tired and I like what I got so far but I don’t want to shop anymore. The good thing about shopping abroad is having to decide if I REALLY want this thing bad enough to carry it back with me overseas. I was able to avoid buying some pretty ugly leather jackets this way. The vintage / distressed / giant brown leather jacket grows on girls here like spores. I’ll talk about food and books and art next time.
muah!