Paris is one of the most amazing, simply stunning cities to visit. One can spends days, weeks, months trying to explore it and there will always be something new to discover.

Parisian elegance, style and fashion is a legend in its own right too. I am loving and a little bit embracing that Parisian girls look myself: not too polished, not too overdone, relaxed, a bit neurotic and cool… This season, Parisian girls wear slightly short pants, masculine shoes, beautiful large coat, good scarf and “just out of bed” type of hair, mix it with some attitude (or as some would observe, snobbery), and voilá!

Now, the question lies where to buy that style (yes, you can buy things to look that cool, minus the attitude). There are hundreds and thousands of different stores in Paris- of course- who would expect less from the fashion capital.  The issue is the price tag of course. For some truly good brands, don’t expect bargains in Paris. How unfortunate. The city where a glass of soft drink will easily cost you 8 EUR is no different in what concerns clothing. Expensive, to say the least. Yes, you can wonder around Champs Elysees and get to some mainstream stores- though why would you- as you can most likely get the same back at home. You can also walk around numerous posh shopping streets with the countless Chanels, Diors, Célines and alike…(though you will probably walk to look there only- or people watch, as I sometimes do).

If you are seriously into shopping though, you are likely to end up at the trendy Le Marais district. It is located very close to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral and even closer to Hotel De Ville (city’s administration building). This is the type of the neighborhood you will find in many of the world’s metropolis: tiny little streets filled with trendy small stores (think New York’s Soho for example to imagine what it is like). There are some, though very few places, that are worth the visit while you are in that neighborhood. Check out my next post about bargain hunting at Le Marais. For the rest, sadly, Paris is not worth the trouble to look for bargains. You aren’t likely to find truly good deals and unless you want to waste a day of your precious time in visiting an outlet village next to Paris, you better focus on visiting the city itself. Ironically, buying Parisian fashion can be cheaper elsewhere. C’est la vie.