The Bon Marche and other shopping

We were in two malls in Paris. The one above was the Bon Marche Department store. As you can see, it was over the top gorgeous. I felt like a fish out of water though. Each of those balconies was a designer shop and in one we even saw the customer sipping champagne. There was not anything that I could afford here but it was fun to look. I saw the coolest chandeliers there. Each department had a chandelier based on what the department was. In the kitchen department they had chandeliers made out of whisks, spatulas and wooden spoons. Here is a black chandelier in the china department. They were just everywhere and so beautiful.The hat department had very fun hats with plumes and feathers and hefty price tags on them. You really didn't want to touch just in case. I don't think they even wanted me to be taking pictures. I thought this was a very cute mannequin. I wonder what her collar/shrug is called? I bet that wouldn't be so hard to make.

In our neighborhood there was a cute boutique with hats in the window that would be perfect for spring. I don't think there is anywhere I would go that I could wear something like that but it sure would be fun.

We also went to a discount mall by the Paris Opera house. Even though things were still a little spendy they were more like our upper end department store in the US. They even had an art department but pretty much everything was something I could get cheaper here at home.

Tati was another multi-tiered shop we went to that we had heard you could get some good deals in. It is the French version of Ross. I bought some leggings and a top but I wouldn't go there again. Not really what you want to be spending your time doing in Paris. There are just too many other fun things to invest your time in.


The last little shop we went to was a unique vintage store. It was so small and so crowded, not only with good deals but tons of people. They had an upstairs, if you could call it that. The stairs where kind of like crawling up in a tree house. My niece went up there and couldn't get back down because her backpack was too big. It was quite the experience but definately a place to go when in Paris. I would have bought a plaid coat that I fell in love with but it was so heavy and I knew weight would be an issue coming home. I should have tried it on and taken a picture but imagine doing that in a crowded elevator. That is what it felt like in this store. I am laughing thinking about it. Maybe there is a time that is better to go than when we went?