A matter of articles and prepositions

Le Bon Marché is one of those historic stores you have to have visited at least once, if not for the merchandise, then for the beautiful architecture. Most tourists visiting Paris will pass by les Galeries Lafayette, and forget about Le Bon Marché. We were at Lafayette last winter (we were lucky enough to be invited to celebrate New Year's Eve with some awesome French friends), and while the lights and the lights outside are pretty and the glass cupola is even prettier, the sheer size of the thing is a bit overwhelming. Also, it's really overcrowded. I'm not a big fan of crowds (who is?), so squeezing through tons of shopping bags to get to the MAC stand isn't my ideal shopping trip. On top of that, two incredibly arrogant Russian ladies tried to cut in line right in front of me. I'm not one for generalising, but most Russian tourists I've encountered the last few years were distant at best and downright rude at worse. What's up with that?

Anyway, none of this at Le Bon Marché. It's known for being the first department store in France. Actually, while researching it a bit just now, I discovered that it inspired Émile Zola to write 'Au Bonheur des Dames' (translated in English 'The Ladies' Delight'). (I loved Nana, so I'm going to try finding it at the library first thing tomorrow.)

The atmosphere at Le Bon Marché is one of relaxed luxury. You could probably spend an entire day here without ever getting bored. There's fabulous clothes, ranging from very very upscale to slightly more affordable; a beauty supply to guarantee you a 100 wrinkle-free lifetimes; perfume stands that feature some lovely niche brands; shoes; accessories and enough interior design to furnish a few small castles. In short, it's the epitome of a pleasant shopping experience. If you should find yourself on a subway in Paris and passing the stop Sèvres-Babylone, get out. I assure you you won't be dissapointed.



For those not so fortunate to live in Paris or visit it on a regular basis, Le Bon Marché has a namesake in Gent, called Au Bon Marché. I'll give you the adress - Hoornstraat 4 - because the shop's so old school it hasn't even got a website. It still closes for an hour at noon, too (13h-14h), so keep that in mind. In size, it's nothing like Le Bon Marché, but it gives you that same feeling of tradition and standing. That would be a little intimidating - at least it used to be to me for a lot of years - but there's too many treasures inside to let that stop you. There's lots of jewellery (bling, colourful, romantic ánd sophisticated), purses, scarfs, wallets, gloves and trinkets that'll make your heart beat faster if, like me, you're a material girl. There's also a lot of cute notebooks and diaries for more profound activities; kitchen stuff and photo frames. And the best thing of all: they've got a LOT of Annick Goutal perfumes. (They have these at Le Bon Marché as well, by the way!) I bought my very first perfume here, and last year my boyfriend gave me another one for Christmas. (Best gift ever.) The owner is sometimes nice, sometimes a wee bit stuffy, but I don't really care as long as she guarantees my sporadic romantic shopping fix.

(Pictures courtesy of http://www.100procenttravel.com/ and Zone 09)

Shopping in Gent: The Julie Andrews Connection

This catchy Mary Poppins tune has been going through my head all day, and only now I realise why. I was shopping with two friends today and they took me to the most wonderful little store in Gent. It's an amazing thing, living in a city for 6 years, thinking you know it through and through and then stumbling upon a completely unknown delight - a category Spoonful of Sugar definitely belongs to.



If you happen to walk by the store (located in the Bennesteeg, a very romantic street), don't let the exterior fool you. You see, it looks like a regular kids store - a very cute one, but still. I like kids, but I haven't exactly got the habit of buying clothes for my imaginary offspring, so it's really no wonder I had never noticed it before. The inside is very child friendly as well, but the racks are dotted with grown-up candy. You'll find some fine quality dresses (made by Vivetta, amongst others) and sweaters in fifties-style, next to a quaint selection of rings, earrings, broches and necklaces. And if that weren't enough, I spotted a few Cambridge satchels. I've been lusting over these for quite a while, so I was glad to be able to ogle one up close. Three spoonfuls (i.e. a broche, a necklace and a gift cheque) later we were out on the street again, rejoicing in all the cuteness.

Also in the Bennesteeg and never visited before was a shop called Solar. It didn't look like much from the outside (apparantly the shopkeepers in this street like to diffuse their public), but I've got this thing for tartan these days, and there was a nice patterned dress on display, so we took a chance. Solar is a Polish brand, and I had absolutely never heard of it before. The shop assistent is Polish as well, I think, because she talks with a faint accent. It's nice, a little juicy. She was very sympathetic - I asked her whether she was the owner of the store and she said she was, but I'm not sure if she heard the question. They had a pretty inconsistent collection - some very nice pieces, but also a few awful cloths - synthetic and rough wool. (I'm very sensitive about texture, just thinking about it sends shivers up my spine.) Still, it was cool to check out this kind of obscure brand, and they did have quite a lot of excellent skirts and dresses. They had some nice accessories as well: gloves, bags, scarfs. I bought a beautiful bird-patterned scarf and I'm looking forward to using it now the days are turning cold. So all in all, definitely worth checking out.

The tree looked like it could use a nice bird-patterned scarf.

Shopping in Brussels: Gabriele Vintage

... is without a doubt the mother of all vintage shops in Brussels. It's not exactly dirt cheap, but wouldn't you sometimes rather spend a little more money in a nice environment than go through heaps of synthetic clothing just to find one nice piece? That's the one selling point of good boutiques, isn't it? You might pay a little more, but in exchange you get individuality, a carefully picked selection and an inspiring setting. And believe me, if you leave Gabriele Vintage uninspired, you're either a die-hard modern minimalist Jil Sander-kind of gal, or you're heartless.

Winter window displays.

What can you expect at Gabriele Vintage? The clothes were all made somewhere between 1920 and 1980. Meaning that there's lots of variety style-wise: from twenties glamour to fifties girl-next-door to eighties neon. Always wanted to go to a party in an old-style prom dress? Eat your heart out. If you cross a small patio, you'll find a small boudoir with the really glam dresses. Girls planning on getting hitched soon might even stumble upon their perfect wedding dress. Vintage sizing is tricky (plus you can never tell if you'll fit into a garment or not), but Gabriele is very obliging and can tell in a flash whether something will suit you. She's very knowledgeable, and you can rely on her with any questions about origin, style and alterations.

The best thing about Gabriele Vintage, however, are the accessories. She has shoes and purses, and they're pretty much your typical vintage selection. But if I were to own such a collection of hats, jewelry and gloves, I would be compelled to play dress up all day every day. Feathers and pearls and lace everywhere! Seriously, I wouldn't even go outside. I'd just order some fancy china on the internet, organise fancy tea parties and recite Oscar Wilde to whomever would be crazy enough to show up. I'd be like a character straight out of Fay Weldon's debut, The Fat Woman's Joke. Only slightly less fat and disturbing. But just as lazy and greedy. I have no problem with lazy and greedy. So anyway, if you haven't visited yet, plan on it. I mean it!