Art of Travel: A Shopaholic's Quest

Everyone, or at least everyone in the fashion world, knows Suzy Gershman as the “born to shop lady.” Just to clarify, if you ever want to know where the best places to shop in any local are, go to her. She has written book after book about shopping abroad. I had done ample research in Born to Shop: Paris before I even signed up for this class and when I saw that her personal travel narrative, C’est La Vie, was on the list of suggested readings, I knew that it would definitely be one of the books I chose to read.

Being the shopping maven that she is, I knew before beginning the book that we would share things in common in our experiences moving to Paris. I have actually already had some of the exact same experiences that she did when she decided to move to Paris for a year.

Part of Gershman’s career is to know where one can find the best deals in Paris, or really any city for that matter, and since I have been here, I have been on a constant quest to discover where the best and most efficient places to do my shopping are.

Like Gershman, I noted immediately that certain basics that can be purchased for next to nothing are impossible to find in France for a reasonable price. Say, if I wanted to buy my own bath towels or pillows and sheets for my bed. Luckily for Suzy, she had the luxury of being able to bring things back from the states, but since I do not, I will suffer through and try to pretend that some complete stranger hasn’t previously used all the linens that were provided for me.

Next comes shopping for food. Gershman, seems to be in a constant state of infatuation with the store “Monoprix” whose name would lead you to believe that it is like a dollar store in but really, it is more like a Target. Anyways, like Suzy, I have come to the conclusion that Monoprix is truly the best place to do the majority of my shopping; I can get basics like hand soap, and notebooks, and pick up some bread and butter all in one place! For special treats and the freshest food Gershman is extremely fond of the open-air markets that are held almost every weekend and are in nearly every arrondisement of Paris. I have yet to frequent one of these markets but her descriptions of the delicious and fresh food that she was able to find have made me decide that from now on I will try to go to the one in my neighborhood every weekend.

Lastly, when she starts furnishing her apartment, Gershman journeys to the outskirts of Paris, where all the best flea markets can be found. I have only visited one so far, but the world famous Sait Ouen flea market just north of the city, was a gem. There are several mini markets in this one large area, and each is known for a different specialty. As I walked through several weekends ago with one of my friends I pointed out all the things that I would like to have one day in my apartment if I could figure out a way to get these items back to the states… or who knows, maybe even to my own Parisian apartment like Suzy. However, for now I will settle for vintage jewelry and clothes that I can manage to fit in my suitcase.