I wrote this list for her. Now I’m toggling between Substack, Airbnb, and flight deals because I’ve already decided to move my next trip up.

My friend Shannon is going to Paris.

She came to me for shopping advice, and I need you to understand something: I love when people do this. I have lived in Paris. I have studied in Paris. I have been back more times than I can count, and I am still, every single time, a complete tourist about it. I still get a little thrill when I see the Eiffel Tower from a new angle. I still wander into bakeries I’ve been to a dozen times and act like I’m discovering them. I still take too many photos of rooftops. That never goes away for me, and I don’t want it to.

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So when a friend says, “I’m going to Paris, I have some money saved, I want to come home with the real thing,” I don’t casually jot down a few ideas. I build a list. I get into it. And then, apparently, I start scrolling Airbnb listings and checking flight deals while I’m supposed to be writing, because helping someone plan a Paris shopping trip is all the excuse I need to move my next visit up a few weeks.

Anyway. Shannon’s been saving. She wants to come home with pieces that make people pause and ask where did you get that for the next decade. And she was specific about it: she wanted the iconic Parisian purchases, the ones that never stop being right, but she also wanted to know what’s current. What are people wearing now, what’s the conversation in Paris right now, what would make her look like she has her finger on the pulse and not just a closet full of classics. I love that question. Because the answer is both. So I put together a mix of iconic pieces that will never not be right, and a few current picks that show she knows what’s happening without looking like she tried too hard (because trying too hard is the least Parisian thing you can do). I figured I’d share it here too, because if you’re headed to Paris with room in the budget for a few meaningful purchases, this is where I’d point you.

I want to say something before we get into the list, because I think it matters. Some of these picks are not exactly hidden gems. Hermès, Cartier, Repetto. You know these names. Lots of people do. And that’s the point. I’m not here to impress you with something obscure for the sake of being obscure. The icons are icons because they earned it, and buying them in Paris, from the source, in the city that made them, is a completely different experience from ordering online. They never get old. They never look wrong. And when you wear something iconic alongside something current, something you discovered in a small boutique or pulled out of a vintage case in the Marais, that balance is what makes the whole thing sing. The classics anchor everything. The trendier picks show you’re paying attention. Together? That’s the look. That’s the wardrobe of someone who knows exactly what she’s doing. This list will give Shannon a bit of both!

Icons Worth Taking Home

The Icons (You Will Have These Forever)

An Hermès Scarf, Styled with a Vintage Brooch

This was the first thing that came to mind when she asked. Not just the scarf (though obviously, yes, the scarf). I love this combination so much that I’d do it myself on my next trip. Find your carré at the Hermès flagship on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, take your sweet time with it because the salespeople are patient and genuinely knowledgeable, and then hunt down a vintage brooch at one of the antique dealers in the Marais or along the Left Bank. You pin the brooch to tie the scarf, the way you’ve been seeing everywhere on Instagram lately. Scarf as art. Brooch as the finishing touch that makes the whole thing personal.

The scarf alone is iconic. But that brooch styling is the current conversation, and it’s a good one. It takes something classic and makes it feel like yours.

A Cartier Tank on a Croc Band

If you’re going to invest in one watch in your life, make it this one and make it in Paris. The Cartier Tank (or the Santos, if that suits you better) on a classic crocodile leather band is the kind of quiet luxury that just works. It goes with a white t-shirt. It goes with a black dress. It goes with your bathrobe on a Sunday morning while you drink coffee and pretend you’re not checking email. It’s French. It’s understated. And the people who notice it will be the right people.

Buy it at the Cartier boutique on Rue de la Paix if you want the full experience. They’ll engrave it if you ask, which turns a beautiful purchase into something you’ll never want to part with.

Repetto Ballet Flats, Straight from the Source

Repetto has been making ballet shoes since 1947. Brigitte Bardot made the Cendrillon flat famous, and it hasn’t slowed down since. Their flagship in the 1st arrondissement is small and perfect, and they carry colors and leathers you won’t find online or in department stores. These aren’t cheap flats. They’re buttery soft, they mold to your foot over time, and they become the shoe you reach for more than anything else in your closet.

Every French woman I’ve ever admired owns a pair. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

A Signature Scent from a Parisian Perfume House

Not duty-free Chanel. (Fine, but not this.) I’m talking about walking into a house like Frédéric Malle in the Marais, or the Guerlain flagship on the Champs-Élysées where the building alone is worth the visit. Sit down. Smell things slowly. Let someone walk you through the notes without rushing. Choose something that smells like you on your best day.

A Paris fragrance bought in Paris is a sensory souvenir that follows you around for years. Every time you reach for it, you’re back on that street, in that light, in that particular mood. It’s an experience as much as a purchase.

A Piece of Vintage Jewelry from the Palais Royal or the Marais

I get asked about the Palais Royal a lot, and the question is always the same: is it still worth going, or has it become too touristy? And the answer, at least right now, is that it’s still absolutely worth it. Yes, the Buren columns in the courtyard are an Instagram hotspot (people come, take the photo, and leave). But the arcades themselves? Still quiet. Still chic. Still home to some of the best specialty shopping in Paris, including Gabrielle Geppert's vintage luxury boutique, Serge Lutens perfumes, and many other vintage jewelry dealers. The gardens are peaceful and gorgeous. The whole complex sits just behind the tourist rush of the Louvre area but feels like a completely different world.

The vintage jewelry is what I’m most excited about on this list. Chunky gold chains, Art Deco signets, delicate coin pendants, oversized hoops that look like they came off a 1970s Parisian socialite (because they probably did). This is jewelry that stacks beautifully and tells a story. The Palais Royal arcades and the shops along Rue de Turenne in the Marais are both excellent hunting grounds. Prices range from surprisingly reasonable to “okay, this belonged to someone important,” so there’s something for most budgets.

Two more for anyone serious about jewelry: Valois Vintage Paris near the Opéra Garnier carries curated vintage pieces from Chanel, Hermès, and Gucci in a calm, beautiful boutique setting. And for the collector who wants real provenance, Fabian de Montjoye on Rue Saint-Honoré has been dealing in antique rings, cameos, and intaglios for over 25 years. That's not casual shopping. That's a conversation with someone who knows the history of every piece in the case.

Bring cash for the smaller vendors. And trust your gut. The piece that catches your eye first is usually the one.

The Right-Now Picks (Current, But Built to Last)

Something from Lemaire

If you haven’t been paying attention to Lemaire, start. This is the French brand that every stylist and editor in Paris seems to be wearing right now. The design is minimal but never boring, the fabrics are exceptional, and the silhouettes have this easy, architectural quality that photographs well but also just feels good to wear on a regular Tuesday. Their boutique in the Marais is beautiful. A structured bag, a cropped jacket, one of their signature soft trousers. This is the brand people will be referencing for the next decade, and the pieces hold up.

A Curated French Pharmacy Run

I know, I know. Everyone talks about the French pharmacy. But there’s a real difference between grabbing random Bioderma at the airport and walking into Citypharma in the 6th (yes, it’s crowded, yes, it’s worth it) and building a smart little collection of the products French women have quietly relied on for decades. Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré. Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 (the exfoliant with a cult following that borders on religious). Caudalie Beauty Elixir. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse.

French pharmacists take skincare seriously. Like, medically seriously. Ask them what they’d recommend. You’ll walk out with a bag of products that genuinely work, at a fraction of what you’ve been paying at Sephora for something half as effective. It’s not glamorous shopping, but it might be the most practical thing you bring home.

A Discovery Walk for Something You Weren’t Looking For

This is less of a specific purchase and more of a philosophy, but I think it’s the most Parisian thing on the list. Set aside an afternoon with no agenda and wander one of the neighborhoods where interesting things just show up.

The covered passages in the 2nd arrondissement are wonderful for this. Passage Jouffroy, Passage Verdeau, Galerie Vivienne. These are 19th-century glass-roofed shopping arcades that feel like stepping into a different century, and they’re full of small galleries, antique shops, rare bookstores, and the kind of one-of-a-kind finds you’d never stumble on if you were following an itinerary. The Left Bank around Rue de Seine and Rue des Beaux-Arts is also excellent if you lean more toward art. I always end up there. Small galleries everywhere, some with very accessible price points, and the atmosphere of that neighborhood alone is worth the walk.

A few specific discoveries worth seeking out: Thanx God I’m a V.I.P. near Place de la République is one of the best vintage stores I’ve ever walked into, anywhere. It’s a massive space, color-coded racks, beautifully curated mix of designer and no-name pieces from the ‘60s forward, and prices that range from very reasonable to investment-worthy. It has a café inside and a vibe that somehow manages to be both cool and completely unpretentious. Brigitte Tanaka on Rue Saint-Roch is a tiny gem for handmade embroidered organza bags and accessories that are unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere. And if you want to support French artisans directly, PoooW! is a collective of independent makers selling handmade jewelry, accessories, and décor at several locations around the city. Everything is made in France, most of it by hand, and the price points are friendly.

The best things I’ve ever brought home from Paris were things I wasn’t looking for when I left the apartment that morning. A small print. A piece of pottery. A vintage brass something that now sits on my bookshelf and reminds me of a specific afternoon every time I look at it. Leave room for that kind of shopping too. It’s the most personal souvenir you can find.

Bonus: Something for the House

Because you can’t go to Paris and not bring a little bit of it home for your actual home. (Interior designer bias, fully acknowledged.)

Astier de Villatte Ceramics

This Parisian atelier makes everything by hand in a workshop in the 11th arrondissement, and the result is this gorgeous, slightly imperfect white ceramic that looks like it belongs in a still-life painting. A candle holder. A small dish. An incense burner. Whatever you choose, it becomes the piece on your shelf that people always pick up and want to know about. Their shop on Rue de Tournon is a destination in itself, all dark wood and candlelight, and it smells incredible. As someone who thinks about objects and spaces for a living, I can tell you that a single Astier de Villatte piece on a console table does more work than most people’s entire accessory collection.

A Find from the Puces de Saint-Ouen

The Paris flea market. The biggest antique market in the world, technically, and one of those places where you might find a 19th-century brass candlestick for forty euros next to a mid-century French mirror that would cost ten times that in a design shop back home. Go with an open mind and a rough idea of what you’re looking for (a small piece of art, a vintage serving tray, a set of old French bistro glasses). Get there early on a Saturday. The Marché Vernaison is the most charming for smaller finds. The Marché Paul Bert is where the serious design pieces live.

The negotiating is part of the fun, and whatever you bring home will have a story that no retail store can give you.

While you’re up in this area, two stops you should not skip. Les Merveilles de Babellou is a must if you love vintage luxury. Think curated Chanel bags, gorgeous costume jewelry, and accessories that have been hand-selected with a real eye. It’s near the Puces and worth building into the same morning. And if you need a break (or a gift to bring home that will disappear in about three days), À la Mère de Famille is Paris’s oldest chocolate shop, founded in 1761, and the flagship on Rue du Faubourg Montmartre is one of the most beautiful storefronts in the city. The mosaic floors, the Belle Époque façade, the handmade pralines and pâtes de fruits. It’s the kind of place where you walk in for one box of chocolates and walk out with four.

Added afterthought: If you want something most visitors don't know about, the Marché aux Puces de Vanves in the 14th is Paris's best-kept Saturday morning secret. It's smaller than Saint-Ouen, it's almost entirely locals, the vintage jewelry vendors have Art Deco brooches and Victorian pieces at prices that will make you wonder why anyone fights the crowds at Clignancourt. Get there before 9am and bring cash. It wraps up by 1pm and it does not wait for you.

Bar Hemingway - The Ritz Hotel

And When Shannon’s Done Shopping: Where to Wear It All

Every Paris trip needs one moment where you sit down somewhere beautiful, order something perfect, and just... feel it. For me, that place is Bar Hemingway at the Ritz, and it’s exactly where I told her to go.

It’s tucked in the back of the hotel on Place Vendôme, it only seats about 25 people, and it is one of the most special rooms in Paris. Dark wood paneling, leather armchairs, Hemingway memorabilia on the walls, and bartenders who take their work very seriously. No music, just the sound of conversation and ice in a glass. Women get a rose with their drink, which is the kind of small, lovely detail that makes you remember where you are.

No reservations. Just walk in, ideally around 5:30 or 6 when they open, wearing whatever she found that day. The new scarf tied with the vintage brooch. The Cartier on her wrist. The Repettos on her feet. A cocktail at the Ritz is not cheap (nothing at the Ritz is), but it’s one of those experiences that earns its price. Shannon will feel like she’s in a movie, and she should, because she did the work. She saved for this trip, she shopped with intention, and now she’s sitting in a leather armchair at the Ritz with a rose and a really good drink.

That’s the whole point of Paris, honestly. Not just buying beautiful things, but feeling like the version of yourself who deserves them.

(And yes, I moved my next trip up while writing this. I’m not even a little sorry.)

Have a Paris shopping story? A boutique I should know about? I always want to hear it. Reply and tell me.

Paris Shopping Guide: Clickable Links Reference

NEIGHBORHOODS FOR WANDERING

These are streets, not specific shops, so no links needed. Just good to have the arrondissements for reference:

Rue de Turenne (vintage jewelry, Marais) — 75003
Rue de Seine (galleries, Left Bank) — 75006
Rue des Beaux-Arts (galleries, Left Bank) — 75006