studentsineurope

Great Shopping in Paris: Colette

The Keith Harring Shoe Display in Colette

No one can deny that Paris is a haven for fashion lovers.  Each year its fashion shows and designers set the trends around the world, and only New York and Tokyo come even close to its fashion star status.

Which is why when I when to Paris this past weekend on a spur of the moment trip I couldn’t help but visit Colette, one of the coolest and most legendary stores in Paris and arguably the world.

Located on the famous St. Honoré street in Paris, Colette is housed in a three-story, window-lit building that seems to be packed at all times of the day.  The store carries fresh-off-the runway designs, but you won’t find just any brand names here—expect instead the hippest names of the season and an array of items geared towards the ultimate hipster.

Colette always has the coolest high top Nikes and New Balance shoes of the moment, accessories of all sorts, and plenty of men’s, women’s and unisex clothing to drool over.  You can even find a €4,000 cell phone (for the trust fund baby hi-tech lovers of course) or kick it at the water bar if you’re feeling thirsty and want to fit in with the extremely hipster crowd.  But beware if you want to actually buy anything—since Colette often displays items long before they reach other stores, you might find yourself having to put your name on a waiting list to purchase in-demand items, an obvious inconvenience for the fast moving traveler.

Always wanting to be in the now, Colette spends loads of money changing their displays every few weeks or so.  When I was there last week, they had two impressive exhibits for public viewing: one of Tommy Hilfiger’s new Keith Haring Collection, and a mini art gallery showing Parisian artist Andre’s latest work.  Last time I went to Paris in October the entire upstairs was dedicated to Portland-based Pendleton’s Native American prints, something I found very amusing since Portland is not usually considered the trend setter city of the world.

Because I happened to know people connected to the collections, I was lucky enough to attend the launch party on their opening night.  And let me tell you, I’ve never seen so many retro-dressed, creative-minded cigarette-smoking hipsters in one place!  It was well worth going for the people watching alone.

Next time you’re in Paris, be sure to check out Colette—even if you can’t afford anything in the store, you’re guaranteed to be entertained by the crowd and amazed at how much people will spend for a limited edition watch or graphic t-shirt they’ll only wear for a single season.