Le Window Shopping
Since the French invented the department store, I dragged the family to Galerie Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann (established 1912) for a history lesson. It was pouring with rain, and it was dark when we approached. Everyone was grumpy and no one was sure why we were going there. For me, the shop is associated with my father, who bought me a leather jacket from GLwhen I was about 20, after he came to Paris for a couple of days. I never really liked the jacket but that was not the point. It was French. I also wanted to see Walter Benjamin’s les passages, the old arcades that predate the Haussmann makeover of Paris, but that did not eventuate. Perhaps tomorrow, tomorrow …
The ground floor of Galerie Lafayette is a vast acreage of designer shoes. Above it is makeup, and parfum, and clothes and toys and the dome. Up and up and on and on it goes, in a dizzying arc of desire. We had had enough after five minutes. Despite our stop-over at a very pleasant Chineses restaurant for dinner, Mei was discombobulated. Unfortunately she was led then astray by Xavier and ended up at the Sylvania section of the shop and had to be forcibly removed.
Not a good end to le shopping.
I have seen some very good shop windows in the Maris and the 2nd and the 5th. I have desired a 300 Euro leather handbag. I have lusted after a surreal necklace.
And a hand-embroidered bag that reminded me of the plastic one I brought from England to Australia, and lost on the plane. Is that true? Who knows, but it was round with a zip, llike this:
It’s not a book it is an embroidered bag by Olympia Le Tan.
DIVORZIO ALL' ITALIANA
Embroidered canvas round clutch, leather structure and Liberty print lining.
Colour: Grey
LENGTH : 16 cm HEIGHT : 16 cm WIDTH : 4.5 cm
€625.00
Or for the more literary-minded; a clutch!
VILE BODIES
Embroidered canvas book-clutch, with brass structure and Liberty print lining.
Numbered edition of 16
Colour: Off white
LENGTH : 14 cm HEIGHT : 20 cm WIDTH : 3.5 cm
€1,140.00
You can see more of these HERE.
For now, Adieu.
Josie.
Hi Josie,
I love this tale – I could visualise it very well – the dragging in and the dragging out. OMG I had a look at the clutch collection – sort of art sort of total fetishization of the literary through textual transformation – many layers of semiotic analysis there… one can’t help but think there must a lot of people in the world who just don’t know what to do with their money.. tres ridicule. Keep writing – I love it – was looking for the visual of the grumpy family going to the shop…
Did you get to the Evening Wear department of the GL where someone who will remain nameless fainted? And did you know they have an infirmary on the 6th floor that looks like something from a WW1 film set?
I knew you’d get to the shopping, I just knew it.
Are you going to the Catacombs? I think you should.
Also did you get my email? XA
But maybe the Catacombs are bit … not exactly gory, but what happens after the gore … a bit spooky for the kids? XA
Ooh, Galeries Lafayette, where you can lose yourself in a floor of shoes the size of a city block, and then head upstairs to Angelina’s for an overdose of chocolate! Formidable 🙂