Thursday, January 22, 2009

FRANCE IS ON SALE!

It’s that time of year again, when everything in Paris is on sale—and I mean everything. The ubiquitous signs exclaiming SOLDES (sale) are plastered on every retail window enticing the smart shopper to come in. Entrée s'il vous plaît! Leather jackets, clothes, shoes, furniture, you name it, it
can be found at a good price. Twice yearly, in both January and June, France goes on sale. Okay, the actual country isn’t for sale, but its goodies in the retail stores certainly are.

In fact, it is actually illegal for shops to host sales at any other time of the year. Though I am told that sometimes shops can get around this law, it is still nothing like January and June and it's certainly not like the revolving sales that can be found at Victoria's Secret, The Gap and all the rest of the retail stores at home which always tempt you to come in with their weekly discounts.

Here in France, stores take advantage while they can at wildly reducing items 50-60, even 80% off the regular price. All month long during the cold of January and the heat of June you can break out the old credit card and shop till you drop. There are even those that plan their vacations to Paris around the sales.

If your mission is to wear the best fashion has to offer and you just happen to be in Paris anyway, make sure to bring a few extra bucks so that your shopping excursions can truly be enjoyed. And get it while the getting is still good...you only have until the 31st. If you miss it you will have to wait until June. So, while the temperature might be below freezing here, you can still take advantage of your itch to shop while the prices are hot!

And don't forget to bring an empty suitcase with you to cart all the goodies home. If you left your empty suitcase in the closet at home, you could always buy another one here…Believe me, it’s on sale anyway!

Thanks for reading and bon journée!