What's the connection between the current hippest clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch, and this beautiful golden door that I photographed at 23 avenue Champs Elysées? Well, according to some "well informed sources" that is where Abercrombie & Fitch should open its first shop in Paris. It's hard to believe though, as number 23 is located on the "wrong side" of the avenue (the one that does not get the sun) and in the lower part, that less people visit. At the same time, there is not much space available on the Champs Elysées, so they may not have that much choice. In any case they need to get a special authorization by the Paris town hall which is very picky on who sells what on the "most beautiful avenue in the world!"
Vraiment??! Je suis fan et il n'y en a pas chez nous!
ReplyDeleteMerci pour l'info Eric. Et nice place...
I'm kinda sad to hear about this, Eric. The Champs Elysees is certainly not as I remember it from the 60s!
ReplyDeleteSo commercial.
So Guille and I totally disagree! Et congrats, Guille GF! Isn't that twice in a row? Bien fait.
ReplyDeleteOkay, after thinking about it (I mean after the stress due to the GF race), it's a little bit sad to destroy a gorgeous garden to built an A&F (even if I'm fan...). You're right Alexa. But anyway, the Champs Elysées became one of the street I like the less in Paris, because of all these shops and bling bling stuffs so...
ReplyDeleteGuille you really are in fine form! It's fitting that you snagged GF, since you're just the demographic for A&F. I'm way too old to be wearing their clothing. I hope all the kids going to shop there take the time to admire this fabulously ornate gate on the way in. Delightful photo Eric, but where are the throngs of tourists one usually finds on the Champs Elysée?
ReplyDeleteBTW, I was having a conversation just last night with a couple of people who teach 11- to 13-year-olds. They said that all the kids want to dress in clothes from A&F now. It's in "in" thing. It's funny, because Abercrombie's used to be the place to buy fishing poles and the only clothes they sold were for hiking or going on a safari, or to climb Mt. Everest!
ReplyDeleteLOL Alexa, 'bien fait' is negative(or a brat expression!), you can use it to depreciate your speaker, not to congratulate him/her (You deserved this misfortune , bien fait!). 'Bien joué' would be better :)
ReplyDeleteBut, thanks anyway :D
Yeah, like you said Alexa, it's the "in" definitely. I love how Mad TV made fun of them.
ReplyDeleteAlexa, I remember in the 1990's all the teenagers wanted to wear Esprit. And you had to go to an outlet to find the big selections. Now you can buy on line. http://www.espritshop.com/index_us_GG1_A2.htm?welt=departments
ReplyDeleteI wear clothes like this and look how old I am!
Katie, age has nothing to do with it. It's all how you wear it, and if you wear it well. BTW, you have a nice figure and could wear anything.
Funny link Eric!
ReplyDeleteKatie - the people must all be on the other side of the street. : )
Guille -- Ohh - I'm glad you told Alexa that because now I get to know, too. I just recently congratulated someone else the same way. There's so much sarcasm in French (even if there weren't a million ways to make mistakes already just as a non-speaker). I'm never sure if I'm stepping on my own foot. Hope I didn't offend whoever I said that to!
P.S. Bien joue, Guille!
Eric, these gates are incredible! I can't help but think of Hemingway whenever I see A & F. Supposedly the gun he used to commit suicide was purchased at A&F. In the early years, besides Hemingway, A&F was frequented by the likes of celebs Clark Gable, Cole Porter, Garbo, Steinbeck, JFK... I wish I could wear the clothes at A&F, but my svelte body type doesn't look as good in those oversized clothes as it does in say Levis 505 jeans and a Tee.
ReplyDelete;-)
Guille...are you going to add some more lavender wisps?
ReplyDeleteI was reading in a French History book that Longchamps and Champs Elysées were the places where people went to be "seen". This was during the time of horses and carriages.
ReplyDeleteEric, where is our Champs Elysées Wikipedia link ;-) I had to go there all by myself.
FYI Champs Elysées remains the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe. Abercrombie & Fitch must sell a lot of clothes to pay for that piece of property.
Oui, bien joue, Guille! Et merci beaucoup—je ne savais pas. Was this always true, I wonder? I'm pretty sure that when I first learned French you could say "bien fait" without being insulting, mais peut-etre pas. If so, Guille, you're the first person to let me know. Tres gentille.
ReplyDeleteeric -- that link is so funny!
lois -- when my daughters were 11, 12, 13 (early '90s), here in NYC if it didn't come from the GAP, it didn't even qualify as clothing.
I do some substitute teaching at a local high school and all I see is A&F and Hollister t-shirts and sweats (the sweat shirts start at about $70). Talk about your lemmings. Everyone looks alike, it often looks like that movie iRobots, all of the drones lined up.
ReplyDeleteOkay...maybe Parisians are dying for overprice, all ready worn out clothes, but it makes me sad to see this spread to Paris. I just remember thinking Gap? Disney Store? Really? I can get this stuff at home...I would much prefer to see France be France...but then again...I liked it when H&M opened in America...
ReplyDeleteHehe awesome link Eric! I didn't know that A&F had this kind of reputation... A friend of mine was model for them in London during months, her job was just to be beautiful and smiling....yeah, with hindsight (this one is for you Alexa!), it's awful...LOL
ReplyDeleteCarrie, you're welcome! this kind of blunder happens even when you're French, don't worry!
Coltrane, what do you think about...a tiny silver-plated bottle of Pastis and 3 or 4 golden olives? (sorry, southern influences).
Alexa, actually if you only say 'bien fait', yes, it's insulting (or it's humor, humour noir!). I'm not sure about an other meaning...
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone else could help me ?!
Guille...I'd say GO FOR IT! Heck, maybe throw into the mix a golden eggplant too! ;-)
ReplyDeleteEric...the Mad vid is classic! Great find.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with the others that these gates are just beautiful. Thank you for the photo. They are quite like many of the estate gates along Bellevue Avenue in Newport RI, near where I live. But most of the Newport gates were meant to emulate those in France and Italy, the centers of taste during the time the Newport mansions were built.
ReplyDeleteEric, thank you for the warm welcome on August 1. My niece Katie introduced me to PDP some time ago, and I've enjoyed seeing the variety of photos that you post. Thank you for all your effort and interesting stories.
Abercrombie on the Champs Elysees?? GAH!! That store is full of poseurs, and they pump cologne out the entrance so it always reeks when you walk by. Fortunately, two of their locations have closed up here in the Seattle area, so I don't have to be subjected their stink when I shop at my favorite outdoor malls! I can't imagine that atrocity in Paris!
ReplyDeleteI can't say I follow any trends here in No. Michigan, but this trend I know, if it is comfy or I feel like a million bucks, I love wearing it!!
ReplyDeleteBut I do like my Etienne Aigner purse I bought. (It was on clearance for $13.50) I guess that's as "name brand" as I go. :) I like comfort and classics, shopping takes too much to go every season!
As far as the gate here, I don't care whose it is or will be, it's GORGEOUS!!
The sky is a pretty color. The sidewalk sure is clean. It looks like a movie set it's so clean.
ReplyDeleteAmy Ellis, "Abercrombie on the Champs Elysees?? GAH!! That store is full of poseurs..." That's funny. You forgot to mention how loud the music is in those stores -- it could break your ear drums! A lot of stores do that now. Maybe it's a marketing thing.
Eric, I'm sorry to hear your inside sources have told you this, I really don't think they should be putting A&F there.
ReplyDeleteIf they do though, whoever does it will wind up making it somehow acceptable... maybe.
Guille, I'm sad for your stress over the GF. Hopefully you will recover soon!
: )
Eric,
ReplyDeleteI hoe they don't look like any of the A&F's here. Anyway, nice shot!
Rodney
http://alisoviejodailyphoto.dolorin.com/
A friend of mine (female) said she has to go to the Gap in Paris to find jeans that fit because the jeans in American stores don't have the proper cut. I can testify that the women's jeans in Paris are cut perfectly. If Abercrombie and Fitch do that well, I have no complaints.
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking for the Klimt GF picture, Reine Guille.
Champs Elysees is already turned into a big fat prey of globalisation... McDonald's and Disney Store sit alongside Guerlain... Hagen Daaz(spelling) and HSBC alongside Laduree and Fouquet...
ReplyDeleteI loathe this avenue... It has lost all its lustre...
By the way I thought the building was the Thai Airways office?
what can I say after you said it all, jakthong. My sentiments, exactly.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I would like to add,concerning A&F is the way the French will then put their outfits together. The colors they choose, the fit, the accessories.... it is different than in America, in general. I love guessing if I am correct when I then hear my chosen "victims" speak in their respective language .
ugh, how disgusting. they'll be stinking up the streets with their 'perfume' and painfully loud music (and i like loud music). i wonder if it will last...
ReplyDelete"Abercrombie & Fitch on the Champs Elysees?" This is very sad.
ReplyDeleteOk guys, it's not a drama. I mean an A&F is not worse than a Quicksilver or a Vuitton shop! The only thing is the fact that this wonderful street is already defaced by all these shops so to me, one more won't change anything.
ReplyDeleteBut it's sad that people are attracted by the Champs Elysées nowadays only to do shopping.
I'm curious, do the Parisian go over there? I don't. Or maybe once a year...
Coltrane, hehe, as you want! Strange mix! Is it the beginning of an aperitive? ;)
Lily, I slept 8 hours, I'm better now. ;)
A beautiful photo. A&F ... I speak the language due to the gorgeous young girls in my family, but I didn't have the shopping budget growing up that they do. If they built it, the customers will come!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm le site A&F, quelle intro...;)
ReplyDeleteEek! A store in that beautiful place? Sigh, that's progress for you. I just hope that they will not tear down that gorgeous gate and fence.
ReplyDeleteCorinne, LOOOL. Young, beautiful, in love, it's so cliché. (jealous, me??). :D
ReplyDeleteAgree with Jakthong...I thought that this building was the Thai Airways office? I'll have to check...
ReplyDeleteWow, I really hate to hear that Abercrombie is moving to such a beautiful locating given that their clothes tend to be on the grungy side.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I've found from Business Immo (Weekly information for professional real estate):
ReplyDeleteSelon nos informations, Abercrombie & Fitch s’installerait au 23, avenue des Champs Élysées, à Paris 8e, suite au départ de Thaï Airways.
(According to our sources, Abercrombie & Fitch will be installed at 23, avenue des Champs Élysées in the Paris 8th, following the departure of Thai Airways)
The link is here:
http://www.businessimmo.info/pages/wbg_lettre_article/fiche.php?s_id=3184
"Grungy" Sharon?
ReplyDeleteAccording to a recent MSN-Zogby survey (March 2008)that lists the 10 companies Americans love to hate, it's no surprise that of 7,000 consumers polled A&F was ranked 4th in the top ten list. Here is the list of companies rated as "service poor" according to percentage of how many consumers rated the company as such.
ReplyDelete"America's Customer Service Hall of Shame"
AOL 47%
Comcast 42%
Sprint 39%
Aber. & Fitch 38%
Qwest 34%
Capital One 32%
Bank of America 31%
Time Warner Cable 31%
HSBC Finance 30%
Cox Communications 29%
Wonder if A&F service will improve across the pond on the Champs E?
I have to side with Reine Guille: there already are many shops on Champs Elysees, will one more make any difference? As long at they keep the gorgeous gate...
ReplyDeleteJeff...I don't think the gate goes with the A&F image.
ReplyDeleteSome more interesting notes:
Cost to rent 1000 sq ft space on the Champs--as high as $1.5 million bucks per year.
In 2007, Swedish clothing chain H&M was not allowed to open its store because Paris City gov't was against "banalization" (love that word)trend from changing the Champs-Elysees character that Alexa alludes.
So, what changed the City's mind with regard to Aber & Fitch?
I'm curious...is the typical consumer tourist or local on the Champs these days?
From where here do the brats get the money? Everything the pessimist philosophers of the left predicted has come true. Last time I passed an A&F, a male model stood in the doorway wearing only a pair of jeans. Kind of gross. That said, it's been an interesting evolution of the brand. It will decline though.
ReplyDeleteps Didn't know that about "bien fait." A different kind of evolution.
Hmm, I'm definitely not moving in the right circles - I've got no idea who Abercrombie and Fitch may be, although they sound rather Scotish, and coming from Edinburgh originally I can tell a Scotish name when I hear one. They also sound terribly tweedy - landed gentry types. I'm probably wrong.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are some strange places at the bottom of the Champs Elysées just before the Grand Palais - I've always wondered about them.
I remember this gate very well, Eric! I took a photo of my friend in front of it, and when we got home and looked at the photo we realized that she had gone all day in the fashion capital of the world with her coat buttons done up wrong! She was mortified.
ReplyDeleteThe one and only reason I don't shop at A&F is due to the excessively loud music played in the store. I can't even think in there (my old age is showing). Apart from that, I love their giant photos of the male models. They are a bit, I dare say, scrumptious.
I go to the Champs Elysées; although, not for shopping - never. My daughter insisted on lunch at a restaurant there for Mother's Day. She was trying to spoil me. Come to think of it, that is the only reason I go there -- to party at a famous restaurant. Really expensive!
ReplyDeleteWhy go anywhere but to party and eat?
ReplyDelete(Yeah, yeah, work, food, yadda yadda yadda...!)
It would be so sad to destroy something so beautiful for an Abercrombie & Fitch...
ReplyDeletelol.Thats funny you post this picture.I remember walking past this while I was in Paris.It was my first time with my mom.
ReplyDelete[it was a wedding gift from her to me] believe i was on cloud nine<3
anyway-I remember walking past this beautiful gate,and thinking I wonder what it was or is? I wanted to see as much as Paris as I could in a week.I definitly remb.walking past this and thinking it's gorgeous.It be hard for me to imagine an A&F there.Since they're so populare here in the USA.Where I live ALL the 'young adults'wear it.I like their clothing,but i'm not obsessed with it.I just can't picture it being on like someone said on here on one of the most the beautiful street in the world.
only time can tell.
it's been a 1 year since i visited.Not a day goes by where I wish I could see more of your beautiful city Eric:)
I've never seen a more beautiful gate! See Alexa's comment about the origins of Abercrombie & Fitch. My mother's family took a cross-country "auto tour" from NY to CA in 1924, something not many Americans had done yet. They camped every night for about two months. Prior to leaving my grandmother went to A&F in NYC and bought all their camping gear. What survived, and now belongs to me, is the aluminum nestling cooking ware and the full set of eating utensils in their own canvas wrapping cover. Of course, they show the A&F stamp and I just wonder what this set is truly worth now that A&F is so hot!
ReplyDeleteI was in Paris last year and it was to my surprise that women's jeans made overseas are cut a lot better than those made in the U.S. I dont know if it is because European has different sizing patterns or anything like that that but I found it to be true about every brand I tried. If this company wants to open up overseas they better adapt to keep up with the market.
ReplyDeleteHey there : )
ReplyDeleteBuying things on-line or in-store? which would you prefer? truly wondering lol.. i love in-store because i don't really like expecting it to arrive!
Thanks
Mia