Thursday, April 16, 2009

Paris Sales Shopping


Scandal! Remember? I told you the rules regarding sales (soldes) were extremely strict in France (only twice a year, from a fixed date to another, etc.). Now, the government has decided that there would be two more approved weeks for sales, at the convenience of shop owners, and a lot of them have chosen to use their additional 2 weeks now. Of course, like most attempts to change things in France, this new measure is widely criticized, especially by the French Garment Association. About the photo, needless to say that this shop is way past the soldes (by) date, as it is closed for good. Precisely why I like it!

36 comments:

  1. Very funny Eric...your joke should have a long shelf life on this excellent photo capture. As for extra sales, it's ok by me! Why would people complain about that?

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  2. I bet I know a few of your fans who will be happy to hear that shoes will be cheaper...(Rose and Monica for example!)

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  3. First & second & third Michael!
    Sales are ALWAYS a good thing. Here we seem to be having one long sale.

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  4. "...this new measure is widely criticized, especially by the French Garment Association"

    Hmmmm... I get the feeling a strike is coming soon! ;)

    I know we've been through this before, but why does the government has to tell shops how many sales they can have?

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  5. I can see why Macy's will never open a store in Paris.

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  6. Hey GF Michael! I like the look of this mysterious building a lot. The sales thing is curious too - in the UK people can have sales whenever they want - and they do. Why does the Government control it? What have you picked up in the sales, Eric?

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  7. So what is this building used for now, I wonder?

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  8. Definitely past its sell-by date.

    OK. Checking out Google Maps I could see that those red-and-blue-with-white-lettering escutcheon-looking things on the right are AGF logos seen at an extreme angle. But it seems like there should be a large green door over on the left just past that swishy angled corner to the left of the grey door. Photo Shop? Probably for the best, artistically. This photo certainly is evocative of another time.

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  9. Isn't the Musee Picasso on this street? And isn't this photo reminiscent of a Cubist painting?

    TG -- now you're just scaring me.

    Yo, Michael -- woo-hoo, GF, GF, GF (even if you didn't mean to be).

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  10. Oh, and I agree with Tomate and Lynn—maybe the government should mind its own business (so to speak) and quit butting into everyone else's. Are you going to take advantage of the extra soldes, Eric?

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  11. I love the texture and colour of this building and also the font.

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  12. You're right Coltrane, I coudn't figure out exactly why I liked the subject in this photo, but the font is what makes it for me. Times New Roman? I actually had a dream last night that I bought a typewriter (young people will have to look that up in Wikipedia), and began to write all of my letters (now email) with it. I think it ended when I got frustrated not to have spell-check.

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  13. Michael -- wow! I'm having a thing with Helvetica myself. I had a dream last night that Barack Obama and I went to a poetry reading in some random community center in Washington. Great dream, in that a) he was really into poetry and b) apparently, we're bff!

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  14. Les Soldes

    Talons hauts and a cubist painting or two would be on my shopping list.

    Cubist painting?

    In the simplest form this image could qualify for the beginning of a cubist painting.

    Since color supposedly interfered in purely intellectual perception of the form, the Cubist palette was restricted to a narrow, almost monochromatic scale, dominated by grays and browns.

    Forgive me, I am an artist a painter. I must always give my opinion or speak my thoughts out loud, when it comes to art. ~ Zoé

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  15. I, too, love the half-worn font and the colours.

    Michael, congrats GF! I guess your crown is in serif rather than sans serif?

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  16. LOL Michael - the young things looking up typewriter he he. Quite. How depressing. I'm trying to sell my Silver Reed actually - it's taking up space. Anyone? ... no?....:( Spell check? I'll throw in a dictionary.

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  17. Politicians are good for becoming worse what is bad.

    Regards from Barcelona.

    Valery

    Barcelona Daily PhotoTrujillo Daily Photo

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  18. It is a bit sad, yet interesting. No one writes on buildings anymore, do they? Because things are too transient. It speaks of another era in a very nostalgic way. Nice photo :-)

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  19. Interesting photo. Love it!

    Don't be sorry, Zoé. Artists are the best kind to my eyes.

    J'hésite : shopping ou musée ? Je pense plutôt shopping... I have to get ready to seduce my lover ;) First, talons hauts, wow! :)

    Julie

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  20. What made the owners of this business close it down so suddenly and disappear?
    Why has the rent been paid anonymously for the last twenty years?
    Who is the elegant woman who goes through this door on the 3rd day of each month, stays for exactly one hour then leaves locking the door silently behind her?
    Where is the man who took this photograph and why are some very unpleasant people looking for him?
    - These are questions that need answers....

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  21. This is precisely why I like the French so much; they're not afraid to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. That's why the government gave out the two weeks at the shop owner's convenience. The people rule France--not the government. ;)
    Perhaps if America was as bold, most of Wall Street would be in jail by now.

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  22. i'll take the sales, as long as they don't start with the whole coupon thing.

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  23. Lynn, I thought they were just ordinary mushrooms. When I finish my mystery novel 'Behind the Grey Door', I'll send you a copy but need to find some more mushrooms first.
    Eric, can I use your photo for the cover?

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  24. Great photo.

    Eric, some unpleasant people are looking for you, according to Drummond.

    Yes, le Musée Picasso is just down the street at 5.

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  25. Drummond excellent!
    I was wondering whether your colleagues were sharing your work or not??

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  26. "This photo certainly is evocative of another time."

    Indeed!

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  27. lol Drummond I look forward to it. I'll leave off the Magic though ;)

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  28. LOOOOOL Drummond - and Lynn. I must say that with or without mushrooms this photo is a real invite to making up stories...

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  29. Anonyme- no, unfortunately, I can't blame anyone else for this nonsense. I'm off to bed now to dream about that elegant woman.

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  30. 'Behind the Grey Door'

    Who is the elegant woman who goes through this door on the 3rd day of each month, stays for exactly one hour? She is not french...

    An hour is barely enough time for a tête-à-tête and sip of wine. Or maybe just enough time to slip off your talons hauts. Lol

    Where is the man who took this photograph and why are some very unpleasant people looking for him?

    Maybe we should not be asking these questions, since the elegant woman's husband is très jaloux...

    Bises, Zoé

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  31. That is interesting--totally a foreign concept as sales here in the States are ongoing--even ad nauseum at times. Almost every store has a different sale every week!

    Nice calm photo, Eric!

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  32. The green one is worth more than one hour! I guess! Development always means time.
    zzz

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