Christmas windows

You know I try to avoid showing faces on PDP and especially the ones of children. But in this photo I don't think any of the kids are recognizable, and the one leaning on the windows looks so fascinated that I don't resist posting it! I took it at Le Printemps, where, like every year, they have beautiful Christmas windows that children love (I remember how much I used to love this when I was a kid!) . I thought this was a cool way of starting the week.

The return of the sales...

It's the soldes again (the sales) and everywhere in Paris you can find signs like this in store windows (I took this photo in the Agnès b store). This year you can make really good bargains as stores still have a lot of summer inventory: 1) because the weather has been terrible these past months and  2) because the economy is pretty bad at the moment and  the French prefer to save than to spend money ! 

Sales time...

I must not stay up too late tonight for tomorrow is the first day of Les soldes (the sales) and stores will open earlier than usual! The sales are highly government regulated in France and they can only take place during certain periods (Winter, Summer and 2 other floating periods). It is compulsory to clear off what in the store (it is prohibited to  replenish your inventory less than 30 days before the start of the sales) and the old and new prices must be clearly displayed on each tag. It's also the only periods where selling at a loss is allowed.

Fancy sales

It's the winter sales again and like every year there are many interesting windows to photograph. I found this one at Conforama (a department store dedicated to house equipment), on the river banks, near the Pont neuf and quite liked it. Of course, this year, due to our economical problems, I doubt the sales will be very successful, but it won't prevent me from photographing them - at least this is free!

All aboard for 2012!

Yes, another year has gone by... and a new one is just around the corner! Even though Europe is in the middle of a crisis there is still hope, and I thought this cute little scene (taken of a window at Les Galeries Lafayette) was ideal to send a rather festive and "moving forward" message! For me it'll be an important year: firstly, because there are going to be many developments with polltogo, and secondly, because I will celebrate the 7th anniversary of PDP in March! More than ever, I wish you a very, very happy new year, wherever you may be in the world.

Almost time...

We have an expression in French that goes "se mettre sur son 31", which means to dress up for a special occasion. Nobody knows its origins, but some people believe it's linked to December 31, the day people usually dress up well to celebrate the end of the year... I don't buy this version, but this window made me think of it and I  thought it was appropriate for new year's eve eve! Hold your breath everyone... only one day left!

Don't call her Mademoiselle...

Is it a sign that we are more under the influence of the US, or that we have reached a certain level of maturity when it comes to women's rights, it's hard to tell. The fact is, that French female activists are now demanding that the term Mademoiselle be removed from official papers and forms. They claim that there is no male equivalent (we had Damoiseau in the middle ages, though ;-) and that there is no reason to make the distinction between single and married women. They have a point, don't they? To illustrate this news, I took this photo in the windows of Le BHV especially made for Steiner.

Inanimate objects...

I took this photo through the window of a mannequin store in the rue Réaumur and it made me think right away of a famous quote by French Poet Alphonse de Lamartine: "Inanimate objects do you have a soul?" For none of the "people" in this scene - even the guy in the black suit! - are real.

Holy cow!

The Swedish Cultural Center was not my only find at rue Elzévir... I also noticed the workshop of Judith Devaux, an artist who specializes in animal sculptures. Her work (made of bronze, mostly) can (or could, as I think it's over now) be seen in the Mouvance art gallery at Place des Vosges, but I love the way her mock-ups appear though the frosted glass of her workshop. From the number of art pieces on display I guess we can say she's been as busy as a beaver lately ;-) Do check her website for more.

Off to Brighton!

I was on my way to the Beaubourg area this afternoon to buy some paint and, on the way, at rue de Turbigo, I saw this shop which looked funny. First because it's called Brighton (after the name of a famous British seaside resort), and second because all the mannequins are naked (probably because of the sales). That's all, nothing extraordinary, I agree, but that is all I have been able to dig out for you today in Paris ;-)

Cute!

I went to the prestigious rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré today, where they have all these luxury stores hoping to find the last minute gifts I'm desperately seeking for. I did not find anything - way out of my budget! - but I found this cute little dog in the shop window of Lanvin. I did not have my proper camera with me so the quality of the photo is not too good (a little grainy), but good enough for you to have the spirit of the scene ;-)

The end of the Summer Sales

Today is a bad day for shoppers... Not only is tomorrow (August 3rd) the last day of Les Soldes (Sales) in Paris, but on top of that a lot of shops will close for the month... Parisians usually go away in August for their summer holidays and shopkeepers do too... Don't worry, though, if you're a tourist and plan to come during August, the big retail stores and department stores are open of course. I found this cute little Sales announcement in a shop called Desigual at rue du 4 septembre, near the Opera.

Under Siege...

Scary? Yes, a little bit... Did I photograph this in a mask shop? In a Halloween costume store? Nope... This face, ladies and gentlemen is... a seat! Yes a seat! It's called Nemo, it's made by an Italian designer called Fabio Novembre and it is really cool! I found it in a store near the Arc de triomphe (21 avenue de Friedland) called Etat de siège ("siège" means "seat") and Etat de siège also means "under siege"! Really cool anyway. BTW, check this little video, you'll see Nemo better... Oh, BTW, it costs 1 000 €, which is not that bad I think.

Cabinet of Wonders

Last night, like every night, I passed by Le Cabinet des Curieux, a Cabinet of curiosities (or Cabinet of wonders) located at 12 Passage Verdeaux. These cabinets started in the sixteenth century and were used to display collections of objects according to a theme (natural history, scientific instruments, exotic plants and animals...). Nowadays the same spirit remains, only the object have changed  and the collections can be a little more dary! Hence, this current exhibition called fantasy for which they put two live models in the window! Huge success...

Alice in wonderprintemps...

It's been a while since I've shown you the windows of Le Printemps... I passed by this department store Saturday and saw that they dedicated their windows to Alice (Alice in Wonderland of course). All this in association with Disney who produced this new version of Alice made by Tim Burton ( I can't wait!). A lot of designers and clothes manufacturers participated in the event and the windows are really cool. Check the other ones directly on the Printemps' site and the movie trailer in French.

Marchand de couleurs

In French we call Hardware dealers (ironmongers) Marchand de couleurs (color dealers). It does not really mean anything, but we know that in this particular case color does not really mean color but nails, washers and screws... Today though, I passed by a store called Marchand de couleur, that really deals colors! It's located at rue du Maine, near Montparnasse and what they have in their window is obviously really colorful. I could not help but stopping and taking a photo. Too bad they don't seem to have a website.

Vitrine de noël

I did not show you any Vitrine de noël (Christmas window display) this year, so before they remove them, here is one. I took it outside Le Printemps where they have little stands for kids to climb on, so that they can see better. It's always so cute to see how fascinated the children are, up to a point that they never want to leave. It's a shame we become easily blasé when aging and that displays for adults (I mean television(!)) have to be much more eye catching than this! By the way, if you want to follow the New Year's eve events live from where you are, here is an interesting link.

Le hasard fait bien les choses...

Today was my first day of vacation and as I was meandering in the streets of my favorite city I came across a used book bookshop. These two titles made me laugh: One says "Les vacances (vacation) [probably "of something or someone] and the other one "Le jeu de la tentation (the game of temptation). That's all. You know, just a simple scene for a simple mind ;-). BTW: before you ask, if you haven't seen it "advertised" on Facebook(!) FYI, I stay 2 weeks in Paris before going away to the Lubéron, in the South of France.

When messy rhymes with pretty!

Some may find this window messy, I find it pretty artsy! I passed by this shop in rue Michel Le Comte in le Marais a few days ago and never used the photo. And since today I did not have the time to take a "photo du jour", well, I thought I could use this one. I haven't been able to find out what this store's name was. BTW, you're not going to believe it but we have another 3 day weekend coming up, so I'll have time to take more photos ;-)

Summer!

Enough food on this blog! The weather has been pretty bad in Paris lately (hence the PDP picnic that I had to throw indoor) but this time meteorologists are positive: the sun is on its way! To celebrate I photographed a typical summer scene ;). You think I took this photo from above right? Not at all. It's actually a window display at Le BHV, the big department store near the town hall (you can see a little reflexionof the sky in the upper right corner). The whole set is vertical. Pretty cool I must say.