Whilst I sit in my (currently very soggy) field in my small corner of France, wondering whether Summer will ever
arrive, I find myself daydreaming of hot footing it to Paris for a day's shopping, sipping coffee at the
Cafe de Flore, in the sunshine obvs, but then WHAM - I come back down to earth with a bump realizing that a) it's just not feasible on a school day, b) on the weekend I'd have 3 grumpy boy shoppers in tow, so c) I need to adopt a rather different approach.
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| Photo: www.huffingtonpost.com |
Which is why I am so happy that after years of patient waiting,
Merci - my favourite shop in Paris, has finally gone online - hooray! English Gent is blissfully unaware of this major development in my life and I'm going to have to be very strict about my 'browsing' vs my 'buying' but it's an excellent reason to take you on a virtual tour of this beautiful concept store. Allons-y.
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
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| Photo: www.hausofmoo.com |
Situated in what is now called the Haut-Marais, and just slightly off the beaten track, Merci was started in 2009 by Bernard and Marie-France Cohen, founders of the oh so Parisian children's clothing label
Bonpoint. They saw an opportunity in Paris for a store combining high-end fashion with interior décor, beauty, art, design and homeware, championing new designers, hosting art installations, alongside a bookshop, a garden, a florist, two buzzing cafés and a restaurant - in short somewhere you could happily while away several hours browsing, shopping, or just hanging out - a venue that would swiftly become
the hip place to see and be seen, in a nonchalant boho Parisian kind of a way. Think Anthropologie, but well, just more French....
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| Second Hand Bookshop Cafe |
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| The Merci Canteen |
But on top of all this the Cohens have played a masterstroke - they have managed to make the Merci shopping experience even more satisfying for their customers by combining consumerism with philanthropy: after operating costs, all profits from the store go to benefit women and children in south-west Madagascar, with a particular emphasis on education and learning new skills, so you can know that the money you are spending is going straight to help others. Shopping with a conscience doesn't get much better than this.
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| Photo: www.huffingtonpost.com |
The ground floor décor changes regularly
depending on which designer, artist or cause the store is showcasing and
the cute red Fiat 500 - a permanent fixture in the courtyard and the store's mascot - is frequently re-vamped and is
currently covered in
Aurelie Mathigot's flax crochet work, as part of her art installation: "L'Art du Lin, l'intemporel".
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| Merci courtyard - Aurelie Mathigot "L'Art du Lin, l'intemporel" |
Brands such as Isabel Marant, Paul Smith, Stella McCartney and YSL have donated exclusive pieces to the store, and along with
merci-merci's
own brand - a range of sophisticated basics - you can get a full dose
of that elusive Parisian chic, for a considerably reduced price.
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
The menswear section in-store is very cool with an old fashioned
tailor's shop vibe - Savile Row meets Serge Gainsbourg - even English
Gent was impressed (yes, I managed to get the world's greatest
anti-shopper inside - but he was indulging me as it was my
birthday....)
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
He got happily lost in the homewares department - phew....
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| Photo: www.huffingtonpost.com |
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
The 18th century building with its airy, loft like feel, mixes the vintage with the contemporary in an artful, laid back way. Part industrial space, part Parisian townhouse - there are sweeping staircases, cozy nooks, chandeliers, books, and wherever you look things to pick up, feel, touch, smell and discover.
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| Photo: www.hausofmoo.com |
A really charming idea is the
Annick Goutal 'laboratoire' where you can mix your own fragrance for a remarkably reasonable price given the usual cost of a bespoke fragrance, and her mainline perfumes. For obvious reasons this service is not available online but if you get the chance to visit it's a whole lot of fun.
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| Photo: www. merci-merci.com |
I'm loving these Liberty print suitcases, which are available
here, and the masking tape is so pretty.The Fiat 500 had a Liberty makeover too....
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| Photo:www.avecsfr.blogspot.fr |
A recent collaboration between two classic French brands, Aigle x Kitsuné produced this "festival kit" of a poncho and classic Aigle wellington boots - boy do I need them here in my field - now!
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
And when did cleaning utensils ever look more chic?
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
My purchases last time I visited were a beautiful coral linen scarf, some recycled rubber bangles made by a women's co-operative in Mali, and lots of lovely
notebooks for me and stationery for the boys.
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
I like the fact that you can buy little things for a few euros, as well as bigger items and they are happy to ship internationally.
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| Photo: www.merci-merci.com |
Whilst shopping online is never going to be as exciting as visiting the actual shop, I hope this has given you a taster of the style aesthetic and raison d'être of this fabulous non-profit establishment. You can read more about Merci's endowment fund and the charity's progress
here. There are so many lovely things to choose from, I hope you'll find something you like when browsing, and when you're next in Paris, be sure to put it on your list of places to visit. Either way, it's a win win scenario - actively helping others simply by treating ourselves - what's not to love?
I'm off for a spot of shopping - merci!
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