From today to monday, get 30% off on every item which wasn’t already on sale from 80’s Purple! Be sure you will make a good deal because there is a huge choice! (yes, huge, again!)

You just need to enter the code “fireworks” in first screen from shopping cart! See your last selections from 80’s Purple

The first l’Eclaireur boutique opened in 1980 in the 28m² basement of the Galerie Marchande at number 84 on the Champs-Elysées. Upon its launch, Martine and Armand Hadida, showed a taste for discovery and decoration. They showcased young designers and, in particular, introduced Marithé and François Girbaud to their clients. They sold the first Timberlands (favoured by Canadian trappers), along with Hogans and Tod’s (Italian driving shoes).

1990 is an important step in their story: they open a second store, which was much larger (300m²), at the Rue des Rosiers (at the heart of the Marais which had barely become fashionable at the time). It was the first time a store married fashion, furniture, decoration and design. It was a great success. L’Eclaireur became an Internationally-known name, and a real stepping stone for stylists and designers.

In 2000, they opened another boutique right on its doorstep, totally dedicated to men. This was followed a year later by the opening of a 4^th store at 10 rue Hérold (Paris 1st district), and a 5^th in 2006 at 10 Rue Boissy d’Anglas (8^th district), for women’s fashion, decoration and a bar restaurant.

L’Eclaireur offers a range of designers such as Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garçons, Giorgio Brato, Martin Margiela, Dries van Noten, CP Company/Stone Island etc… You can find incredible pieces there such as Laura B. silver, copper and crocodile belts, or Tobias Wistingen crocodile-skin wallet chains. In the range of waxed jeans, you can find the Kohzo brand, that will not be part of our selection, because of the exceptional price.

As you may have realised, L’Eclaireur is an exclusive, top-of-the-range store, which won’t suit all budgets, but it’s definitely worth going to have a look, a treat for your senses and your sense of adventure. And who knows, you may just go there and splash out!

The opening of the April 77 did happen, as ue%7C”>we said it would, and I decided to go and have a look. It’s at 49 rue de Saintonge, at the top of the Rue de Turenne, on the corner of a fairly quiet crossroads (Nearest métro station: filles du calvaires)

From the outside: The slim angle of the seven-storey red-brick building draws the eye, as do the white and green marble slabs above the windows.

Inside: Steven Thomas’s design works really well.

A few neon lights, furniture with beautful curves, a few old magazines, some vintage vinyl, a turntable…You wind your way through the world of April 77 like through a museum. Or maybe, you might say, like through a dressing room! This is perhaps because of the confined feel to the place, the shelves and the open wardrobes.

However, the design, impressive as it may be, is not all. This summer’s collection gives a real feeling of depth. On one hand, the influence of rock from, say, the 50s to the 80s is more noticeable than ever. It’s far from basic polo shirts with plectrum pockets on the chest and skinny jeans, which are undeniably popular, but are not really different from other brands. On the other hand the materials and details have been worked on, and some of it is really beautiful.

• Great looking, light, very soft, black-and-off-white cardigans with gold edging.
• Short-sleeved shirts and polo shirts with breast plates and/or black-and-white tuxedo shirts with unusual buttons.
• Some blazers, a silver Perfecto motorcycle jacket, and some very straight-cut trousers, that you might call well-cut, according to taste.
• Very retro “Supra” sunglasses in all colours.

All this work and investment comes at a price and the beautiful styles are as expensive as they are numerous, unfortunately. Even so, not all April 77 garb is to be praised, and you’d probably have trouble decking yourself out from head to toe in the store. All the assistants are very friendly except, perhaps, the store’s manager. Dont’ forget April 77 is also available from Printemps de l’Homme and Noir Kennedy. Even so, I recommend you go and visit their store. All the items are there (will be) and the ambiance makes the trip worthwhile!

The latest news from the brand is that a new online store, April 77 Market, will open soon. Along with a music label: April 77 Records! (see our Fashion Guide in Paris)

Le 66 is a 1200m² multi-concession store, split over 4 floors, that opened last September at 66 avenue des Champs Elysées.

The first section is a sort of display area presenting the 66 best products du jour. The second section is devoted to trainers and accessories. Puma is showing the whole of their Sport Fashion shoes range: Alexander McQueen PUMA, 96 Hours, PUMA by Mihara Yasuhiro and Rudolf Dassler Shuhfabrik. You can also find brands like Obey, Spy Optics and Urban Mobility.

Further on, you find the 3^rd main space, split over 2 levels. For us men, it’s straight down! There’s no fancy decor: the floor is grey, the walls are black, and a 15-metre-high white wave promotes a selection of the latest clothes. A carefully-chosen selection is on the menu, with brands like El Ganso, Junk de Luxe, Hannes Roether, Moritz Rogosky, The Generic Man, Thomas Burberry, WeSC, Won Hundred, You Must Create etc. And a Kiliwatch corner.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to visit this new store, I invite you to discover Le 66, it’s a nice setting and you will doubtless discover some new things. An address which puts a little something back into Champs Elysées shopping.

Note: This article is the first in a series of articles about a range of stores, which will also fill out our Paris Shopping Guide that you may already know. And, of course, we’re planning on travelling outside of Paris ;-))

Citadium is a high street Fashion retailer providing womens and mens sneakers, clothes and accessories. It is a hotspot for street & sport culture.

Aimecube is a Fashion retailer providing womens and mens street wear fashion sneakers, clothes and accessories. You can find brands such as Kid robot, DC, Adeline Affre jewls, Julie Cochard, Pointer, Fred Perry, Reebo, CTRL, Official, Insight, Bérangère Claire, Obey, Mishka, Soulland.

Summer sales start on Wednesday 27 June 2007 in and around Paris for 6 weeks. And the same goes for Lyon ! The specific dates for each département (the French counties) are displayed on the DGCCRF site. To get yourself ready, the francophones among you should read our articles on making the most of the sales. The rest of you, keep reading…

This season, I will focus on the need to know your size. Because it’s doubtless one of the most important points. It’s not important which brands you wear, more that an item of clothing suits you! You wouldn’t buy a pair of shoes that don’t fit (and you find out very quickly when you try them on), though it’s much more common for people to buy the wrong size of jeans, shirt or suit. And all the more so when you make your choices in a hurry. So if you want to make sure you don’t get it wrong (again), take notes!

Your perfect size for jeans is a 31. For a shirt, 16. And your suit is a 44. You’ll save time (not trying on 3 pairs of jeans before finding the right ones), but also you’ll avoid buying the wrong size and realising that the jeans that you liked the colour and cut of so much don’t suit you at all! Or they might look ok, from the front, but from behind it looks as if your pants are made of newspaper (to put it politely).

So, to save you adding another shelf to your pile of “prematurely-abandoned clothes at the back of the cupboard”, write the following down as a reminder:

Underwear size M
Jeans size 31
T-shirt size L
Shirt size 16
Jumper size L
Suit size 44

Apart from these preparatory measures, the best thing to do is to take someone else along for a second opinion. A friend, not a shop assistant ;-) Someone capable of telling if the size is right for you, but also the style and the colours…