| There may be no way you can get to see the haute couture shows, but there's nothing to prevent you trying on fabulously expensive creations in rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré, avenue François-1er and avenue Montaigne – apart from the intimidating air of the assistants and the awesome chill of the marble portals. Likewise, you can treat the younger designers on the eastern stretch of rue du Faubourg-St-Honoré, around the Bastille and Marais, and the designer-led chains in the area south of place St-Germain, as stops on your sightseeing itinerary. For smart clothes without the fancy labels the best areas are rue St-Placide and rue St-Dominique in the 6e and 7e. The department stores Galeries Lafayette and Printemps have good selections of designer prêt-à-porter; and the Forum des Halles and surrounding streets are chock-a-block with high-street fashion. The sales take place in January and July, with reductions of up to forty percent on designer clothes. Ends of lines and old stock of the couturiers are sold year round in discount shops concentrated in rue d'Alésia in the 14e and rue St-Placide in the 6e. For shoes, take a wander down rue du Cherche-Midi in the 6e, rue de Grenelle in the 7e and rue Meslay in the 3e. For jewellery – gems and plastic – try rue du Temple and adjoining rue de Montmorency.
Pages in section ‘Clothes’: Haute couture, Discount, Secondhand and rétro, Trendy, Shoes, Accessories and jewellery, Department stores and hypermarkets, Designer fashion.
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