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	<title>Paris boutiques &#8211; France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</title>
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		<title>Made in France: Socks, the Gift That Saved Paris</title>
		<link>https://francerevisited.com/2025/12/made-in-france-socks-the-gift-that-saved-paris/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gary Lee Kraut]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2025 22:42:57 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Boutiques, Shopping & Fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Made in France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris & Surroundings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boutiques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris boutiques]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Nothing says “Strolled through Paris” like tri-color socks (blue, white, red), a discreet French logo above the ankle, and much more that you’ll find in the 10 Made-in-France brands that I’ve selected here.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2025/12/made-in-france-socks-the-gift-that-saved-paris/">Made in France: Socks, the Gift That Saved Paris</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The 13-year-old was having a meltdown as she, her mother and I entered the Marais. For three days now, while I’d been leading them on a highlights and lifestyle tour of Paris, the girl had been looking for souvenirs for her friends back home, but nothing was right. Clothes were too expensive; her friends would never wear a beret; Le Chat wasn’t French but Belgian (maybe I shouldn’t have told her that); the Je Heart Paris t-shirts were too “obvious” (her word: “That’s too obvious, Mom!”).</p>
<p>Not that “obvious” had stopped her from buying a dozen Eiffel Tower keyrings from a Senegalese tchotchke seller at Trocadero. At least she then had something for everyone on the field hockey team. But she still needed gifts for her three best friends. Larger Eiffel Towers? That was my immediate suggestion. Her response was beyond “obvious.” She lifted her eyes, heavy as bowling balls, and rolled them my way to convey the message “How could you possibly understand my life?”</p>
<p>I understood her life well enough to know that well-timed pastry stops would keep the souvenir conundrum at bay for a time. It had been easy enough on day one to say that she’d surely find something in the next neighborhood we’d visit but first she just had to try a spectacular chocolate éclair. But the Latin Quarter, the Saint Germain Quarter, Montmartre, the gift shop at the Louvre, Rue Saint-Honoré, and the Champs-Elysées had all come and gone, and the sweet distraction of pastries, crepes, chocolates and macaroons now barely lasted beyond the final bite.</p>
<p>Here we were on day three, their last day in Paris, and the need to find the perfect Paris memento for her friends had reached fever pitch. She would never go <em>anywhere</em> with her mother again. If her mother had any friends of her <em>own</em>, she’d understand. Her mother, Paris, the entire world had all conspired to make her miserable. She spared me in her diatribe other than to sigh loudly every time I spoke.</p>
<figure id="attachment_16564" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16564" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Berthe-aux-Grands-Pieds-cafe-stockings.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16564 size-full" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Berthe-aux-Grands-Pieds-cafe-stockings.jpg" alt="Berthe aux Grands Pieds stockings" width="400" height="602" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16564" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Berthe aux Grands Pieds stockings. (c) BAGP</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>The woman was doing everything in her power to stay calm, mixing reprimand with sighs of her own with ignoring the girl, and confiding in me that her daughter had had a “monthly visitor” the other day. A few times that morning we’d stepped into boutiques so that the mother could soothe herself by caressing the sleeves of high fashion, only to be pulled from her fantasy by the sound of her daughter declaring, “That’s ugly.”</p>
<p>Finally, I said aloud what I’d been thinking all along. Actually, I’d already said it on day one, when neither mother nor daughter was ready to hear me then. When I’d said it again on day two, during our visit to Galeries Lafayette, the mother had paid attention and said, “Listen to Gary, he knows.” To that, the girl spat back, “He doesn’t know my friends.”</p>
<p>I was now about to give it one final try. I’d been biding my time for the past 30 minutes of misery until we were just several steps from the shop I had in mind. I consider good timing one of my best qualities as a guide and I was prepared put that to a test. We turned onto Rue Vieille du Temple. I stopped in front of the Labonal shop, positioning myself so that she would see the shop window. I steeled myself against an eventual rebuff. And I said it again, in a gentle, inquiring tone: “How about socks? French socks.”</p>
<p>“Everyone has socks,” she said. There were tears in her eyes.</p>
<p>“But not everyone has French socks,” I said. “I bet your friends don’t, and they’d love them. See all those chic women and girls walking around?” Good timing again, three cheerful young women were strolling past us on the sidewalk. “They’re all wearing French socks and tights.”</p>
<p>I pointed at a colorful pair in the window. “Look at those. They have a little French logo on them. You and your friends will be the only girls at school with French socks. It&#8217;ll be like your own private club.”</p>
<p>She actually looked. She wiped her tears. She raised her chin to a sock on display and said, “That one’s cute.”</p>
<p>We went in. We came out, bearing gifts, happy. I knew the perfect place nearby for ice cream.</p>
<h2>10 French Sock Brands</h2>
<p>Nothing says “I strolled through Paris” like tri-color socks (blue, white, red) or a discreet French logo above the ankle or on the toe, or much more that you’ll find in the ten Made-in-France brands that I’ve selected here.</p>
<p>While so much textile manufacturing has moved overseas in the past 40 years, France continues to produce a surprising amount fun, funky, chic, sports and workaday socks and hosiery.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve selected a mix of well-known, lesser-known and little-known sock and hosiery brands that will add a hop to your step, or a loved one&#8217;s, when you get back home. Some of these brands also extend to underwear and other knitwear. Several have their own shops in Paris and elsewhere. Those and the more widely distributed brands can also be found in department stores and sock shops. Still others are largely only available through the brand’s website. Orders from overseas are likely to be cost-prohibitive, so order them to be delivered to you in Paris. In all cases, be sure to look for Made in France or Fabriqué en France on the label.</p>
<p>You’ll find your French socks and underpants vocabulary at the end of this list.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.labonal.fr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Labonal</a></h4>
<p>The brand of the shop of my happy tale above makes good quality socks for men, women and children with a mix of lively designs and solid colors and a variety of fabrics. Labonal Pulse is their brand of sports socks while La Frenchie by Labonal is a lower quality range.</p>
<figure id="attachment_16570" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16570" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Labonal-window-Marais-3.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16570" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Labonal-window-Marais-3.jpg" alt="Chaussettes Labonal socks made in France, boutique Marais" width="400" height="455" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16570" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Looking in the shop window of Labonal in the Marais.</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>They have a number of branded boutiques and reseller displays throughout France. In Paris, the Labonal shop in the Marais is located at 11 rue Vieille du Temple. That shop also sells Garçon Francais briefs, described below, along with other French-made knitwear. Labonal is one of a handful of shops selling made-in-France products in the area. On the nearby street Rue du Bourg-Tibourg, <a href="https://www.lappartementfrancais.fr/en/pages/lappartement-francais-boutiques-de-made-in-france-a-paris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">L’Appartement Français</a> sells sock brands <a href="https://www.broussaud.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Broussaud</a>, <a href="https://www.bonpied.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bonpied</a> (1 pair purchase = 1 pair given to the homeless) and <a href="https://royalties-paris.com/collections/chaussettes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royalties</a>, along with other French textiles and footwear. Labonal, based in Alsace, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024. Their factory, which can be visited, is just off the picturesque Alsace Wine Route in Dambach-la-Ville, midway between Strasbourg and Colmar.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.bleuforet.fr/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleuforêt</a></h4>
<p>Bleuforêt is a major brand of French-made socks and tights made by Tricotage des Vosges on the opposite side of the Vosges Mountains from Labonal.</p>
<figure id="attachment_16571" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16571" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Bleuforet-boutique-Marais-FR.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16571" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Bleuforet-boutique-Marais-FR.jpg" alt="Bleuforet boutique in the Marais. Chaussettes / Socks made in France" width="400" height="544" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16571" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Bleuforêt boutique in the Marais.</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Though not luxury products, the Bleuforêt range includes some excellent quality socks using pure and blended fabrics, including cashmere, silk and alpaca, known for comfort rather than fantasy, with many solid colors. The Vosges area of northeast France is historic home for the knitwear industry that began to dry up in the 1970s before this and other companies rekindled the knitwear flame in the 1990s. The company also produces some underwear. The brand is sold in many stores including their own. Among their Paris locations, there’s a tiny shop at 20 rue des Francs Bourgeois in the Marais, and another at 101 rue de Rennes in the Saint Germain Quarter.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.la-chaussette-de-france.fr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">La Chaussette de France (LCF)</a></h4>
<p>Troyes, the former hosiery capital of France, 95 miles southeast of Paris, once employed up to 25,000 people in the knitwear industry. The town’s <a href="https://musees-troyes.com/musees/musee-de-la-maille-mode-et-industrie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Musée de la Maille, Mode et Industrie</a> tells its rich hosiery history. Despite the decline of textile production throughout France, Troyes has managed to hold out with about 3,500 employed in the industry. (Troyes is also known for its factory outlets.) LCF is especially noteworthy for its sporting socks—running, hiking, skating, cycling and mountaineering, and most particularly skiing, with a variety of graphics and colors. LCF is the sock brand of the Manufacture Tismail group, which has been knitting in Troyes since 1961. Among other places, some LCF products can be found in Paris at <a href="https://boutiques.auvieuxcampeur.fr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Au Vieux Campeur</a>, a mountain and hiking specialist with shops concentrated in the Latin Quarter.</p>
<h4><a href="https://klak-shop.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KlaK </a></h4>
<figure id="attachment_16572" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16572" style="width: 1086px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/KlaK-message-socks-Made-in-France.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16572" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/KlaK-message-socks-Made-in-France.jpg" alt="KlaK message socks made in France" width="1086" height="360" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/KlaK-message-socks-Made-in-France.jpg 1086w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/KlaK-message-socks-Made-in-France-300x99.jpg 300w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/KlaK-message-socks-Made-in-France-1024x339.jpg 1024w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/KlaK-message-socks-Made-in-France-768x255.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1086px) 100vw, 1086px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16572" class="wp-caption-text"><em>KlaK message socks. Flowers not included with the Just Married pair. (c) KlaK</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>KlaK used to be call Sorry or Not Sorry, which derived that playful name from its message socks with half of the text above the heel to the left and the other half to the right. The messaging, mostly in English, continues under the catchier brand name KlaK. For example, Just + Married (perfect for the Paris honeymooner), Girl + Power, I ♥ + Apéro (for those who celebrate wine o’clock), Best + Friend, Need + Love, Sexy + Runner, Champagne + Please and Need + Coffee, among others. Founder Alice de Guyenro says that she launched her products in 2019 in her own image, as a shy gal daring to draw attention to herself, or at least her feet. Her products are most in black and white. The full range of KlaK socks can be read and purchased on her <a href="https://klak-shop.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">online shop</a>, which also indicates the locations of physical shops that carry KlaK.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.label-chaussette.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Label Chaussettes</a></h4>
<figure id="attachment_16573" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16573" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Label-Chaussettes-Vache-qui-rit-and-artistic-socks.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16573" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Label-Chaussettes-Vache-qui-rit-and-artistic-socks.jpg" alt="Label Chaussettes made in France socks. (c) Label Chaussettes" width="1200" height="428" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Label-Chaussettes-Vache-qui-rit-and-artistic-socks.jpg 1200w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Label-Chaussettes-Vache-qui-rit-and-artistic-socks-300x107.jpg 300w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Label-Chaussettes-Vache-qui-rit-and-artistic-socks-1024x365.jpg 1024w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Label-Chaussettes-Vache-qui-rit-and-artistic-socks-768x274.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16573" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Label Chaussettes Vache qui rit and artistic socks. (c) Label Chaussettes</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Xavier Sauzay and Guillaume Deniau date their interest in entering into the sock trade to a semester abroad in Asia, where they discovered the popularity of socks as fashion in Shanghai, Seoul and Taipei. Returning to France, they also noticed that the Made in France textile trend was then underway. At the age of 26, they launched Label Chaussettes in 2019. Their brand has two major elements: on the one foot, cheery and colorful socks designed by artists, and on the other, logo socks for which they partner with such brands as La Vache Qui Rit (Laughing Cow processed cheese), France Rugby, Asterisk, Monsieur Madame (Mr. Men), and the French Navy. Their socks are made in the Limousin region of France, specifically in the factories of <a href="https://www.broussaud.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Broussard Textiles</a>, a major player in Made-in-France socks. Broussard also produces for Slip Français and Klak, among others, including their own namesake brand.</p>
<h4><a href="https://garcon-francais.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Garçon Français</a></h4>
<p>Garçon Français means French boy, so this is a brand for the boy or man in your life, or, guys, for yourself.</p>
<figure id="attachment_16591" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16591" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Garcon-Francais_chaussettes-coq-tricolore.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-16591" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Garcon-Francais_chaussettes-coq-tricolore.jpg" alt="Chaussettes Garcon Francais socks made in France" width="300" height="451" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16591" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Garcon Français French rooster socks. (c) Garçon Français</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Socks represent a small portion of the brand, but here you can match your briefs for those special occasions when showing a bit of ankle is just the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Impress and attract Francophile friends in the locker room with Garçon Français written above your ankle, at the base of your foot and on your waist band. Founded by (Mr.) Vicky Caffet, the brand is headquartered in Troyes and knitted 20 miles northwest in Romilly-sur-Seine, a town whose sock manufacturing stretches back to the 19th century. As many on this list, a visitor will primarily find the socks through their direct internet shops, though French resellers, indicated on their website, can also be found throughout France. In Paris, Garçon Français briefs and socks are both available in the Marais at Les Dessous d&#8217;Apollon (Apollo&#8217;s Underwear), 8 rue de Moussy. The brand&#8217;s briefs (not socks) are currently sold in the Labonal shop noted above.</p>
<h4><a href="https://bertheauxgrandspieds.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berthe aux Grands Pieds</a></h4>
<p>If you’ve ever strolled in the Luxembourg Garden in Paris and admired the statues of Queens of France and Illustrious Women on the terrace above the central basin, you may have noticed among them a certain 8th-century Frankish Queen Berthe (Bertha or Bertada in English). She was the wife of Pepin the Short and mother of Charlemagne. More importantly for this brand, she is said to have had one foot larger than the other (or perhaps a clubfoot), earning her the nickname Berthe au Grand Pied (Bertha with the Big Foot or Bertha Broadfoot).</p>
<figure id="attachment_16575" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16575" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Berthe-aux-Grands-Pieds-God-Bless-Berthe-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16575" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Berthe-aux-Grands-Pieds-God-Bless-Berthe-1.jpg" alt="Berthe aux Grands Pieds God Bless Berthe socks made in France" width="400" height="504" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16575" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Berthe aux Grands Pieds God Bless Berthe socks. (c) BAGP.</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Someone was bound to use that for a brand of socks, and that someone is Régis Gautreau. His company makes playfully sexy and chic socks, tights and tabis. While primarily a women’s brand, Berthe aux Grands Pieds also has attractive collections for men and children. Here’s an idea for a single souvenir from a London-Paris trip: BAGP’s men’s or women’s “God Save Berthe” Union Jack/The French Queen socks. BAGP has its own shop in Nantes, a tiny boutique in Passage Pommeraye. Additionally, the BAGP website indicates the addresses of resellers in Paris and throughout France, including at shops operated by Manufacture Perrin. <a href="https://manufacture-perrin.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manufacture Perrin</a>, located in southern Burgundy, is the producer of BAGP socks. Founded in 1924, Perrin also knits for La Chaussette Française and Le Slip Français, among others. The factory can be visited.</p>
<h4><a href="https://missegle.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Missegle</a></h4>
<p>Rather than coming from the world of finance or fashion, as some of those noted above, Myriam Joly, this company’s founder, comes from a rural farming background. She raised a troop of angora goats for their mohair for a decade before turning to producing high-comfort textiles with natural fabrics—mohair, merino, yak hair, camel hair, organic cotton, silk, mercerized cotton—for socks (nearly half of sales), as well as sweaters, scarves, gloves and bonnets.</p>
<figure id="attachment_16577" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16577" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Missegle-Gaetan-and-Myriam-Joly-Made-in-France-socks.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-16577" src="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Missegle-Gaetan-and-Myriam-Joly-Made-in-France-socks.jpg" alt="Myriam Joly and her son Gaëtan of Missegle. Made in France socks and knitwear" width="400" height="355" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-16577" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Myriam Joly, founder of Missegle, and her son Gaëtan Billant, now director. (c) Missegle</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>Durability, sustainability and comfort are Missegle’s watchwords rather than high design. Myriam created the company in 1983, at the age of 26, and is still at it, though her son Gaëtan now oversees the operation. In 2007 she bought a knitwear workshop in Burlats, 50 miles east of Toulouse, deep in the rural department of Tarn. Missegle is one of only several workshops in France to loop-stitch by hand to create seamless socks for happy feet. Though not all of the natural fabrics come from the region (e.g. yak hair from Mongolia), Missegle production is firmly planted in the region, with the dyer and spinner workshops within 12 miles of the knitwear workshop. Other than a shop at the workshop site, Missegle products are only available online.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.leslipfrancais.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Le Slip Français</a></h4>
<p>“Slip” means briefs and “français” means French, so underpants in French flag colors are naturally the flagship products of Le Slip Français, a Paris-based brand founded in 2011 by Guillaume Guibault. While primarily an underwear brand, the company also produces sock. Le Slip Français products are widely distributed, with over 150 resellers throughout France. It has branded boutiques in Paris, Nantes and Toulouse. The Paris boutique is located in the Marais at 137 rue Vieille du Temple.</p>
<h4><a href="https://www.kindy.fr/recherche?controller=search&amp;s=drapeau+francais" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kindy</a></h4>
<p>Kindy is an old brand for rather basic cotton socks that has been in and out of bankruptcy over the past decade but continue to sell French-made socks with little French flags above the ankle. The company is headquartered in the village of Moliens, between Amiens and Rouen in northern France. While the French-flag socks are made in France, not all Kindy products are. Be sure to check the label.</p>
<h4>Your French socks and underpants vocabulary</h4>
<p>Socks = <em>chaussettes</em><br />
Ankle socks = <em>socquettes</em><br />
Tabi socks = <em>chaussettes tabi</em><br />
Knee socks = <em>chaussettes hautes</em><br />
Stockings = <em>bas, collant</em><br />
Tights = <em>collant</em><br />
Underwear = <em>Sous-vêtements</em> (for all); <em>lingerie</em> (for women)<br />
Briefs = slip (typically designating underwear for males)<br />
Panties = <em>culotte</em> (typically designating underwear for females)<br />
Boxer shorts = <em>caleçon</em><br />
Long johns = <em>caleçon long</em></p>
<p>© 2025, Gary Lee Kraut</p>
<p>As mother told daughter, “Listen to Gary, he knows.” Planning to travel with your beloved teen? <a href="https://garysparistours.com/tours/family-tours-curious-clans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">See here</a>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2025/12/made-in-france-socks-the-gift-that-saved-paris/">Made in France: Socks, the Gift That Saved Paris</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
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		<title>Contraception in France, where the Pill is Queen, and the Condom King</title>
		<link>https://francerevisited.com/2018/03/contraception-in-france-the-pill-is-queen-the-condom-king/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gary Lee Kraut]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Mar 2018 19:27:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Boutiques, Shopping & Fashion]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[sex and romance]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Books tell us how the idealized Parisienne dresses, what she eats, where she strolls, how she flirts and how she raises her children. But they fail to follow our perfect pouty-lipped Parisienne to her doctor’s office, where she discusses birth control and STDs, or to the boutique in the 11th arrondissement where she shops for condoms.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2018/03/contraception-in-france-the-pill-is-queen-the-condom-king/">Contraception in France, where the Pill is Queen, and the Condom King</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Every year brings a new crop of American and British books explaining how to connect with one’s inner <em>Parisienne</em>, that model of slender and sexy sophistication. By now we all know how she dresses, what she eats, where she strolls, how she flirts and how she raises her children. But the books fail to follow our perfect pouty-lipped <em>Parisienne</em> to her doctor’s office where she discusses birth control and STDs or to the boutique in the 11th arrondissement where she shops for condoms. Yet 83% of French women of childbearing age use contraception, which is far more than the percentage that stay thin by drinking wine, smoking slim cigarettes and judiciously selecting exquisite pastries.</p>
<p>No need for discretion. France recently marked the 50th anniversary of its law authorizing the sale and use of contraceptives. Adopted in December 1967, it is known as the Neuwirth Law, after Member of Parliament Lucien Neuwirth. Neuwirth had fought for nearly a decade beforehand for the right to contraceptive use, supporting and supported by the Family Planning Movement.</p>
<p>That movement was created in 1956 under the name La Maternité Heureuse (Happy Motherhood). In 1960 it was renamed <a href="https://www.planning-familial.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mouvement Français pour Le Planning Familial</a> (French Movement for Family Planning), or Le Planning Familial (Family Planning) for short. Family Planning and its motto<em> Liberté, Egalité, Sexualité</em> gained visibility and strength as the 1960s progressed. <em>Liberté, Egalité, Sexualité</em>, now there’s a good reason for all of us to get in touch with our inner Parisienne.</p>
<p><a href="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/2017-Neuwirth-stamp.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-13592" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/2017-Neuwirth-stamp-300x225.jpg" alt="2017 French postage stamp in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Neuwirth Law legalizing the promotion and sale of contraceptive products." width="300" height="225" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/2017-Neuwirth-stamp.jpg 300w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/2017-Neuwirth-stamp-80x60.jpg 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>The postal service commemorated the law’s 50th anniversary with a stamp dedicated to Neuwirth and showing three ages of women. The image of the three women is a stylized version of a prominent Family Planning poster of 1978 which bore the words “<em>un enfant… si je veux… quand je veux</em>” (a child… if I want… when I want.).</p>
<p>The Neuwirth Law primarily aimed to overturn the Law of 1920 that prohibited any action, advertisement or propaganda in favor of abortion or contraception. That post-war law had been passed on the premise that, with some 1.4 million French war dead, laws preventing further depopulation trumped a woman’s or a couple’s right to choose. So while the pill, that great liberating force in the sexual revolution, had been a hit in the United States since the early 1960s, it couldn’t play that role in France as long as the earlier law stood guard.</p>
<p>(As an interesting contrast on the timeline of nations, 1920 is the year that women obtained the right to vote in the U.S.; it took another world war for women in France to be granted that right, first exercised during the elections of 1945. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood remains under attack in the U.S..)</p>
<p>Abortion was legalized by the Veil Law of January 1975, put forth by then-health minister Simone Veil. Since 2001 abortion has been allowed until 12 weeks of pregnancy and parental authorization for minors is no longer required.</p>
<h4><strong>The pill remains queen despite waning influence</strong></h4>
<p>In France, according to a research paper published (<a href="https://www.ined.fr/fichier/s_rubrique/176/549_ang_population.societes.novembre2017.contraception.en.en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in English</a>) to coincide with the 50th anniversary, 83% of women of childbearing age use contraception. A 2014 U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db173.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brief</a> indicates that 62% of American women ages 15 to 44 use contraception.</p>
<p>Whereas, according to the French paper, 43% percent of contraception in United States involves sterilization (tubular occlusion for women, vasectomy for men), with about third being male sterilization, only 5% of contraception in France involves sterilization, with the percentage of male sterilization being negligible. The CDC brief gives different figures for the U.S. but nevertheless finds female sterilization (15.5%) nearly on par with use of the pill (16% in terms of percentage). Vasectomy (male sterilization) is not covered in that brief but where <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/contraceptive-use-united-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elsewhere reported</a> the number performed in the U.S. is significantly higher than in France.</p>
<p>The pill, by contrast, is by far the contraceptive method of choice in France as it represents more than 40% of all contraceptive method use. That, however, represents about a <a href="https://www.ined.fr/en/everything_about_population/data/france/abortion-contraception/method/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20% decrease</a> over the past decade, with the initial decline largely attributed to the possible risks associated with recent generations of the pill.</p>
<p>The French health system supports contraception: implants, IUDs, diaphragms and some contraceptive pills are reimbursable (65%) through the national system, as is access to the morning-after pill. Those same contraceptive methods and the corresponding medical consultation (doctor’s office, school infirmary) are free to minors of at least 15, without need for parental notification.</p>
<figure id="attachment_13593" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13593" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Mona-Lisa-smile-with-condoms.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-13593" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Mona-Lisa-smile-with-condoms-300x249.jpg" alt="Mona Lisa smile with condoms" width="300" height="249" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13593" class="wp-caption-text">Mona Lisa smile, with condom packages.</figcaption></figure>
<p>In France, male condom use (often combined with female oral contraception) has increased since the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, representing about 15%. Condoms are non-reimbursable but are rather inexpensive.</p>
<p>Women who have left their oral contraceptive at home when traveling abroad to France would typically need to see a doctor for a prescription. A pharmacist, however, might help, particularly with the morning-after pill, called <em>la pilule du lendemain</em> or <em>la contraception d’urgence</em> in French</p>
<p>If you or your partner has packed FDA-approved condoms, rest assured that they will make it through customs even if they don’t bear the EU stamp of approval. But why ruin the fun of shopping overseas.</p>
<p><strong>The Condom King, Le Roi de la Capote</strong></p>
<p>The French word for a condom is <em>un preservatif</em> or, colloquially, <em>une capote</em>. (It used to be more commonly called <em>une capote anglaise</em> or English bonnet/hood/overcoat, as the English, upholding their side of tit-for-tat terminology, would refer to a condom as a French letter or French tickler for the fanciful kind).</p>
<p>The word condom will likely be understood in Paris, but ask for a condom in southwest France and you risk being given directions to the charming town of the same name, in Armagnac country, midway between Bordeaux and Toulouse. <a href="http://www.tourisme-condom.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Condom the town</a> would rather that travelers associate it with the architectural appeal of its cathedral and cloister and with the culinary and cultural appeal of Gascony rather than with French letters, though many an English-speaking traveler has undoubted entered the town on the snick of its name alone.</p>
<figure id="attachment_13594" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13594" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-Paris-condom-shop-GLK.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-13594" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-Paris-condom-shop-GLK.jpg" alt="Le Roi de la Capote, the Condom King, Paris condoms" width="300" height="494" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-Paris-condom-shop-GLK.jpg 300w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-Paris-condom-shop-GLK-182x300.jpg 182w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13594" class="wp-caption-text">Le Roi de la Capote, Paris condom shop. Photo GLK.</figcaption></figure>
<p>The town aside, France’s premier destination for all things condom is in Paris and online at <a href="http://www.leroidelacapote.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Le Roi de la Capote</a>, the Condom King, a shop created and owned by Marc Pointel. Pointel opened Le Roi de la Capote as an online shop in 2005 and eight years later opened a brick-and-mortar, rather a latex-and-gel shop in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. Seventy percent of its sales are online, while it’s the 30% of in-store sales that Pointel sees as a sign of its success. The store is located at 106 boulevard Richard Lenoir in the 11th arrondissement.</p>
<p>This is not a sex shop. It is a bright, open, come-one-come-all parapharmacie, a type of shop that sells health products but not medication.</p>
<p>Classic mass-market condoms are no more expensive here than in any grocery store in Paris (the other place to purchase them, along with pharmacies and parapharmacies), perhaps even less as is the case if you wish to stock up on a 300-pack at 0.10€ per condom for the traveling optimist or that special New Year’s party. (Note: condoms typically carry a 5-year expiration date.) Single condoms are sold for as little as 0.20€. The most expensive condoms here come out to about 1.50€ each. A small price to pay, says Pointel, for the serenity of knowing that you and your partner are protected, not planning on conceiving just then, and having great pleasure.</p>
<p>The French nevertheless complain about condom prices, Pointel notes, because they don’t like to pay for anything medical related.</p>
<p>The Condom King is the exclusive retailer in France of My One Perfect Fit (formerly They Fit) condoms, an American brand that comes in 56 sizes. A paper ruler is available to properly measure oneself or one’s partner (at home). Various types of lubricants are also available as are hygiene products and massage oils. You’ll also find some a few playful objects, including cheering but non-protective condoms (seen at top of article), such as an Eiffel Tower condom, perhaps something to offer one’s lover as a way of saying “we’ll always have Paris… without STDs.” See the website the <a href="https://www.leroidelacapote.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">list of products</a> sold by the King.</p>
<figure id="attachment_13595" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13595" style="width: 258px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-13595" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK-258x300.jpg" alt="Marc Pointel, owner, Le Roi de la Capote, condoms, Paris" width="258" height="300" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK-258x300.jpg 258w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 258px) 100vw, 258px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13595" class="wp-caption-text">Marc Pointel, founding owner of Le Roi de la Capote (The Condom King), Paris. Photo GLK.</figcaption></figure>
<p>While the items sold at the Condom King may lead to good fun between the sheets, Pointel recognizes their role—and his own—in helping to promote sexual health. Furthermore, the condom, since it involves at least two people, has a social role, even if that role presents itself intimately between the two. “The condom,” he says, “is the tree that hides the forest [of many public health issues].”</p>
<p>Erectile and other sexual problems and concerns have many roots, he says, and the best place to start is by having someone to speak with about it. “I manage to destress those who are stressed when they enter,” he says. Indeed, Pointel has the assured sense of humor to help put anxious clients at ease and the proper discretion to allow those entering the king’s domain to shop unassisted if they prefer.</p>
<p>He tells of an athlete in his twenties who said that condoms keep him from having an erection and a 30-year-old woman (20% of his clients are women) who said that she’d never had an organism. “It takes nerve to say that,” he says, “and once said it should be discussed.”</p>
<p>Even for online sales, Pointel says, many people will call before ordering, and their calls often fall into a “grey zone” between requests for purchasing advice, as other merchants might receive, and requests for information about sexual health. While he cannot by law physically examine or diagnose clients, he recognizes that during such calls or in-store conversation, the individual is seeking a form of consultation, speaking of matters that he or she may not yet have broached with a medical professional or a therapist. He fully accepts his role in listening to the individual’s symptoms and complaints and in suggesting, nudging or guiding the person, if possible, to speak with a medical or therapy specialist, or simply to correct any sexual myths or misconceptions.</p>
<figure id="attachment_13596" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13596" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-13596" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK-1-300x236.jpg" alt="Marc Pointel, Roi de la Capote, Mona Lisa condoms" width="300" height="236" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK-1-300x236.jpg 300w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Marc-Pointel-founding-owner-of-Le-Roi-de-la-Capote-The-Condom-King-Paris-GLK-1.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-13596" class="wp-caption-text">Marc Pointel with the condom package version of the Mona Lisa. Photo GLK.</figcaption></figure>
<p>(Pointel isn’t always at the front of the shop since his office and storage facility for online orders are in the back. While his assistants are quite capable, those looking for advice shouldn’t hesitate to ask if he is available. He’s fluent in English.)</p>
<p>Recognizing his unique position on the frontline of health issues, Pointel, who had previously studied sexology, recently completed further studies in sexual health. In June 2017 he obtained a University Degree (D.U. in French—a type of master’s degree) in the matter from the Paris-Diderot Medical School. His thesis was entitled “How and within what limits does a related and specialized parapharmacy participate in the promotion of sexual health? Practical situations and ethical questions.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, he says, “the Anglo-Saxon puritanism of the major players of the Internet (GAFAM: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft)” consider Le Roi de la Capote’s website as an “adult site” or an “adults only site,” meaning that it may assimilated with pornography.</p>
<p>“We’re considered to be selling ‘adult products’ whereas the condom is a key element of public health,&#8221; he says. &#8220;It’s also a tool that should be associated with pleasure. We need to &#8216;re-eroticize&#8217; the condom. Thinking only in terms of protection can cause stress, and we don’t make love when we’re stressed.”</p>
<p>But the Condom King can only do so much for the sex lives of our perfect pouty-lipped <em>Parisienne</em>. <em>La Parisienne</em> has a lot going for her, says Pointel, &#8220;but the mouth is the first sex organ that one encounters, and she doesn&#8217;t smile enough.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.leroidelacapote.com/content/boutique-preservatif-a-paris-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Le Roi de la Capote</strong></a>, 106 boulevard Richard Lenoir, 11th arr. Metro Oberkampf or Parmentier. Tel. 01 42 38 60 40. Closed Sunday.</p>
<p>© 2018, Gary Lee Kraut</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2018/03/contraception-in-france-the-pill-is-queen-the-condom-king/">Contraception in France, where the Pill is Queen, and the Condom King</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
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		<title>Isabelle Langlois: A Hidden Gem on Rue de la Paix</title>
		<link>https://francerevisited.com/2014/05/isabelle-langlois-a-hidden-gem-on-rue-de-la-paix/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gary Lee Kraut]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 May 2014 11:44:07 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Boutiques, Shopping & Fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Made in France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris & Surroundings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2nd arr.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[75002]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boutiques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jewelry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris boutiques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shopping]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Colors, flowers, elegance, balance: what sounds like a stroll through the Luxembourg Garden or a glimpse into the lobby of a palatial hotel is, this morning, an encounter with Isabelle Langlois in her shop on rue de la Paix, Paris’s runway for high jewelry.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2014/05/isabelle-langlois-a-hidden-gem-on-rue-de-la-paix/">Isabelle Langlois: A Hidden Gem on Rue de la Paix</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Colors, flowers, historical fragments, well-studied yet easy-going elegance, balance: what sounds like a stroll through the Luxembourg Garden or a glimpse into the lobby of a palatial hotel is, this morning, an encounter with Isabelle Langlois in her shop on rue de la Paix, part of Paris’s runway for high jewelry. A turn into the courtyard at number 12 leads to the display windows of Isabelle Langlois, and then to Langlois herself, a gracious, accessible, forthcoming creator of fine jewelry and heir to generations of gemstone know-how.</p>
<p>“I’m just a result,” she says while outlining the family history in gemstones since the 17th century. The family long lived in the last valley of Jura before the Swiss border. Her grandfather left the valley for Paris, where in 1929 he created a workshop for cutting colored gemstones.</p>
<figure id="attachment_9379" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9379" style="width: 580px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/2014/05/isabelle-langlois-a-hidden-gem-on-rue-de-la-paix/isabelle-langlois-at-her-rue-de-la-paix-shop-photo-glk/" rel="attachment wp-att-9379"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-9379" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Isabelle-Langlois-at-her-Rue-de-la-Paix-shop.-Photo-GLK..jpg" alt="Isabelle Langlois at her Rue de la Paix shop. Photo GLK." width="580" height="475" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Isabelle-Langlois-at-her-Rue-de-la-Paix-shop.-Photo-GLK..jpg 580w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Isabelle-Langlois-at-her-Rue-de-la-Paix-shop.-Photo-GLK.-300x246.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-9379" class="wp-caption-text">Isabelle Langlois at her Rue de la Paix shop. Photo GLK.</figcaption></figure>
<p>“As a little girl I was surrounded by things that glimmer,” she says.</p>
<p>She recalls the excitement in the family workshop and at home with the approach of the imperial coronation in 1967 of <em>Shabanu</em> (Empress) Farah Palavi, wife of the last Shah of Iran. Langlois was 12 at the time and some of the gemstones intended to decorate the empress during the ceremony came from their workshop.</p>
<figure id="attachment_9380" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9380" style="width: 137px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/2014/05/isabelle-langlois-a-hidden-gem-on-rue-de-la-paix/isabelle-langlois-2-mon-ange-pendant-white-mother-of-pearl-iolites-white-pearl-diamonds-white-gold-retail-740-euros/" rel="attachment wp-att-9380"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-9380" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Isabelle-Langlois-2-Mon-Ange-pendant-white-mother-of-pearl-iolites-white-pearl-diamonds-white-gold.-Retail-740-euros.jpg" alt="Isabelle Langlois-Mon Ange pendant-white mother of pearl, iolites, white pearl, diamonds-white gold. 740 euros" width="137" height="179" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-9380" class="wp-caption-text">Isabelle Langlois-Mon Ange pendant-white mother of pearl, iolites, white pearl, diamonds-white gold. 740 euros</figcaption></figure>
<p>Langlois has remained true to the family niche of colored gemstones and claims to work with the widest variety of stones on rue de la Paix. Rue de la Paix and Place Vendôme do indeed form a rather diamond- and crystal-studded runway. “What I know how to do best is work with an assortment of colors,” she says.</p>
<p>She has a particular affection for floral themes—flowers and bouquets that don’t fade—with a good deal of butterflies and angel also present in recent collections. She says that she especially enjoys working with sapphire, with the padparadscha, a rare orange-to-pink variety, being her “ultra.”</p>
<p>She purchases many of her stones from a brother who operates a gemstone cutting workshop in Thailand. Another brother operates a workshop n Paris.</p>
<p>After working as a jewelry designer for a variety of other houses she began selling her creations under her own name in 1998. Her collections are now available in 24 countries, including the US, Canada and the UK. Asia has become her largest market. Langlois’s ambition is global yet she thinks of her own creative spirit as remaining very French, and particularly Parisian in its search for balance and elegance. “We,” meaning Parisians, “have plenty of flaws,” she says, “but at least we have that,” meaning balance and eleganc.</p>
<figure id="attachment_9381" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9381" style="width: 200px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/2014/05/isabelle-langlois-a-hidden-gem-on-rue-de-la-paix/isabelle-langlois-1-ring-amethyst-roses-de-france-pink-gold-retail-1470-euros/" rel="attachment wp-att-9381"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-9381" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Isabelle-Langlois-1-Ring-amethyst-roses-de-France-pink-gold.-Retail-1470-euros.jpg" alt="Isabelle Langlois-Ring-amethyst, roses de France-pink gold. 1470 euros" width="200" height="200" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Isabelle-Langlois-1-Ring-amethyst-roses-de-France-pink-gold.-Retail-1470-euros.jpg 200w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Isabelle-Langlois-1-Ring-amethyst-roses-de-France-pink-gold.-Retail-1470-euros-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-9381" class="wp-caption-text">Isabelle Langlois-Ring-amethyst, roses de France-pink gold. 1470 euros</figcaption></figure>
<p>Langlois’s haute-couture approach doesn’t launch prices into the stratosphere, particularly since she doesn’t focus on work with diamonds. Her windows in the courtyard off rue de la Paix show pieces mostly in the 500 to 5000€ range (about $700-7000), along with some high-priced creations. Or as she says, “I make jewelry at the price of a very nice dress.”</p>
<p>The small shop and showroom are open to the public during normal business hours. Because of the international scope of her business Langlois isn’t always present though, so to have the pleasure of meeting in person this amiable creator of fine jewelry it’s best to make an appointment.</p>
<p>Isabelle Langlois, 12 rue de la Paix, 2nd arrondissement. Metro Opéra. Tel. 01 42 46 75 00. For locations worldwide where Isabelle Langlois jewelry is available and to contact by e-mail see <a href="http://www.isabellelanglois.com" target="_blank">www.isabellelanglois.com</a>.</p>
<p>© 2014, Gary Lee Kraut</p>
<p>Map</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2014/05/isabelle-langlois-a-hidden-gem-on-rue-de-la-paix/">Isabelle Langlois: A Hidden Gem on Rue de la Paix</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
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		<title>Paris Haute Couture for the Birds</title>
		<link>https://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/</link>
					<comments>https://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Corinne LaBalme]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:46:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Boutiques, Shopping & Fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Made in France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris & Surroundings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[12th arr.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[75012]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boutiques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corinne LaBalme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[designers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris boutiques]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Is haute couture for the birds? Absolutely, says fashion follower Corinne LaBalme, who joined the flock at Paris Fashion Week to report on the Spring/Summer 2013 collections. With stylists pushing the envelope, haute couture has always functioned as the canary in the fashion mineshaft.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/">Paris Haute Couture for the Birds</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Is </em>haute couture<em> for the birds? Absolutely, says fashion follower Corinne LaBalme, who joined the flock at Paris Fashion Week to report on Jean Doucet&#8217;s Spring/Summer 2013 collection. With stylists pushing the envelope, haute couture has always functioned as the canary in the fashion mineshaft.</em></p>
<p>In 1912, dance fanatics flocked to the Théâtre du Châtelet to watch Vaslav Nijinski and Tamar Karsavina of the <em>Ballets Russes</em> perform new-fangled ballets like <em>Firebird</em> and <em>Spectre de la Rose</em>. During intermission, bemused spectators would thumb through elaborate programs for Cocteau’s take on what it was about.</p>
<p><a href="http://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/cl-ballets-russes-cover/" rel="attachment wp-att-7960"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7960" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/CL-Ballets-Russes-cover.jpg" alt="CL Ballets Russes cover" width="450" height="590" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/CL-Ballets-Russes-cover.jpg 450w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/CL-Ballets-Russes-cover-229x300.jpg 229w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /></a></p>
<p>Parisian couturier Jean Doucet chose this historic venue to premiere an All-About-Avian Spring/Summer 2013 haute couture collection that didn’t need any footnotes.</p>
<figure id="attachment_7962" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-7962" style="width: 450px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/a-pointed-fashion-statement-by-irina-kolesnikova/" rel="attachment wp-att-7962"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-7962" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/A-pointed-fashion-statement-by-Irina-Kolesnikova.jpg" alt="A pointed fashion statement by Irina Kolesnikova. Photo Christophe Willem." width="450" height="675" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/A-pointed-fashion-statement-by-Irina-Kolesnikova.jpg 450w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/A-pointed-fashion-statement-by-Irina-Kolesnikova-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-7962" class="wp-caption-text">A pointed fashion statement by Irina Kolesnikova. Photo Christophe Willem.</figcaption></figure>
<p>With Irina Kolesnikova of the Saint Petersbourg Ballet making a star pirouette on the runway, fashionistas checked out a Very Vogue Version of Swan Lake.</p>
<figure id="attachment_7963" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-7963" style="width: 450px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/irina-goes-for-the-gold/" rel="attachment wp-att-7963"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-7963" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Irina-goes-for-the-Gold.jpg" alt="Irina goes for the Gold. Photo Christophe Willem" width="450" height="675" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Irina-goes-for-the-Gold.jpg 450w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/Irina-goes-for-the-Gold-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-7963" class="wp-caption-text">Irina goes for the Gold. Photo Christophe Willem</figcaption></figure>
<p>In Doucet’s re-staging, good girl Odette snags the guy since Irina got to wear the feathered wedding dress in the finale—although, come to think of it, back-stabbing Odile was also invited to the party.</p>
<figure id="attachment_7961" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-7961" style="width: 450px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="http://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/cl-rebecca-ayoko-odile-jean-doucet-and-irina-kolesnikova-odette/" rel="attachment wp-att-7961"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-7961" src="http://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/CL-Rebecca-Ayoko-Odile-Jean-Doucet-and-Irina-Kolesnikova-Odette.jpg" alt="Rebecca Ayoko (Odile), Jean Doucet and Irina Kolesnikova (Odette). Photo Christophe Willem." width="450" height="675" srcset="https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/CL-Rebecca-Ayoko-Odile-Jean-Doucet-and-Irina-Kolesnikova-Odette.jpg 450w, https://francerevisited.com/wp-content/uploads/CL-Rebecca-Ayoko-Odile-Jean-Doucet-and-Irina-Kolesnikova-Odette-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-7961" class="wp-caption-text">Rebecca Ayoko (Odile), Jean Doucet and Irina Kolesnikova (Odette). Photo Christophe Willem.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Far, far from the avenue Montaigne crowds, <a href="http://www.jeandoucet.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jean Doucet’s salon</a> adds a spark of glam to ever-so-slowly gentrifying Bercy district at 6 rue Jean Renoir in the 12th arrondissement.</p>
<p>© 2013, Corinne LaBalme</p>
<p><strong>Corinne LaBalme</strong>, a Paris-based writer, journalist and editor, is currently working on development of a series life-style documentaries for Muses Productions.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://francerevisited.com/2013/01/paris-haute-couture-for-the-birds-jean-doucet-couturier/">Paris Haute Couture for the Birds</a> appeared first on <a href="https://francerevisited.com">France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France</a>.</p>
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