Liberte, egalite, lingerie
By Michelle Griffin | smh.com.au | 18 May
Beneath their tailored trench coats, their expertly tied scarves, their polo necks and skinny pants, Parisiennes wear the raciest, laciest undies in the world. There is a lingerie boutique on every corner, crammed with saucy brassieres and transparent knickers and filmy stockings. The beige girdle-like garments that dominate England's high streets are hidden at the back, and plain cotton undies are probably found only in fetish shops.
In Paris, you can spend thousands on couture corsets, or grab a lacy bargain.
Women here love discounted lingerie, and swarm to market stalls to buy knock-off negligees.
Monoprix, the Target of France, sells pretty, home-brand underwear and hosiery, but standard sizes go quickly. Even Tati, the discount chain, stocks racy black pieces.
If you're pressed for time, hit the chaotic and crowded lingerie floors of department stores Galeries Lafayette and Printemps on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement - you'll find all the labels, from Dior and Eres right down the price scale to Triumph and Sloggi. It's cheerfully democratic: liberte, egalite, lingerie. But for the full Parisienne lingerie experience, visit the boutiques.
Princesse Tam Tam, 4 Rue du Marche St Honore, 1st and throughout France,
www.princessetamtam.com
Not all of the 19 Parisian outlets for this mid-priced lingerie chain are equally fabulous, but if your closest is understocked, it's worth catching the Metro to its well-organised boutique in the ritzy 1st, the city's premier lingerie district, where the assistants speak English. This label knows how to package pretty things in flattering shapes for modern girls: a mix of soft lace, muted tones (lavender, jade, coffee), sexy black and some fashion-forward bits - woodland prints were big when I dropped in. Swimwear is fabulous, especially the 1960s graphic prints on the bikinis and tanks, which cost about €90 ($148). Parisienne lace boxers could be had for €29, bras cost about €45 and a satin corset would set you back €120.
Chantal Thomass, 211 Rue St Honore, 1st, 01 4260 4056,
www.chantalthomass.fr
Browsing at this ultra-femme flagship boutique feels like playing dress-ups in burlesque queen Dita von Teese's boudoir. It's decorated in a knowing mix of quilted rose satin and fuchsia-tinted furniture, with feather boas and stripper heels placed just so. The lingerie is equally theatrical: pinstriped waitress corsets, slick brassieres buttressed with chiffon straps, pleated candy pink balconette bras with matching garter belts. Stockings are wicked and witty: chantilly lace, seamed and striped, or laced up the thighs. The saleswoman, styled like the eponymous designer in black bob and bondage wear, brings the wrong sizes and seems indifferent to questions about fit, but is perhaps distracted by the gentleman who keeps invading his wife's changeroom with enthusiastic suggestions.
Alice Cadolle, 4 Rue de Cambon. 1st. 01 4260 9422,
www.cadolle.com
I lack the time and four-figure sums for a fitting at the House of Cadolle's appointment-only couture lingerie salon, so instead I visit the discreet side-street boutique, where lingerie is displayed on antique sideboards. Founder Hermine Cadolle claimed to have invented the bra in 1889. Five generations later, there's still plenty of demand for the house's rigorously engineered corsets, which sell for upwards of €300 each. Madame cuts her phone call short to show me a satin-lined, embroidered cotton construction, something Marie Antoinette would wear to play shepherdess, but without maids to lace me in every morning, I settle on a white bra with filmy lace half-cups. At €60, there's no wow factor, but it's beautifully stitched, and you can measure its fashion miles in metres: it was made in the atelier next door.
Fifi Chachnil, 231 Rue Saint-Honore, 1st, 01 4261 2183,
www.fifichachnil.com
This courtyard boutique is decorated like a Looney Tunes backdrop in retro pastels and girly bedroom furniture. Any minute, Pepe Le Pew will waltz in and murmur, "You know, eet is possible to be too attractive." Chachnil's lingerie mines a nostalgic pin-up look, with 1950s- themed brassieres, panties and negligees in saturated Kodachrome colours: aubergine, turquoise, daffodil, rose. Prices are more contemporary - a polka dot g-string costs €70, a silk satin slip €200. Madame is patient and cheery as I dither over padded bras as plump and sugary as cupcakes. She spritzes me farewell with the house perfume, a syrupy oriental spiked with notes of naughty-girl tobacco.
Marlies Dekkers, 10 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 6th, 01 4261 2183,
www.marliesdekkers.nl
The black lacquer interior of this edgy store in St-Germain-des-Pres was a stark contrast to the sugared decor of other boutiques. Perhaps that's because Dekkers is Dutch, and her designs channel something of Amsterdam's more brazen sexuality. But the city of Paris named her 2008 creator of year in the lingerie category of its latest design awards, so she's clearly speaking to the locals. Her underwear isn't lacy at all. There are stencilled tropical prints and black straps and sheer mesh and ingenious push-up bras that get Wonderbra results without the torture. Plus separate, equally glamorous ranges for bigger women, and a small, sexy range for men, decorated with a rose-thorn print. Prices are just this side of prohibitive, with sets for about €130. The service was fantastic: would madame like coffee or a chocolate? I had both, lounging on a velvet chair in the enormous change room, while they ran around finding what I wanted. The evangelical saleswoman told me the Pussycat Dolls shopped there, which was almost a deal breaker, but the experience - and the pieces - were so fabulous I bought them anyway.
Fast facts
Getting there There are many ways to fly to Paris. Emirates flies with a change of aircraft in Dubai for $1995, while Malaysia Airlines has a fare for $1347 with a change of aircraft in Kuala Lumpur. If you want a stop in Asia and another European city KLM has a fare for $1525 that uses a partner airline to Asia, then KLM with a change of aircraft in Amsterdam. For the same fares you could fly into Paris, take the Eurostar to London then fly home.
Australian passport holders do not require a visa for tourism purposes.
First published by Smh.com.au on May 18 2008
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