photograph courtesy of Tour Magazine

We were psyched to get a reminder from Gridskipper that the Parisian city-wide “soldes” sales event will be in effect January 9-20. A government regulated program, Paris slashes prices (anywhere from 30-50 percent off) on clothing and the like twice a year, once in January (”soldes d’hiver”) and again during the summer months (”soldes d’été”). From big retailers like Galeries Lafayette to smaller boutique chains like Agatha, you can expect to get your mitts on some haute stuff for cooler prices.

But, for cheapos out there, here’s the best news of all:

Because the annual retail sales are such a big tourism draw, the Chamber of Commerce along with the Tourist Office of Paris and a few other government orgs join forces each year to present, “Soldes By Paris,” an event involving some 1,500 retailers, 500 hotels and restaurants and a whole lot more.

For about two weeks, participating hotels drop their rates, while restaurants and museums offer special promotions. This year, the SNCF—French National Railway—and other transportation authorities will offer discounts too.

To learn more, visit the official “Soldes By Paris” site.

An interactive map allows you to search for discounts and events by personality type (romantic, chic, trendy, creative or original). Unsure just where you fall in? Take the quiz. This resident cheapo scored a hefty “romantic” score that deemed her Amélie-like (“You can’t do without these chance meetings that are so Parisian and charming.” How did they know?) and suggested we visit Monoprix for our big shopping (hey, we’re solde on any store that sells both skirts and steaks!).

Among other recommendations the site gave for Audrey Tautou artists:

For hotels: 48 participating hotels and guesthouses will offer discounts to tourists in the “romance circuit.”

For art: The contemporary Galerie Hebert on the Rue du Pont Louis Philippe in the Marais.

Going out: The site dishes up kick-off events, including free or reduced prices at cinemas and parties at bars like L’Irlandais.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by JamesWallis

Cheapo shoppers, be warned: the weather in Paris this spring was unseasonably cool—apart from that burst of heat over Easter—and many stores have reported disappointing sales. This is great news for us as it means only one thing: fantastic markdowns in the sales starting on June 27.

At this time of the year, Parisian women are busy scoping out the stores for what they intend to buy once the sales get started. Precision targeting is the name of their game. Decide exactly what you want to buy and then hover patiently in the third week of June for the “pre-sale” discounts that are usually handed out by the shopkeepers who know they must clear their stock by mid-July. The other day we were were told in a shoe store that there was an “exceptional” discount of €15 on any pair of shoes that day.

A great place to max out your sale leverage is to shop at the outlet stores for your favourite brands. These places already have 30 to 60 percent markdowns on items left over from last season. When the sales roll around you get an extra 30 to 50 percent off. That’s a great deal in any currency.

Check out the Zadig and Voltaire outlet in the Marais, for instance. Zadig and Voltaire is one of the staples (along with brands like A.P.C., Isabelle Marant, Comptoir des Cotonniers, and Vanessa Bruno) of the fashionable Parisian’s wardrobe. You can find their famed loose cashmere sweaters in muted tones of moss, plum, and chocolate as well as a chic line for girls under 12 called Zadig and Voltaire Little for girls up to age 12. Cecilia Sarkozy, France’s First Lady and leading fashion icon, was wearing a pair of white Zadig trousers on election victory night last month.

Le stock Zadig et Voltaire is located at 22 rue du Bourg Tibourg, 4th. M° Hotel de Ville.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Photo by manna_from_the_heavens

Gucci, Fendi, and Prada … Three perfect excuses to plan a trip to Italy. You probably didn’t expect to hear those names on Eurocheapo, but we’re going to let you in on a little secret:

Twice a year, fashion retailers, from mass chains like Benetton to swanky designer boutiques, hold a sale that will blow your mind. Nearly all pricetags are slashed in half on January 15th and June 15th. Under Italian law, this is the only time such deep discounts can occur, to prevent fraud and unfair competition. The sales generally last around a month.

Those who brave the frenzied crowds on the first days will be rightfully rewarded. Italians know their fashion and the good stuff goes first!

Popularity: 13% [?]

photograph courtesy of bonapartconsulting

Sales in Paris are winding down. The grays and blacks of winter are being replaced by the candy hues of spring throughout the Left Bank’s retail landscape. Here are some tips on how to fill up your trunks with delicious spring fashion without breaking the bank.

Check out Chercheminippes, a chain of second hand stores dotted around the lower reaches of the Rue du Cherche Midi, towards Montparnasse. They feature designer clothing in tip-top shape (barely-used to almost-new) in pleasant, spacious surroundings. Aside from clothes, you will find shoes, handbags, costume jewellery as well as brand new cosmetics from Guerlain, YSL, and Dior—mostly free gift items dropped off for re-sale by press attaches. Chercerminippes have two outlets for women, one for children, and one for men.

The nearby Rue Saint Placide also has some interesting outlet stores, including Carroll at 30 rue St Placide, and a number of discount shoe stores.

Popularity: 3% [?]

For avid bargain shoppers, this is one of the two best times of year to visit Athens. From the last week of January through the last week of February, all retailers hold massive sales on everything from clothes to toiletries to household goods.

Their goal? To clear out old inventory to make room for the new. Who knew a classic, timeless city like Athens was such a trend-setting, fashion-conscious place? Well, we did, but that’s another story.

Some Athenians window-shop throughout January to see what they want to buy in February—and to note the original prices to make sure they truly are getting a deal when they buy their selected items on sale.

The other time this bi-annual give-away takes place is in August. For the uninitiated, August is Athens at its most intensely hot. It’s when locals go on holiday to get away as far as possible from the humid, boiling capital as they possibly can. The upshot: February is the better shopping month.

Popularity: 3% [?]