My favorite season in France
I'll give you a hint... it comes not only once, but twice a year! And it's called les soldes!
'Soldes' is French for 'sales.' Twice a year, the whole country of France is on sale. That's barely even an exaggeration. The French government fixes dates for nationwide sales in winter and summer (each lasting 5 weeks). Things start out at about 30-50% off, and the prices gradually get better and better!
It's no secret that I love shopping and fashion in France, so this is a very enjoyable time of the year for me. It seems pretty bizarre that the government chooses when stores put things on sale- but it might just be the most fun consequence of socialism there ever was.
I'm not familiar with the in-depth laws, but stores are allowed to have sales at other times during the year. However, I believe they are restricted and regulated.
A few weeks ago we drove by what looked like a BRAND new, 21st century American mall near Nice. On a cloudy Saturday (not optimal beach weather), I convinced David to go take advantage of prices I could actually afford.
Polygone Riviera is an open-air mall built in 2015. Do you know how rare it is to go somewhere built in 2015 in Europe? They tend to build things to last a long time over here.
I love me some medieval buildings, but it also made me so happy to be somewhere that felt so shiny and New World. Can you say air-conditioning?
David went to go hang out at FNAC (basically the French equivalent of Barnes n' Noble). He managed to keep himself entertained browsing the music and books long enough for me to hit up 3 stores. Not too shabby, especially considering that one of those stores was Zara, where I always take my sweet time.
Since it was Saturday, during the soldes, AND during peak tourist season in this area, most stores were a complete zoo. I almost got Black Friday vibes.
The next week I took the train to Nice to stop by another of my favorite stores. Despite the 90 degree humid weather, I still enjoyed my walk through Vieux Nice- hadn't made it there since February!
They were busy setting up a patriotic stage in Place Masséna for the French president Macron to use 2 days later on July 14th (the French national holiday, in case you weren't aware). After hanging out with Trump on the Champs-Elysées, Macron came to Nice for a ceremony honoring the victims of the awful attack there last year.
I suppose this post wouldn't be complete without showing off a few of my purchases. I wasn't able to track down pics online or take them myself of everything, but here's a taste :)
Everything in these pictures combined (shirt, 2 necklaces, skirt, 2 pairs of shoes) cost under 40 euros.
'Soldes' is French for 'sales.' Twice a year, the whole country of France is on sale. That's barely even an exaggeration. The French government fixes dates for nationwide sales in winter and summer (each lasting 5 weeks). Things start out at about 30-50% off, and the prices gradually get better and better!
It's no secret that I love shopping and fashion in France, so this is a very enjoyable time of the year for me. It seems pretty bizarre that the government chooses when stores put things on sale- but it might just be the most fun consequence of socialism there ever was.
I'm not familiar with the in-depth laws, but stores are allowed to have sales at other times during the year. However, I believe they are restricted and regulated.
A few weeks ago we drove by what looked like a BRAND new, 21st century American mall near Nice. On a cloudy Saturday (not optimal beach weather), I convinced David to go take advantage of prices I could actually afford.
Polygone Riviera is an open-air mall built in 2015. Do you know how rare it is to go somewhere built in 2015 in Europe? They tend to build things to last a long time over here.
I love me some medieval buildings, but it also made me so happy to be somewhere that felt so shiny and New World. Can you say air-conditioning?
Since it was Saturday, during the soldes, AND during peak tourist season in this area, most stores were a complete zoo. I almost got Black Friday vibes.
The next week I took the train to Nice to stop by another of my favorite stores. Despite the 90 degree humid weather, I still enjoyed my walk through Vieux Nice- hadn't made it there since February!
They were busy setting up a patriotic stage in Place Masséna for the French president Macron to use 2 days later on July 14th (the French national holiday, in case you weren't aware). After hanging out with Trump on the Champs-Elysées, Macron came to Nice for a ceremony honoring the victims of the awful attack there last year.
I suppose this post wouldn't be complete without showing off a few of my purchases. I wasn't able to track down pics online or take them myself of everything, but here's a taste :)
Everything in these pictures combined (shirt, 2 necklaces, skirt, 2 pairs of shoes) cost under 40 euros.
All I have left to say is Vive la France!
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| The Cannes town hall decked out for July 14th |
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