Colette, the original trendy "concept store" in Paris is shopping as entertainment. Some call it the city's most stylish boutique, well-positioned on the most 
fashionable shopping avenue, the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. Colette's concept (aka theme that governs all merchandise) is cutting-edge style from around the world -- hard to fine products that mix genres and tastes but always spell the ultimate in "the now." Clothes, accessories, books, CDs, high and low tech gadgets and lots more from world-famous names like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Phillipe Starck. Check out their "eshop" for the Colette collection.
Incidentally, through October 5, Colette's first collection in the US is showcased in a rotating collection at the Gap flagship store in Manhattan, at 54th and 5th Ave.
Entire groups crowd at the corner of 213 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore to line up for entrance into
this eye-popping three-story boutique. Up on the clothing floor, I quickly cruise and realize there is nothing here that I could possibly wear, but who cares? I buy a cute little barrette and splash on a whiff of a bergamont cologne sample, then head to the very chic "water bar" in the basement, which features mineral waters from around the world. Here an assortment of shoppers, from the preening ones to worldly backpackers, collect in an atmosphere that is the other extreme of the pulsating action above --quiet cool. Opting instead for a healthy "tao" drink of green tea, ginkgo biloba, Vitamin C and biotin, along with a light frothy souffle, I refuel for hours more shopping in central Paris.
Others among the best-known "concept" emporiums include:
- Eclaireur (so ultra-hip for designer clothing that there is no sign -- ring the bell ), 10 rue Herold (Metro: Concorde, 1st Arrondissement)
- Montaigne Market ( a multi-brand collection of hot new labels on the elegant Avenue Montaigne and its couture houses), 57 ave Montaigne (Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 8th Arr.)
- SFR Le Studio (a boutique stocked with mobile and musical needs, embellished by a concert hall, restaurant and free Wi-Fi access from the first floor), 9 rue Tronchet (Metro: Madeleine, 8th Arr).
