The Department Store of My Dreams

This whole section makes me want to be much more invested in clothes than I am.

When I was a small child, I honestly believed that I had never been to a department store. I read all these nineteenth century books that featured department stores, and dreamed of the day when I would get to visit one myself.

Imagine my disappointment when I realized that the J.C. Penney's in the mall was a department store. Despite my very public distaste for shopping, I had thought that department stores would provide a new and transcendent shopping experience only to discover that my family had been dragging me through a department store all along.

And then, on Thursday, I found the store that I thought existed only in my dreams. It's name is Merci, and I am absolutely floored by its existence. Imagine visiting the store from The Paradise, except it's the twenty-first century and none of the attendants try to speak to you. (My introverted self is loving the lack of customer service in Paris.) Or, visualize me approaching the shopping experience as enthusiastically as Elle Woods' character in the Legally Blonde song Take It Like a Man. The displays are charming, and, of course, the papeterie section is to die for. To top it all off, they have a used book café attached to the store!

This lights and terrarium display is such an aesthetic.

Please enjoy the 2 second video that earned me a very annoyed glance from a nearby Parisian

This well-organized display is devoted to the luxurious art of toothbrushing.

I really appreciate the lighting and placement of this flower display.

I will be returning to this blog very soon with a general life/study/travel update, but, for today, I wanted to take the time to share my joy at discovering a place that I thought lived only in my imagination.

À la prochaine,

Lydia

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