Scarves in Paris

Head for the big stores on Boul. Haussman, Printemps or Galeries Lafayette. They have the Hermes ones, of course, but loads of other more affordable ones as well. But, really, you will see scarves in all the shops, a lot of them from Asia but for all I know maybe the Hermes ones are made in Asia, too.

BHV department store on Rue du Rivoli, across the street from the Hotel de Ville, has a nice accessories department on the first floor that has a lot of reasonably-priced, fashionable scarves. But you will see nice scarves everywhere!

Diwali on rue Saint Louis en l'ile has a fantastic selection.

I got a beautiful scarf at a shop called Diwali. Many of them are Indian imports and look Indian, but many of them are beautiful and less ethnically distinctive. I have a gorgeous light weight wool in greys and blues and greens that I am wearing now.

We love going to the outdoor markets in Paris .We often get our lunch there and eat somewhere on a bench or park. In addition, many of the markets have lovely scarves and you can barter for better prices if you buy several. our favorites are the Saxe Breteuil market, the president Wilson market, and the rue Mouffetard market. The first two usually have scarves and rue Mouffetard has a little hardware store with wonderful market baskets.

I wondered about Diwali! I have seen some scarves from there in some of the blogs including Vivienne Files. Darcy, mark that down on the things to do list. I lied about not shopping.

Jane, I love that little hardware store on rue Mouffetard!

Wow! So many wonderful replies. Thank you everyone. I do not usually shop on our trips, but this is going to be fun!

@Pam--I was hoping I could get you to just happen to go by Diwali with me and we'd just "have" to pop in for just a minute! ; ) It's one of my favorite places to get souvenirs and gifts.

@ Darcy & Pam, I wish we were going to have more time in Paris with you so I could go with you to shop. :-)

I bought a beautiful one in Paris. When I went to Notre Dame, we walked around and there were some very nice side streets with very pretty shops and they all had very nice scarves. So I was able to see Notre Dame and then see some pretty shops and buy something I wear all the time and think of Paris!

Moi aussi, Andrea!

There is also a Diwali in Montmartre - beautiful scarves!

I went to the one in Montmartre; it was recommended by a regular on another travel forum. Of course you can find cheap, often pretty scarves everywhere -- markets, tourist shops etc. Diwali scarves were not cheap but they were really beautiful.

I love scarves and always notice them on others and in shop windows.They are a perfect souvenir from a trip because they take up almost no room in a suitcase and they never go out of style. I have a great lime/grey/blk silk pashmina I bought from a street vendor in Venice, a colorful large cotton square from a Paris street vendor in the Latin Qtr as well as a couple of les Olivades cotton squares in varying sizes. There's a les Olivades shop in either the 5th or 6th/St Germain area ( and prob others in Paris). Check labels for fabric content in addition to feeling the fabric. Once I get home, I cut off the label, tape it to an index card and write a brief description; I put the cards in my scarf drawer for quick reference in case I can't remember whether it's a hand wash or a dry clean scarf.

In Angers and Normandy, wander in the central shopping area of any town and you'll find small shops which have scarves.

I would recommend the local markets as well. I have bought bath salts and 1euro jewelry from;
Richard Lenior market, Thursday / Sunday metro Bastille. President Wilson, Wednesday / Saturday metro Iena. Marche Grenelle under Motte Piquet metro was my favorite memory of watching a young parisian woman shopping at this market trying scarfs on with the vendor holding a small mirror up so she could see how it looked with her coat. She bought three that morning and headed off to work. I also bought scarves from the vendor as well as gloves for gifts and mementos for myself. I believe the key to these markets is getting there before lunch. After 1 PM it's too late they're packing things up. You don't see too many tourist at these markets either.
Every town in Europe has their own market, at least one day maybe two ,usually with seasonal foods, cheese and other products. If you know the days you're going to be in certain areas I would do a little research see if you can find market days.

I can't remember the name of the shop. We were walking down the main street in Bayeux, and there was a dress shop with a mannequin in the window that had a scarf on it. I loved the scarf and went in and bought it. Back in the U.S. I've worn the scarf many times and on two occasions I've had women say, "You bought that scarf in France, didn't you." I was so surprised - when I asked them how they knew that, they said it just looked like a French scarf. No wonder I love it.