Where to take a 12 year old fashionista in Paris

Hi Eleanor, there are shops like H&M and Zara that might fit your daughter's style and have reasonably priced merchandise (at least she can say she bought something in Paris). Galeries Lafayette is an absolutely beautiful department store and has free fashion shows every Friday at 3pm (you need to make a reservation). It's a good place for souvenirs and has terrific views from the rooftop. Hope you have a great time in Paris!

How about one of the Diwali scarf stores? http://diwali-paris.com/diwali.php

I would also walk down Rue de Faubourg Saint-Honere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_du_Faubourg_Saint-Honor%C3%A9 ) literally to window shop and enjoy the beautifully presented windows.

There are young and trendy designers in the Marais. Probably mostly on the extravagantly extensive side...

Here's a link to website with information on shopping in the Marais.

http://www.parismarais.com/shop/uk_fashion-week.php

I agree about H&M and Zara, etc. these stores and several others can be found along the Rue du Rivoli, from the general area of the Hotel de Ville going west. They are very popular with young shoppers (and me as well), and are moderately priced. The BHV department store is also located there (across street from the Hotel de Ville) and it has a nice accessories section on the first floor, as well and nice clothes. All of these are easy to deal with -- just like going into any US store. The Marais has a lot of nice small shops, with great costume jewelry, and clothes. Walking around, window shopping there should be fun! The COS women's clothing store on Rue de Rosiers is one of my favorite stores. Chic, but not too expensive.

As a Dad who is always trying to convince his daughter to not spend so much on clothing, I wonder if one of the outdoor markets perhaps specializes in vintage and or (dare I say?) second-hand stuff. What is second-hand in Paris probably has a better than average chance of being stylish today, and the cultural experience of that kind of shopping would be interesting, too.

Yes, you can come across outdoor markets all over that have nice clothes, purses, scarves, jewelry for sale, that are inexpensive.
Fun to shop at. The one at Grenelle (which goes on Wednesdays) is good, but there are many outdoor vendors all over.

I was in Paris with my 12 year old fashionista last summer. My French sis in law suggested Desiqual. Very colorful and not unreasonable. They have girl's and women's clothes. There are several locations. We actually both ended up with something!

Definitely check out the markets...not only do they have accessories but many have clothes and often they are quite different from what she can get at home. I buy lots of my clothes in Europe... and I shop the bargains.

Check out the H&M as the items in the Europeans stores I have visited seem to have lots of different items than the US stores...at least check it out as it is affordable.

Definitely the outdoor flea markets for accessories and vintage clothing. The large department stores like Galleries Lafayette for looking at some really high end designer shoes, purses and makeup, and to catch a fashion show (although you don't mention when you are going and I believe the weekly shows do stop sometime in late July since August is their big holiday month). I disagree with H&M and Zara. Yes, the clothing is affordable - but there are H&M and Zara stores in a number of U.S. cities, including Chicago - so it's not like she can't see or buy the same stuff at home. Same with Sephora. They are all over the U.S. and while the one on the Champs is the largest Sephora in the world, you aren't likely to want to buy much since you are paying more for it with the exchange than you would in the U.S. (unless it is a specific brand not carried in the U.S.). You could take her to Colette http://en.colette.fr/content/category/visit/ where she can see 6,000 Euro necklaces, the 500 Euro leopard print sunglasses I would kill to have, and a "water bar" that sells 100 different kinds of spring water (from a 5 Euro bottle of Fiji to some that are over 40 Euro - who drops money on that?!). But Colette also sells things like 8 Euro decals for fingernails (what 12 year old girl doesn't like to have a funky manicure to show off even if they aren't allowed to wear makeup yet?). So you don't totally torment her with places where it is all just window shopping, maybe let her run free picking out some French drugstore skin care products - she's not too young to get into the habit of caring for her skin as she's about to enter her teens. She can also walk out with some cheap beauty products like a lightly tinted lip balm or gloss, nail polish, barrettes, etc. And do let her know ahead of time that the French sales associates get a bit miffed at people who just automatically pick up the merchandise and start handling it at the more upscale places. It's more of a "look, but don't touch it without asking first and you better be seriously interested in buying it".

Mango is a store that is younger but more affordable. The Marais has some regular people shopping. Galeries Lafayette is a sight in itself, the building is marvelous. Monoprix is a chain that also is affordable, not fashionista, but what the Parsien would wear every day. I have an older book, Suzy Gershman's Where to shop Paris is great, but not updated, you might find one on Amazon.

The window shopping on the Champs-Elysées is fantastic. Enjoy your trip.

Just to add, even if the stores are the same as in the US, buying something in Paris does make it special, and the actual items won't be the exact same as what you'd find in the states, they may have different colors, items that are more geared to French taste, etc.

Our favorite outdoor markets with classy vintage clothing, cosmetics, and spectacular costume jewelry for around 1 euro are the Bastille Market, Thursdays and Sundays, and the Marche d' aligre, about 4-5 blocks from the Bastille Market. Place d' Aligre was our favorite with flea market type clothes and all manner of trinkets, jewelry, etc, not to mention the world's best chocolate chip cookies inside the market building. It's a little jaunt to find it but you will likely be the only tourists there. We were there last week and I bought a stunning Limoges piece for 20 Euro. ..... and a couple or 4-5 of those cookies...... Bastille market has a website.

Galleries Lafayette, Le Printemps, and BHV are similar to the nicer departments stores…beautiful to browse and you might just find something to buy! You can also look at Monoprix…which is more like Target. They are all over. We've been to the Dewali too…beautiful scarves and jewelry and pretty good prices. It's kind of like an upscale Claires, for a lack of a better example. Enjoy!

To be honest, I would steer away from the Champs-Élysées. Too many chain stores and fast food outlets and over saturated with people wandering up or down it looking for something special (which in my opinion just ain't there). The most overrated boulevard (excuse me, avenue) in France!!

for the "so expensive it's clearly out of range" category, you can walk the Faubourg St-Honoré with its Chanel, Prada, etc, etc. up Rue Royale as well. metro stop Concorde.