France on Sale

Ladies, can you imagine an entire COUNTRY on sale? Imagine everywhere you walk you see sale signs. Everything you desire on every street corner, in every store, in every window is on sale. And it's not Christmas so everyone is in a good mood. Everything is on sale and you aren't doing returns, you aren't trying to find the perfect gift for your long lost aunt who you are seeing for the first time in 20 years and the last time you saw her you grew to despise her because she called you a moron and traumatized you. Everything is on sale and the only person you have to shop for is you. Can you imagine?

Well, that is what happens in France twice a year. The government has set "sale" times for the stores and enforces them throughout the country. So nothing is ever on sale, except these 2 times, for one month each. But when it happens, OMG, it really happens. EVERYTHING is on sale!!!!

When we were in Tours, France, 2 years ago the sale started the Wed. we arrived. But we were only there for 4 days and didn't realize the significance of this event, so we didn't do any shopping. We noticed the signs and the crowds, but stayed far away from it all. We were bike riding though the Loire and had other things on our minds.

But this last Wed. the January sale started, and still not understanding the significance of it all, I innocently meandered into the nearest shopping mall. Keep in mind that I had no idea this sale would last for 4 weeks. I thought it was a one day sale only, and I thought there were probably lots of sales through the year. So, I had no idea how important this sale was to all the locals.

I had been to this mall before and it is really fabulous. Although it always has lots of people in it, it still usually looks very spacious and inviting. However, I walked through the sliding doors on Wed. and all I saw was a sea of people. Waves of heads bobbing up and down endlessly into the distance. Oh My! So, I took a deep breath, unbuttoned my warm coat so I wouldn't overheat, and headed into the mob.

But I forgot the mob very quickly. My curious eyes were soon filled with "Soldes" signs everywhere. Everywhere I looked all the beautiful things I had been admiring before were now on sale! In France, almost anything you buy is about 2-5 times more expensive than it would be in the USA, so I'm not often tempted by much. But on this day, OMG, I wanted everything. All those gorgeous French fashions, all those things I need to make our new place feel a bit more like home, all those sexy things for Dave. So I delved in, head first into the shopping fray.

It was blissful fun. I tried on shirts, skirts, and shoes, all of them were great, but nothing that I had to have. However, the thing I tried on the most were the coats. The French wear the most beautiful coats. Because it gets so cold, they have all sorts of coat fashions and ever since I got here I've been lusting after the coats in the windows. So now I tried on about 50 of them! They were all gorgeous. Most of them were some version of leather or super soft suede lined with fur. Okay, I know that isn't very PC, but you should see these coats! I tried on this one long one that was a very supple soft brown suede on the outside and white rabbit fur on the inside. On the top third of the front, it had a beautifully done sparkly design in greenish "jewels." Very blingy, but very stylish (not brash). It was insanely adorable, and it was on sale. 120 euros, down from 440!!!! I tried it on and swooshed in front of the mirror with it. I basked in the feel of the uber soft fur. I rubbed the delectable suede sleeve on my face. I wanted it so badly, but I couldn't get it to close around my chest!!!! I tried, mind you, but it was just too tight. TOO TIGHT! Aargh! And she only had this one size.

And so, feeling glum, I put it back on the hanger and left the store. Nothing else seemed to compare after that and I was starting to lose interest, when as I was leaving the mall, in a window near the exit I spotted a ruffly black sweater coat. It was stunning. Okay, I took a deep breath again. I'm not going to get too excited this time. I'm just going to look. They probably don't have my size, or it's too expensive. I'm just going to look. So, I walked calmly into the store and found the rack with the coats in the window. It was even more beautiful up close and it was a soft light Italian wool. And they had a small! OMG. My breath was speeding up. I pulled it off the hanger and tried it on. It was gorgeous!!!! And a perfect fit! Again, I swooshed in front of the mirror. I was holding in my joyful giggles. It was so beautiful. Several of the other customers walked by and exclaimed how pretty it was. I was so excited.

So now, all I need to do was find the price. I searched the whole garment and couldn't find a tag. My excitement started to fade. No tag usually equals too expensive. But I looked on one of the other coats and it said 120 euros. 120 euros?!!! Really?!!! I can do that!!! That was about $160 and it was the only thing I was going to buy for myself on this sale. And I'd love wearing this at home too. Woohoo!!! Woohoo!!! Woohoo!!!! I practically skipped to the cashier holding my new coat. I was so excited.

But when I got to the counter, since my coat didn't have a tag on it, the cashier had to go to get another one. While she was gone I was practicing my French numbers by trying to remember how to say 120 in French. When she got back I gleefully said 120 euros. She stared at me and said "Non". I pointed at the tag and repeated "120 euros." I gave her a pleading look. She said "non" and said some number I didn't understand. I asked her to please repeat, and she said it again, and again I didn't understand. I have to admit, after this long day, after I had finally found something that fit and was so lovely, now as I was standing there realizing that I probably wasn't going to be able to afford it, I almost wanted to cry. So, I put it on the counter and sighed. Then she said urgently in French, one minute. She got a piece of paper and wrote down 80. I looked, expecting the worst. My eyes bulged. 80?!!! "80?" I exclaimed! "80?! Really?!!!" She started to laugh. "Qui! Qui!" she said joyfully. One of my very loud, very happy laughs escaped my mouth and I started to clap my hands. Woohoo!!!! She was laughing with me. So I paid for my adorable new coat, feeling like a kid that just gotten something she had always wanted from Santa, slipped into it, and bounced happily out of the store. I must have been grinning from ear to ear, because as I walked to the bus stop almost everyone I passed looked at me. Many smiled and many said hello, a phenomenon that barely every happens in France when you are passing strangers on the street. I sat in my bliss on the bus, and when I got home, Dave was entering the apartment building just as I arrived.

I gave him a big kiss and spun around. "What do you think?" I winked. "Gorgeous!" He exclaimed. "I love it. Was that your only purchase from the sale today?" I grinned broadly. "Sure. It was a quick shopping day."