Loving Lingerie in Paris

Shopping in Paris is an intimidating process all around.  As a group, French women seem to effortlessly exude style and confidence, casually wearing an intricately tied scarf around their necks, or pairing jeans with fishnet stockings and high heels.   It is enough to make even the most confident American crouch down in their Métro seat.  The prospect of shopping if you are a woman of size can be even more daunting.  But, I am happy to report, that bigger sizes do exist here, and one of the most important “dream” items – lingerie – is well within your reach! As a new resident here in the City of Light, I have the luxury (or misfortune) of finding all new locales for buying the items that once took me minutes to locate in California.  Given that I’m not a size 6, I have been ruthlessly searching for places that cater to the average-sized (that’s a size 14-16, in case you’re interested) and larger-sized woman. Like many of you, I have fantasized about finding delicate, sexy French lingerie, but believed that my no longer perky friends would never find their hearts’ desire.  After all, wearing some killer set of undies can change your life:  you walk differently, and let’s face it, how many of you haven’t worn a wicked smile when wearing something lacy underneath your clothes? It is a stunning statistic that between 70%and 80% of all women are wearing the wrong bra size.  So, benefiting from a recent weight loss, I decided to summon up my courage, and went to shop for new bras.  What if the shopkeepers were snooty and looked down at my ample bosom?  Fear not, my friends, for in Paris, lingerie is nothing to fool around with. I entered Laur Sokol, a cozy boutique near the Marais (84, rue François Miron, 011 (33) 1 42 76 92 25; Métro Saint-Paul; they have a total of five stores throughout Paris).  The two saleswomen – both smiling and deadly serious immediately put me at ease.  In fact, a sign in the window states that they carry a wide range of sizes.  I explained – in my broken French – that I was American, and had no idea of my French size.  For those of us who have heard horror stories about French customer service, these two missed the memo.  I became a science project! Escorted into a room, I was handed a total of 40 bras in one and one-half hours!  After three attempts, they determined my size.  From there, it was a question of trying on the sexiest, most ornate and the most decadent bras imaginable.  And make no mistake; some of the prices reflected that splendor (although they went out of their way to find sale items for me – and there were dozens of beautiful ones to choose from)!  At the end of my odyssey, I found three of the best-fitting and most comfortable bras I’ve ever worn. One caused me to squeal (yes, squeal) with glee and blurt, “I must have this bra in order to live!” When was the last time that happened? So, next time you see me on the Métro, I’ll be wearing a wicked grin, secure in the knowledge that I am wearing the most glorious underwear in Paris.  Laur Sokol also sells gorgeous panties in sizes up to 3x, but that’s another story …