Gigi Burris’s Five Can’t-Miss Spots in Paris
The headwear designer has spent enough time in the city to be a very good tour guide.
The neon sign outside of Hôtel Amour in Montmartre.
Though milliner Gigi Burris calls NYC home, she draws a lot of inspiration from the French fashion capital—and sources plenty of material there too, including some extra-special grosgrain that she used to create her Of a Kind edition that comes out tomorrow. Here, she opens up about the places she’s itching to hit the second she lands at CDG.
UltraMod
“I found this shop in the Marais when I was living in the neighborhood while studying abroad. It’s actually two shops: One sells grosgrain and buttons, and the other sells millinery supplies. It’s been around since the late 1800s, and some of the felts they have are ones they made for the Queen of England. Once those materials are used, they won’t exist anymore. There’s something really romantic about that.”
(3 and 4 Rue de Choiseul)
Le Perle
“My favorite bar actually happens to be the same bar that the whole Galliano scandal happened in. It’s like a little dive, but it’s a fashion dive. I lived down the street, and I’d go there all the time after work for a Kir Royale or Campari on the rocks. People spill out onto the street, and you see fashion people you recognize, like Kris Van Assche, the designer of Dior Homme. I don’t know if there’s an equivalent sort of place in New York.”
(78 Rue Vieille du Temple)
Hôtel Amour
“It used to be a brothel. Each room has one those incredible tubs, and I stayed in a room once that had a massive vintage Playboy collection. There’s this beautiful outdoor garden and charming little outdoor restaurant underneath that has the most amazing cheeseburgers you’ve ever had. ”
(8 Rue de Navarin; hotelamourparis.fr)
Antiquités de L’Ile Saint Louis
“This is the one of the most well-curated antique shops I have ever seen. It’s super high-end. Fancy French women go there to unload stuff. The space is pretty unassuming—you wouldn’t walk in unless it was something you kind of knew. The furniture is amazing, and it’s so Paris that you could come home with this incredible sixties Balenciaga bag.”
(20 Rue des Deux Ponts; isl-antiquites.com)
Père Lachaise Cemetery
“There’s such an eerie sense being in a cemetery where so many incredible people are buried. I love to go in the fall when it’s crisp. It’s tough to get to on shorter trips because it’s in a weird part of Paris—but getting there becomes an adventure, too.”
(Principal entrance: Rue de Repos)
