Winter Sales · Paris
The Paris winter sales,
without the crowd.
Book & Smile arranges the Paris winter sales for international clients as private appointments rather than a day in queues: wish lists sent to the maisons and boutiques before the opening, sizes and pieces held where houses allow it, fittings in a quiet salon, tax-refund forms completed, parcels shipped home, a chauffeur between the 8th, Saint-Germain and the Marais. One bilingual contact, from the first list to the last delivery.
The French winter sales run for four weeks from early January, by law and on fixed dates. The first days are when the pieces are still there — and when the boutiques are fullest, the fitting rooms longest and the sales advisers least available.
The best of the sales is never on the rails: it is what an adviser who knows your size sets aside, the private appointment at 9:30 before the doors open, the piece transferred from another boutique. From abroad, in another language, none of that happens on its own.
What if the sales were three calm appointments and a delivery, instead of a day you would rather forget?
What the personal shopper handles
- Wish list and pre-selection — your sizes, preferences and targets sent to the houses in late December; what is available, held or transferable confirmed before you move
- Private appointments — fittings in a salon or before opening where the maison offers it, with the adviser who knows your file
- Accompanied shopping — a bilingual personal shopper with you for a morning or a day, honest about cut, fabric and whether the piece is worth it at any price
- Tax refund and shipping — détaxe forms completed correctly, parcels consolidated and shipped home or to your next destination, insured
- Alterations — the tailor, the cobbler, the engraver; pieces delivered to your hotel finished
- Movement — a chauffeur who waits, carries and knows where to stop on avenue Montaigne, rue Saint-Honoré and in the Marais
How the sales really work in Paris
The dates are set nationally and announced in advance; the second markdown usually arrives in the third week. Pieces from the autumn-winter collection are marked down in store, and the maisons decide house by house what is included — some exclude leather goods and icons entirely. Private appointments exist mainly for clients with an existing relationship, which is where introductions made properly, in French, by someone the boutique knows, make the difference.
We tell you plainly when a house does not take part, when a piece will not be reduced and when it is better to buy at full price in December than to hope in January.
A typical sales day, arranged
The list is agreed in the last week of December. On the first morning, a 9:30 appointment in the 8th with pieces already held; the car to Saint-Germain for a second fitting at 11:30; lunch booked nearby. The afternoon is free, or reserved for the two boutiques that only confirmed that morning. Détaxe forms are completed at the counter, parcels leave for your address within the week, and alterations follow. You carry nothing.
Beyond January
The same personal shopper arranges private shopping appointments all year, from a single piece to a wardrobe, and runs the shopping side of Paris Fashion Week. Clients who begin in January often continue by membership, with preferences on file and an adviser at each house who knows them.
Who asks us for the sales
International visitors who time a January stay around the sales
Residents who want the result without the day
Clients buying for others — a partner, a daughter, a mother abroad
FAQ
When are the Paris winter sales?
They start on the second Wednesday of January and run for four weeks, on dates set nationally. We share the exact dates and the likely second-markdown week with your pre-selection.
Can you hold pieces for me before the sales start?
Where a maison allows it for its clients, yes; many do for the first days. Where it does not, we say so and plan to be first through the door with a clear list.
Do you earn commissions from the boutiques?
No. Our advice is independent, pieces are paid at the boutique's price, and our coordination is part of our assistance.
Can you shop for me if I am not in Paris?
Yes. With a precise list and your measurements we can buy, have pieces altered and ship them, with photographs for approval before each purchase.
Consider it handled.
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