Paris In Springtime: Chic Charity

PASSIONS | by VALERIE GRIFFITH

NEXT TIME YOU’RE IN PARIS, shop with a conscience at Merci.

Merci is a hip ’n haute concept store that donates all of its profits to children in the world’s poorest countries. The shop is the brainchild of designers Marie-France and Bernard Cohen, who founded the upscale children’s brand Bonpoint. When the couple sold the majority stake in their Bonpoint empire, they opened Merci as a way to give back. Profits currently go to Madagascar, with the goal of giving young children ― especially girls ― an education.

Situated in the fashionable Marais district, Merci is smart retail in every sense. The store is an airy, light-infused industrial space that incorporates bio deco, lifestyle design, couture, vintage fashion, fragrance and flowers.

Artists, designers and manufacturers typically waive their profits and sell to the store at cost. Stella McCartney and YSL are here, among others, offering clothing for 30 to 40 percent less than in their own boutiques. Perfumes by Annick Goutal are similarly discounted and sold in plain bottles or poured into a container the customer brings with her.

Marie-France Cohen’s eclectic aesthetic combines beauty and simplicity: a mossy flower shop entices with seasonal fleurs, colored buttons and baubles sourced from Paris’ flea markets beckon alongside delicate vintage nightdresses. Best of all? Five Euros will buy a café crème and a used book along with a cozy spot to read in Merci’s eclectic café-library.

Shopping that’s good for you and for others. C’est fabuleaux, non?