2.1.6. THE GARDENS NOW

MENU: 2.1.6. The gardens now

 

BRANDS OCCUPY ALMOST ALL THE ARCADES AND THE IDEA OF LUXURY ITSELF HAS CHANGED

Until about 2000 "luxury" meant articles that were unique or produced in very small series, of perfect quality. Now it means wares bought for their brand.  

Most boutiques of Palais-Royal fit that evolution.

Zoom

   Adapted from Mappy

In brief

• Remembrance of things past

• Reminders of Balzac's time

• Transformation

• Recent creativity fits tradition... sort of

• A sumptuous covered passage remains

• The walk ends in a salon

• A restaurant whose elegance prolongs the mood

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Remembrance of things past

REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST

UNTIL 2024 THIS SMALL SHOP EXPRESSED THE PERSONAL CREATIVITY THAT ONCE CHARACTIZED THE SITE, AND THAT NOW HAS ALMOST DISAPPEARED

"Men who value engravings appreciate my vests," said the owner

 of a shop that perfectly fit the 18th-century setting. 

La Galerie d'argent 

42 galerie Montpensier

 Danou Jacquard, descendent of the founder of Jaquard looms and art historian, created the shop that perfectly represented classic France.

The space is now an office.

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Evolution

REMINDERS OF BALZAC'S TIME

MEDALS AND SABERS UNDER THE ARCADES 

(GALÉRIE MONTPENSIER IS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE GARDENS IF YOU COME FROM THE LOUVRE)

La Galerie numismatique

 N°s 4-5 Galerie Montpensier

Next door, an establishment present since 1790 

Baqueville

Since 1790

N°s 6-7-8

Farther on... 

La Maison de l'Ambre

 N° 15 


Didier Ludot

 N°s 20-24

Vintage, since 1974

A few steps on is a gallery of primal arts that from 1993 to 2024 showed works of museum quality...

  Galérie Ivana Dmitrie

      N° 36 

Gallery photo

 

Then turned to mechanical toys of the early 20th century, which have become collectors' items and objects of decoration.

Ivana Dimitrie

 

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Not seeing its name ("Delage") among the Palais-Royal boutiques mentioned on the web, I thought it was gone. I passed by to see what had replaced it.

On the other side of the garden (galerie Valois) were handbags,belts and shoes made by hand in France. 

          François Croze and Jean-François Célaerio

"We're the same! With a workshop and seven craftspeople in Brittany!" said the cheerful owners who greeted me.

They had just forgotten to renew the name, another company had taken it, and they had to change it.

The store closed in 2025.

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The arcades on the other side of the garden end with exhibits by the Ministry of Culture, here of figures who have marked modern France's culture. 

Johnny Halliday, 

Baudelaire, Monet, Isabelle Huppert...

It tries to maintain a culture

that goes beyond the glow of brands.

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Transformation

TRANSFORMATION

BRANDS' MARKUPS ALLOW HUGE RENTS, WHICH RAISE ALL RENTS: WHEN OWNERS OF TRADITIONAL SHOPS RETIRE, 

MERCHANTS OF COMPARABLE SPIRIT LACK THE MEANS TO REPLACE THEM

Take what used to be a historic café, where furious debates took place during the Revolution and Napoleon became a client. Until 2016 it remained a restaurant, where life- sized engravings of Louis-Philippe's family* lined the walls. 

*The head of the Bourbon junior branch and France's last king (1830-1848). Its connection with the site is explained here.

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The gardens are reflected in the window.

These engravings are much less impressive, but give the idea:  

 

Engravings sold on the web 

A brand now occupies the site. Its only connection with the luxury of the past is its cost.

Their cost in 2019; the list is no longer posted, but prices appear on the web.

Gardens that once boomed with commercial energy and revolutionary zeal are now by nightfall silent.

 

A few shops

that propose luxuries worth their cost remain. 

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Recent creativity fits tradition... sort of

RECENT CREATIVITY FITS TRADITION... SORT OF

 

THE INVENTIVITY AND PRESENTATION THAT HAVE RECENTLY APPEARED CAN BE WORTHY OF TRADITION

The boutiques that were the creations of owners who were personally present, and like some of those shown in the preceding pages, presented a spirit that could not be copied or found elsewhere.  

Now we find brands.

      Monies

149, galerie Valois  

                                                              « Malachite ! » 

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Selima Optique

 43 Galerie Montpensier

A boutique whose decor approaches the traditional spirit, but the eyewear it proposes is a brand. 

Maison Fabre

128 Galerie Valois

Rick Owens

27 Galerie Valois

Pierre Hardy

156, Galerie de Valois

Serge Lutens 

142 Galerie Valois

Photo du site web

Papier Royal 

146 galerie Valois

The presentation in these boutiques can be excellent, but one doesn't take that home. The brands do the "communication" that the credulous clients pay for, thinking that the glory shine back on them. 

One finds comparable creativity in neighborhood markets, Christmas markets or temporary exhibits.  

That's how I found a craftswoman

who makes lampshades to fit specific decors.

Those at the bottom of this page were made for me,

for perhaps 1/20th of the cost 

if they were shown here.

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A sumptuous covered passage remains

 

 

L'INVENTIVITÉ ET LA PRÉSENTATION APPARUES DEPUIS UNE DIXAINE D'ANNÉES PEUVENT ÊTRE À LA HAUTEUR DE LA TRADITION

Mais elles émanent des marques. Les boutiques uniques qui sont l'enfant dese créateurs et dont la production ne peut se trouver ailleurs, comme certaines montrées à la page précédente, ne se renouvellent pas.

      Monies

149, galerie Valois  

                                                              « Malachite ! » 

*     *

Selima Optique

 43 Galerie Montpensier

Une boutique dont le décor est proche de l'ancien esprit, mais les lunettes qu'elle propose sont une marque.

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Maison Fabre

128 Galerie Valois

Rick Owens

27 Galerie Valois

Pierre Hardy

156, Galerie de Valois

Serge Lutens 

142 Galerie Valois

Photo du site web

Papier Royal 

146 galerie Valois

La présentation dans ces boutiques peut être fabuleuse, mais on ne la ramène pas chez soi. Les marques font leur « communication » et les crédules pensent que ce rayonnement rejaillit sur eux.  

On trouve une créativité comparable sur les marchés.

Ces abatjours, 

des pièces uniques faites sur commande,

 sont un exemple.

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Suite,

Un somptueux passage demeure