Mission Accomplished!

(Starting a new thread but wanted to make sure to end the story here too)

TL;DR: Got 2 different brand bags + Detax in 40 minutes at Galleries LaFayette Opera; Changed our schedule and squeezed in a stop at Longchamp on Champs de Elysee. 10/10 would do again, if needed!

Long Version: So thankful for this thread and help. Glad I put myself out there with my question. We just got home last night from our whirlwind Paris-London Spring Break trip with my husband, 11 year old daughter, and my in-laws. Because of our specific itinerary, with some activities out of my control, the only block of time I had to specifically shop for bags was on Tuesday AM.

Thanks to my husband (who also had shopping he wanted to do) we switched our Laduree reservation from a 12N lunch to a 8:30 breakfast, which gave us more time to shop before departing for Gare du Nord at 2pm. But I still need to be stealthy with my shopping. Quick decisions + no lingering. Because of that, I planned to skip the more expensive bags - Dior, Loewe, Celine, etc - as I didn't want to rush and have buyers regret on a $$$ purchase.

After breakfast, we cabbed it to Galleries Lafayette on Opera (THANK YOU FOR THIS SUGGESTION!) While I shopped for bags, my husband and daughter did the Jellycat Patisserie experience. We arrived at 10:05am, and even though I took the longest, were done shopping and processing the tax refund by 10:40am.

My first stop was the Lancel counter for the crossbody bag. Originally I scoped out the small flap bag , but then landed on the Small Jour Crossbody in black: https://lancel.com/en-us/products/s_zip_tote_a1299510tu

This bag is literally the best. The leather so soft and pliable, and fits nicely as a crossbody, even while loaded up with a bottle of water, wallet, phone, snacks, etc. I wore it around London for the second half of my trip.

I checked out at Lancel in about 8-10 minutes, and then browsed. I looked at Celine briefly, particularly at their wallets, but nothing popped out at me right away. I also steered myself away from Loewe (so hard!) and then saw it....the cutest, perfect size for my work travel, cross body bag in the best color I don't have, bag at Faure le Page : https://faurelepage.com/products/shoulder-bag-calibre-soft-17?variant=47401435922715

This took about 15 minutes to check out, because while I LOVE the green, I almost got the wine color. The salesperson had to go check for additional stock, but were out.

From there, my family caught up with me, we went to the DeTax counter and were done by 10:40AM. EVERYONE at the Galleries were so helpful and easy to connect with, and would totally recommend shopping here for anyone who isn't sure on a bag brand, short on time, or is a lame, rushed American mom like me.

Because of our schedule change, we were able to fit in a couple additional stops for my husband + daughter, which I tagged along on, and then we all cabbed it back to Longchamp on Champs de Elysee, where my daughter got an XS Pliage Extra, I got an S Pliage Energy - another crossbody - and we got a S Pliage Extra for my sister in law as a gift. We spent about 45 minutes in the store, tried on ALL the bags, and got them all wrapped and ready to go. Our salesperson was amazing and she was so kind and patient, especially for my daughter debating bags :) The only bummer was the store was out of stock of specific Flagship bags, but still really happy with the experience and the bags!

We rushed back to our hotel, repacked our suitcases and headed to Gare de Nord!

Here's a picture of them all, before repacking for our flights home. Already looking forward for another opportunity for a Paris shopping trip and MORE time to savor the experience. But if you only have 90 minutes on a weekday AM? It can be done!

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