Last night around 2am, whilst suffering from new-location insomnia on the island of Crete, it came to me: this blog could be about anything I like. And two weeks ago, I really liked seeking out the vintage shops of Paris with my cousin Erin, who owns 1619 Silverlake, a vintage store in Los Angeles.

I am not a big vintage shopper, but I do have a few pieces I wear religiously, and I'm always on the look-out for timeless St. John knits. While this was not the place for that American classic, our journey through the winding streets (with four kids in tow) took us to a number of Mad Vintage locations. The stores were roomy and well-organized, and also well-priced. The locations varied in terms of size and breadth of offering, and she found things in all of them.

We also stopped at the Kilo Shop on Boulevard Monmartre, which was also well-organized and clean, but didn't yield quite as many finds as Mad Vintage. (She did score some new sunglasses, though, which were fabulous.)

A few doors down from where Erin was staying was Madre & Figlia, a contemporary and high-end reseller shop with a wide range for sale and an extremely likable mother-daughter owner-duo. When I mentioned I was interested in Bottega Veneta, they referred us to Ale, a carefully-curated and very beautiful store in a charming arcade a few blocks away. And there was the bag. In hot pink! Five years old but never used. Sure, a colour I had never considered, but really, so practical. An adjustable strap so it could be worn on the shoulder or cross-body, and it even fit my computer. And it matched my range of pearls with colours!

With that purchase made, I didn't feel the need to drag our party to the 5K-square-foot mecca that is Reciproque in the 16th. But next time I'm in Paris I'll be going there for sure, with a print-out of this New York Times article in hand.