Packing for my First Time To Paris France!

I have always dreamed of Paris, France. Studying fashion design in the Midwest I studied Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy. I also saw myself jetting to Paris, eating croissants and sketching on the streets of the city. Life happened and it took awhile but I did it I bought my plane tickets on a whim on a January night. I landed in Paris in February in the middle of a cold snap and successfully saw the City Of Lights and stayed within budget!
Women in Paris I knew would be dressed well even in cold weather-I thought about the trains,walking the streets and ultimately trying to stay warm. So the outside layer is what seemed most important-wool coats, or the popular down puff coat look- a colored coat would limit the rest of my wardrobe and possibly stand out too much. As a first time tourist I decided I didn’t want too many eyes on me too fast so I opted for a black coat. After Christmas all the winter coats go on sale- so I started scouring the department stores- JC Penneys,Macy’s and more. Many sites offered free shipping and since time was short and I had a small window-I chose 2 coats from Macy’s free shipping and them shipped to me. Got a great black down filled coat with a hood for about $40.00! Ebay also had some good options but I liked that Macy’s I would be able to return one or both of the coats if they did not work out.
Next leggings are big right now-and they don’t take up much room in a suitcase- love Ebay-leggings are stretchy-elastic waist and comfortable-look for a brand called Hue- they are worth the price!!
With not being sure if the weather would warm up a bit or not-I packed things I could layer- tissue tees are great for this-Target still sells tissue tees, J Crew and thermal underwear carried by such companies like REI.
After picking my coat for $45, I found a great pair of name brand black boots on Ebay for under $30, and 2 pairs of Hue Leggings for about $15. Hats and scarves can be picked up at many souvenir stands for about $5-7 US dollars-scarves and hats will give you that local Parisian flavor!
If you travel during late January early February you will hit the Paris Sales-Paris stores only have sales 2 times a year- so it’s kinda fun-pick up something that you love for a better price!
Remember if you want to travel on a budget-that means public transportation which means you want to pack light and compact. Taking the Metro there are a lot of stairs-the hotels may or may not have stairs-budget means carrying your own stuff and less is more! I figure Paris is a shoppers dream-take a little -and dress a bit better than you would at home. Classic simple colors and a few accent pieces. For inspiration google Paris Street fashion-
Sites you may find helpful:
Rei.com, eddiebauer.com,ebay.com,essentialapparel.com,macys.com and llbean.com