Maybe two years ago, I was on a press trip in Europe and decided on a whim to book a flight to Paris for two reasons, both of which involved shopping. When I arrived mid-morning, the address I shared with my taxi driver wasn’t for a hotel or even a restaurant to grab a late breakfast. He drove me straight to Alaïa, where I had my first espresso of the day among a sea of ballet-pink pumps, mesh Mary Janes, and handbags made of nubuck leather and pony hair. I walked out with a navy-blue Le Teckel and plenty of energy to seize the day—and check off the other purchase on my to-buy list. Next stop: Charvet.
Charvet, located at 28 Place Vendôme across from the famous Ritz Paris, has been around since 1838, when Joseph-Christophe Charvet opened the world’s first shirt shop in Paris. The space is great on the senses, with rich jewel tones throughout in the form of silk ties, patterned shirts, and one tall shelf to the right of the front door full of house slippers in a kaleidoscope of colors, all packed neatly inside their own personal leather envelopes. Leather versions mixed with suede ones, neutral-colored options in navy, brown, and black, with brighter ones, from red to royal blue. Though I love a crisp, tailored shirt as much as the next person, it was a pair of slippers that I’d come all this way for.
In the weeks and months after my luxury investment, I wore my slippers—an olive-green suede pair—nightly and brought them on trips to Seoul, Milan, and Athens. The matching suede bag they come in makes them perfect for traveling. In fact, that’s essentially the entire point of them—slippers to help you bring the comforts of home with you when you jet around the world. Even so, I like to wear mine mostly around my apartment, alongside cashmere socks, silk pants, and chunky knits, all of which elevate my everyday life.
There’s really only one problem. Since Charvet doesn’t have an e-commerce presence, it’s always been tricky to obtain a pair without doing what I did and traveling to the brand’s Paris boutique. For some of us, that’s a far journey to make just for a pair of slippers, even if they are the epitome of luxury. It’s a good excuse to plan a trip, sure, but there should be an easier way. Well, now, there is one. In the last few years, Charvet travel slippers went from being impossible to find outside of Paris to shipped worldwide at retailers like Mr Porter and MyTheresa. That is, if you can find a pair in stock. Given their popularity among fashion people—including, but not limited to creators like Christie Tyler and Julia Rabinowitsch, the founder of The Millennial Decorator, and celebrities ranging from Dakota Johnson to Laura Harrier—smaller sizes especially sell out in record time. Fortunately, as an interested party, I’m always on the lookout for restocks, and I recently spotted plenty of size XS and S options at both of the aforementioned websites. Some might have gatekept this information, but I wouldn’t dare.
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