[Shopping Guide] My Favorite Brands & Artisans

Those who have been following me for a long time know that I love quality and handmade items. If I can treat myself to “the best in the world,” I do.

Since I travel constantly, I’m forced to be minimalist and use high-quality products that last a long time. Plus, I really love craftsmanship and have taken many classes with artisans, so I know which artisan is truly skilled. Thanks to traveling, I’ve been able to visit suppliers, subcontractors… to ask questions and better appreciate materials or know-how.

I’ll list my favorite brands and artisans here, in case you need them for your Christmas gifts…

Clothing & Footwear

I only wear silk, wool, linen, and cotton now. Everything else has been banned from my life because I sweat a lot and need breathable, antibacterial, and durable clothing.

• For wool, I mainly buy merino wool, cashmere, and pashmina. My merino wool t-shirts are worn in both summer and winter, and the brand Icebreaker is my favorite (more info). Then, I adore cashmere, and I buy sweaters from Gobi and 100% cashmere throws from Piacenza. Pashmina (more info) is a more luxurious, lighter, but warm form of cashmere; I bought a scarf in Dubai, then another from Princesse Moghole.
  • People often tell me cashmere and pashmina are hard to care for, but actually you just need to use the “wool” cycle on your washing machine and dry them flat.
• For silk, I buy hand-woven silk from Lualang (based in Vietnam, but they ship internationally): camisole, hair scrunchie, pillowcase. For scarves, I buy from Hermès (more info). Silk doesn’t require much washing, so NO STRESS!
  • For silk dresses, I have one from Gaâla and I buy very old silk collections from Nafnaf or Comptoir des cotonniers (never the recent collections because the quality is no longer there!)
• For cotton, the best I’ve found is Sea Island Cotton from Sunspel. Otherwise, I love cotton dresses from Fabindia, perfect for heatwaves.
• For linen, I buy 100% linen whenever I find it. I don’t have a favorite linen brand yet.
• For underwear, I buy from Intimissi; they have silk underwear, very comfortable to wear and not difficult to wash.
• For shoes: In leather, I buy from Jonak. For everyday wear, I buy from GEOX, Unisa or Merrell.

Jewelry

I took jewelry-making classes. I know so much about production and material costs that I can no longer buy them in stores.

• I have a handmade ring and pendant from A Beautiful Accident in Paris (more info). Bruno always creates beautiful, unique pieces, custom-made of course, without being too expensive. If you opt for a long wait (ordering in summer for Christmas, for example), he automatically gives you 10% off.
• Otherwise, my Vietnamese jeweler Duong Ha (based in Hanoi but delivers worldwide) made me a beautiful platinum ring (more info). I love going through him because it allows me to have unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry while paying a fair price.
• If you go to Istanbul, go straight to FTH

Leather goods

I took leatherworking classes so I know exactly where to go.
It’s better to choose a quality product because good leather can last more than a lifetime.

• At Amina (Ak yol Atelier), a former Hermès leatherworker. She’s in Evreux but regularly goes to Paris. I met her and I talked about her here. She can make anything and change the color/leather on request. Opt for goat leather to pay less, but you can be as bling as you want by choosing crocodile or ostrich leather.
• At Pinel & Pinel : I love their trunks; they’re very pretty and subtle. I’ve never bought from them yet, but I visited their store, and all the leather products are beautiful and worth the price.
• Vintage items from Hermès (see my Hermès collection here).
• From my teacher Dolio (based in Hanoi). He made me a custom novonappa bag, as well as wallets and watch straps for JB.

Books

I mainly read ebooks on my e-reader reMarkable.
I only buy paper books if they’re not available as ebooks or if they’re bibliophile editions.
My budget Books for bibliophiles is quite substantial (600 euros per year) because I’ve transferred my entire “cosmetics & spa” budget to the Books budget.

Cosmetics

Since I no longer have skin issues, I have a very simple routine (you’ll understand the why and how of this routine here)

• Blue cleanser from Rosette (a Japanese brand)
• Thermal water from Uriage
• Serum The Ordinary Zinc Niacinamide 10%
• GenOptics Ultraura Essence Serum from SK-II
• Power Cream moisturizer from SK-II
• Refillable lipstick fromHermès
• For the body: organic soaps with orange blossom from Melchior & Balthazar (which I talked about here). Use the code SONIA10 for 10% off
• Chinese massage (ancestral): Lanqi Spa in Paris 7th, pay in cash to get 25% off
• For perfumes, I really like the brand The Different Company which sells niche, ultra-concentrated perfumes. A 50ml perfume can last me 4 years.

How to finance buying nice products?

By reading about the products I recommend above, you might think I’m unrealistic and that these products cost too much. I am certainly a spender, but combining all my purchases, I don’t think I spend more than you! The reality is that my products are durable (for example, I have an Icebreaker t-shirt that I wear every winter for 5 years) and my cost per wear is very low.

Also, apart from underwear, I buy a lot of things second-hand. The more expensive the products, the more people tend to hide them in the closet, not dare to use them, and in the end you get a product almost as good as new for 50% – 70% of the new price. Also, old collections (dating from 2009 or earlier) are made with better materials, and the price is very low.

I also buy a lot during the sales. Since my products are of excellent quality, I’m not in a hurry; I have 6 months to do research, wait for the sales, and replace them.

There are many things I do myself. In leather goods, for example, I buy superb leather scraps from Hermès and I make many beautiful things with them.

I put money aside for expensive purchases. My purchases are rarely impulse buys. I roughly know that I need to replace walking shoes every year, renew underwear once a year, and that every 2-3 years I’ll accidentally shrink something cashmere… so I calculate all that, while planning a big margin to treat myself in anticipation of a crush.

I also save money on monthly subscriptions. By using Ukrainian or Turkish VPNs, you can reduce your monthly YouTube subscription from 17 euros to only 2.4 euros. Same for Netflix. 10 euros per month here and there, that’s the equivalent of a diamond ring at the end of the year, you know? Our card American Express offers subscriptions like Amazon Prime, Amazon Audible. I’m sure your bank or company works council have more or less similar offers; you just need to ask.

I buy very little from luxury brands because you essentially pay for marketing. I’ve never owned Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel… in my life!! I’m a huge fan of William Morris, whose ideas are shared here.