Meet H&M’s Amazing Sister Store: COS

Dear Reader, Before I went to Paris my lovely mother bought me the cutest book, Le Shop Guide to Paris.  It is actually quite surprising that she would buy this for me, seeing as she absolutely hates shopping and anything to do with it (I don’t really get how we are related, seeing that I literally have a blog revolving around shopping and fashion).  Nonetheless, this book is a great early Christmas present, and mentions many cute shops located all throughout Paris- including COS.

Flipping through the pages of the book, COS was the fist to catch my eye because it is located near my apartment, is listed under the “Affordable Chic” section, and is said to be created by the “clever Swedes who brought us H&M.”  Due to my love for H&M, I knew I had to check this store out.  Hidden in the heart of the Marais, this store was well worth the walk. As soon as I entered the store, I knew it was going to become my new obsession.  Literally every item of clothing in there, I wanted.  I like to think of fashion as an art, and COS is one of the first stores that I have ever seen that really embraces the art of fashion.  Their pieces are so basic with crisp lines and cool colors, that by wearing these clothes, one becomes a piece of art.  I love COS clothing because their items are timeless, basic, well made, and still one of kind.  They put twists on common day wear, and by doing so are different from any other clothing store out there.

Not to mention, the people shopping at COS made me want to burn every piece of clothing I owned.  They were all dressed so simply and beautifully, with simple hair, basic clothing, and trendy Adidas tennis shoes.  Not going to lie, I definitely felt super intimidated and questioned my choice of Doc Martens as decent footwear.  Even the men and women working at COS were the epitome of french fashion; effortlessly elegant and chic, with clean faces, pulled back hair, and minimal makeup. I only ended up buying a necklace.  I wanted a lot more clothing, but I knew that once I bought a shirt, I would want to buy pants to match, and then shoes (etc).

Here is the necklace!  This bad quality photo does not do it justice, it actually is really beautiful and one of a kind.

Anyways, here it is:  H&M’s lesser know about sister store, and my new favorite clothing brand.  They have stores all over the world, but if there is not one near you I would recommend checking out their website.  They have lookbooks, a magazine, online shopping, and much more.  Also, be sure to check under their “things” tab, they have lots of cool music and interesting articles.

Thanks for reading! XOXO –BarbaraMari

Disclaimer:  The first photo at the top of the page was made using Polyvore.  All of the other photos in this blog post are mine.