The umbrella, cane, riding crop and miscellaneous accessories Appreciation thread

holy. great story. photos of the shop?

Pep's is a real find... one of the last places doing umbrella repair in Paris (Madeleine Gely now only accepts her own umbrellas for repair).

holymadness, I am jealous of you being in Paris. Even with teh rain. Have you been to the cat restaurant?

Does my Peterson count for misc. accessories Appreciation? Will show pic of pipe in actual use at earliest convenience in WAYWRN. Or these:

Originally Posted by BrooklynWeGoHard

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holy. great story. photos of the shop?
I didn't bring my camera with me and even if I did, I think snapping photos of the storefront would have been a bit bizarre (the real world is not like teh internets). Nevertheless, other people have: It's hard to get a good angle from which to take a photo because the Passage de l'Ancre Royale is literally 10 feet wide.

Originally Posted by RJman

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Pep's is a real find... one of the last places doing umbrella repair in Paris (Madeleine Gely now only accepts her own umbrellas for repair). holymadness, I am jealous of you being in Paris. Even with teh rain. Have you been to the cat restaurant?
The owner told me that he repairs 10,000 umbrellas a year -- amazing. What's more amazing is that a lot of those looked to me like €15 collapsible pieces of junk from airport kiosks. It hasn't started to rain yet today, but the sky is cloudy. I have not been to the cat restaurant. Is it like the Hemingway House in Key West, with 50 or so cats wandering around? Or is it like a shady Chinese diner in the Bowery that serves cat meat in a number of disguised and delicious ways? PM me.

Thanks for sharing that, HM. Nice to see lesser-known alternatives.

Originally Posted by luftvier

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Does my Peterson count for misc. accessories Appreciation? Will show pic of pipe in actual use at earliest convenience in WAYWRN.
Absolutely. I'd love to see more unusual items in thread. (I'm looking at you, RJ, and at you, Labelking.)

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

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Thanks for sharing that, HM. Nice to see lesser-known alternatives.
Pep's also does MTM umbrellas, though given my timeframe that wasn't an option for me (he didn't say exactly how long it took, but told me I wouldn't have it until after Christmas). Now that I think about it, he also sells canes, though I didn't look closely at his selection.

I don't mind advertising for him on here because I was so content with my experience. He answered all my questions patiently, taking into account what I wanted while advising me on the best purchase. I never got the feeling that he was annoyed or impatient with my wanting to examine and handle over a dozen umbrella models. I have no idea whether he speaks English or not, but I feel like a lot of American tourists who come to France entirely miss the point of 'traditional' Parisian shopping, which is not about going into a large department store like Charvet or Hermès, but rather establishing a personal rapport with an artisan in his own little boutique. The quality is there, it's often less expensive, and it's a much more forthright way of doing business in my opinion.

Originally Posted by holymadness

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Pep's also does MTM umbrellas, though given my timeframe that wasn't an option for me (he didn't say exactly how long it took, but told me I wouldn't have it until after Christmas). Now that I think about it, he also sells canes, though I didn't look closely at his selection.

I don't mind advertising for him on here because I was so content with my experience. He answered all my questions patiently, taking into account what I wanted while advising me on the best purchase. I never got the feeling that he was annoyed or impatient with my wanting to examine and handle over a dozen umbrella models. I have no idea whether he speaks English or not, but I feel like a lot of American tourists who come to France entirely miss the point of 'traditional' Parisian shopping, which is not about going into a large department store like Charvet or Hermès, but rather establishing a personal rapport with an artisan in his own little boutique. The quality is there, it's often less expensive, and it's a much more forthright way of doing business in my opinion.
Even with a salesperson in a shop. iGent-style tire-kicking and "just looking" are tolerated but not traditional.

I really liked the Veritable Cherbourg umbrellas sold at Le Bon Marche. Prices were OK too.

I paid too much for a whangee handled collapsible umbrella at Antoine on av de l'Opera whose metal shaft bent right off in a high wind. Still have the handle though.

The cat restaurant has its own cat!!! It's my favorite restaurant in Paris.

Originally Posted by holymadness

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Pep's also does MTM umbrellas, though given my timeframe that wasn't an option for me (he didn't say exactly how long it took, but told me I wouldn't have it until after Christmas). Now that I think about it, he also sells canes, though I didn't look closely at his selection.

I don't mind advertising for him on here because I was so content with my experience. He answered all my questions patiently, taking into account what I wanted while advising me on the best purchase. I never got the feeling that he was annoyed or impatient with my wanting to examine and handle over a dozen umbrella models. I have no idea whether he speaks English or not, but I feel like a lot of American tourists who come to France entirely miss the point of 'traditional' Parisian shopping, which is not about going into a large department store like Charvet or Hermès, but rather establishing a personal rapport with an artisan in his own little boutique. The quality is there, it's often less expensive, and it's a much more forthright way of doing business in my opinion.

I wish I'd known about Pep's before today - I was in Paris at the end of last week and over the weekend for meetings (and then shopping!).

I was on Rue St Honore on Saturday morning when the heavens opened (and I had stupidly left my little folding brolly in the hotel) so I was forced to take shelter - fortunately I was only about 50 yards from Longchamp so I picked up one of their long 10-rib umbrellas - with a lovely milk chocolate/dark chocolate cover.

Abercrombie & Fitch Leather Wrapped Flask

Nifty. Very pretty leather.

^^^Yes, the leather looks really nice and has a great color.

1962 Dunhill pipe

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

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Nifty. Very pretty leather.

Originally Posted by JayJay

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^^^Yes, the leather looks really nice and has a great color.

Thx, dewds ... got it on a tip from RJman. It was probably never used (came in original box with A&F packing paper), but the leather was getting dry and pulling off the can. So, I hit it with lots of Lexol, and then superglued the leather back into place where it was pulling. The kicker? I still haven't had the occasion to use it. Someday ...

My Sherlock Holmes umbrella:

Originally Posted by gregaz

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1962 Dunhill pipe

Mac Baren's Plumcake? Nice choice.