Having worked for Chanel, Robert Clergerie and Loewe, shoes and accessories designer Avril Gau went on to set up her own eponymous brand in 2002. At the end of 2010, she opened her first boutique in Paris’ chic St Germain – a charming and cosy two-floor shop stocking her collection of bags, shoes and wallets alongside jewellery by Alex Monroe and cologne by Acqua di Genova. The collections feature butter-soft leathers in mostly sober colours – black,  burgundy, bark-brown, moss-green, navy-blue – with a quintessentially Parisian attention to detail – a leather bow here, a gold fastening there. What’s more, unlike many of her luxury fashion brand contemporaries, Gau has the bags made in France and the shoes made in Italy or Portugal: there’s no Made in China here. Prices are very reasonable, especially considering the high quality materials, design and craftsmanship, with shoes starting at around €200, bags at €190 and wallets at €45 – you’re essentially getting high end products at high street prices. And with the January sales around the corner, there will be even bigger bargains to be had.

>more