Yesterday, after seeing a film at La Pagode (The King’s Speech, which I just realized is a double entendre!), I wandered from rue de Babylone up the Boulevard des Invalides to rue de Varenne. I continued along this stretch of residences and embassies until I reached the more bustling rue de Bac and headed south with no aim in particular, except maybe to pop into Deyrolle, if it happened to be in that direction. (It didn’t.) I remembered that a new Hermès shop had opened on the Left Bank, the first ever on that side of the Seine, and I was particularly interested in visiting it as I had heard it featured a bookstore and café. Not knowing the address, I figured I would just keep walking until something interesting caught my eye. I passed the Bon Marché and then, passing the Lutetia Hotel, I found myself standing right in front of the new Hermès, at 17, rue de Sèvres!

From the street it seemed rather small and quite like a flower shop. As I entered I was greeted by a man in a suit, though he didn’t seem particularly imposing – just polite. I paused to look at some books on display that were placed to coordinate with some of the homewear. There was a small display of some new scarf designs, but by the time I reached it, I was already in awe of the luminous space before me.

The main floor led to a grand staircase leading down to a ground floor with large, light-colored wooden basket-like structures that encased little display rooms. Men’s wear, home accessories, scarves, shoes, jewelry, bicycles, perfume, leather pocket books, women’s wear, hats – there must have been purses, too, but I can’t remember seeing one! There was an upper floor above street level, but I think it just led to offices as I didn’t see any merchandise.

I perused the bookshop area which had mostly art and photography books, and then decided to enjoy the view of the space from the café where I had a thè gourmand. I’m sure the café was meant to be a place for weary shoppers to rest their feet and luxuriate in their new purchases, but I wanted to see the silverware and plates.

These turned out to be somewhat rustic, though also luxurious. Overall, the space seemed to be mixing many different styles and degrees of refinement, but it gave a pleasant sense of continuity nevertheless. I’ll let the photos describe more fully.

Post script: This space was formerly the Art Deco swimming pool of the Lutetia Hotel. According to one report, the name of the pool was at one time “Les Hippocampes”, which means “The Seahorses”, an altogether fitting name for an equestrian company. The tiny turquoise and white tiles that covered the floor and decorated the café plate now seem an apt motif for a former pool!

Here’s a video tour of the space, which seems to have been filmed at night, as the light is different.