A New World View

Shopping takes on a new look when you give up on American products

Shopping on this side of the ocean is, indeed, a whole different world.

Take my underwear, for example. I love Jockey Women’s briefs with no visible pantylines. I used to buy them in a 3-pack in the US for $33, or €29. When I needed to replace the old ones here in France, I found them on French Amazon. For €51.64! That’s 7 Euros more per pair.

The price differential was likely caused by a combination of VAT, a tax that’s always included in the price here; import duties; tariffs; and third-party markups. In addition to added fees, mail issues often cause long delivery delays. Even sending packages to the US has been a nightmare since last summer, when La Poste – facing confusing regulations from Trump’s tariffs – simply stopped accepting packages to the States.

No pair of underwear I’ve ever seen is worth €17, so I was forced to recalibrate my undergarment expectations and locate French lingerie that is rated PG. You know what? They work just fine.

This underwear crisis served as a wakeup call for me. Sure, I knew from the get-go that I wasn’t going to find Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi here in Rennes, but the Panty Panic of 2023 helped me realize it was time to toss aside my Jockeys – (that’s what she said!) – and fully embrace French undies. I had to stop clinging, not just to the old products and habits, but to trying so hard to find the next closest thing.

Not only does this ethos help me integrate into my new country, it makes life here much easier. And a whole lot more interesting.

This shift has provided the opportunity to make friends from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Croatia. It’s also allowed me to become intimately aligned with many new and exotic stores and products.

There’s an online shop in the Netherlands where I buy special curly-hair products. I have found a couple brands of mayonnaise here that are better than Hellmann’s. (Mostly because French mayo has a dash of French mustard.) Badoit Rouge (from the Loire Valley) is now my go-to brand of sparkling water and Schweppes Agrumes is my favorite soft drink.

I’ve discovered Pic Saint Loup, a favorite style of wine that is rare in the US. We’ve traded our Chobani for French yogurt and Fromage Frais. While you can find Philadelphia Cream Cheese in some supermarkets here, I now prefer our locally-made Madame Loïk whipped cheese. Don has also turned me on to the best potato chips I’ve ever tasted – made right here in Brittany.

I used to think Roquefort was the finest blue cheese in the world, until I discovered some that don’t usually make it across the ocean, like Bleu de Causses and Bleu d’Auvergne. A bad oyster put me off the bivalves for years, but then we visited Cancale and I ate one plucked directly from the oyster beds in front of the oyster shack. I’m back on oysters.

Even the way I clean the apartment has changed. I use a vinegar cleaner for just about everything around the house. For the few things vinegar can’t quite conquer, I turn to a cleaner made with Savon de Marseille. I use a bar of the soap from Marseille to rub on clothing stains. Works like a dream.

I can still buy Asics and Brooks sneakers here, but I’ve broadened my outlook to include a couple French brands, like Veja. And there’s nothing like scoring Le Creuset during the annual sales or discovering the durability of French cultural icons like Duralex juice glasses.

We can buy dates from Algeria, passion fruit from Italy, avocados from Morocco. And although it pains me, deeply, to be so far away from Bluecoat Gin, I am enjoying France’s Citadelle. I bought a beautiful handmade leather cross-body bag from Poland, have located a German online pharmacy that sells a nasal spray I can’t get in France, and discovered a lovely French makeup and skincare line.

All in all, it seems that getting my panties in a knot a few years ago has led to a whole shopping cart full of new experiences.