Leave it to Anna: Shopping for French Linens by the Kilo Edition
Read about my visit to the Yves Delorme factory shop, where linens are sold by weight. I break down the details on where to shop for exquisite French-made bedding for a fraction of the cost.
When we decided to drive to Provence from London for summer vacation, I knew that I wanted to visit some French factory shops along the way. Throughout my travels, I have long been fascinated with discovering businesses and family-run establishments that still produce their products in the original factories rather than outsourcing abroad. There is pride and history behind every local venture and I’m here for it. It’s also the best way to learn about a new region - what do they make and what are they famous for? My first stop on this trip was the Yves Delorme factory shop in Nieppe in northern France. It is located about an hour’s drive east of Calais, where we arrived via Le Shuttle auto train. What better way to hit the French ground running (or driving in our case) than visiting the quintessential house of luxury linens. If there were bargains to be had, I was determined to find them.
The Yves Delorme factory outlet store is located right next to the production studio, where the bedding is still proudly made in France. Open to the general public, the shop offers “second-choice” products, with slight flaws and without brand labelling, to protect the integrity of the brand. According to the Yves Delorme website, the outlet shop was opened to introduce beautiful linens manufactured in France to the local market at discounted prices, which in turn would reduce the volume of textile waste and lessen the studio’s carbon impact. I could definitely get behind that as my shopping at the outlet helped the local economy and the environment (win-win).
When we arrived at the shop, we were the only customers there and the shopkeeper was excited to greet us. She was the loveliest woman (who did not speak much English), so we made do with gestures and Google Translate. Most of the sheets, pillowcases, and towels in the small shop had either red or blue stickers on them, but no prices. One exception was that the bedspreads were a fixed price of €40 (as compared to €500+ in the regular store). When I gesticulated my question of “how much,” she directed my attention to a small sign that indicated that the prices depended on the weight of the goods. They were selling the linens by the kilo! The blue stickers were €30 per kilo for the bedding while the red stickers were €25 per kilo for the bath towels. Buying linens by weight was a novel concept to me, but when in France…
So, what did I end up buying? Let’s break it down - I included the regular prices of the items from the Yves Delorme Outlet website below for comparison purposes. If you are shopping in the United States, the U.S. outlet website can be found here or you can visit the outlet store in Charlottesville, Virginia.
What I bought:
The Dandy Bed Set: Coverlet (€520), 2 Euro Shams (€85 each), Flat Sheet (€235), Fitted Sheet (€110).
The Alcazar Bed Set: Coverlet (€520), 2 Euro Shams (€85 each), Flat Sheet (€170), Fitted Sheet (€110).
The Triumphe Bed Set: Coverlet (€345 regular price), 2 Euro Shams (€85 each), Flat Sheet (€170), Fitted Sheet (€195).
4 Bath Towels - €29 each
6 Kitchen Towels - €39 each
One Cotton Robe - €169
6 Striped Pillowcases - €59 each
2 Purple Flower Shams - €85 each
3 Cushion Covers - €85 each
If I would have bought everything full price, I would have spend a total of €4,183.00
Here is the breakdown of what I ended up spending:
€120 for 3 coverlets that would have cost a total of €1385 full price;
1 cotton robe for €30;
10,48 kilos of linens at €30 per kilo = €314.46;
3.15 kilos of towels at €25 per kilo = €78.75;
Total: €543.21
So, in total I spent €543.21 for €4,183.00 worth of merchandise if I would have paid full price. I am still in awe of the discounts and ready to open a small country inn with all of the linens I now own. One takeaway for me was that the towels, while certainly discounted, were too heavy to really be a bargain by weight. The coverlets and the sheets ended up having the largest markdowns at the factory store - certainly worth the trip!
Yves Delorme Factory Shop
Address: Magasin D’Usine Nieppe, 149 Rue de la Warnave, 59850, Nieppe, France
Hours: Monday-Friday 9 am - 4 pm, closed on the weekends
If you are shopping in the United States, the U.S. outlet website can be found here or you can visit the outlet store in Charlottesville, Virginia.
