Gridskipper

You don't have to cross the channel to dress like a Parisienne. If you're in London and pining for some Parisian style, no need to trouble yourself with an aller-retour on the Eurostar. Just hop on the Tube and head over to W11. Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road in the heart of Notting Hill is a quiet, walkable, boutique-lined little oasis where you can stroll around, window shop, and spend your cash at top Gallic boutiques that congregate in the area. Even if you're just in the mood for a window-shop and a coffee, Westbourne Grove is a nice place to meander on a sunny afternoon. Make that a beer, and you just may be able to almost convince yourself you're in the Marais. Except that the English-speaking French girls mining these fashion houses are smiling and friendly in a way they'd never think to be on native soil.

Aime
32 Ledbury Road. London W11 2AB
French-Cambodian sisters Val and Vanda Heng-Vong opened this chic shop in 1999 to show off the best labels from their native France. You can find both fashion and homewares at Aimé, with brands like APC, Isabel Marant, Les Prairies de Paris, Repetto and more.

Anne Fontaine
176b Westbourne Grove London W11 2RW
This shop is one of four London locations for the French-Brazilian designer, who's made a career from her imaginative variations on the white woman's dress shirt. Fontaine's well-made white shirts in materials like linen, lace, and organza, with pleats, ruffles, and every other conceivable flourish — plus a smattering of black-colored shirts and other clothing items — are popular with stylish women the world over.

Comptoir des Cotonniers
Westbourne Grove, 235 W11 2SE
A hit since opening in France in 1995, this everyday-chic French chain store is known for its wearable, affordable basics and real life mother-daughter photo campaigns, emphasizing its cross-generational appeal. You can now find five London outposts, including the boutique on Westbourne Grove. This is where they do annual mother-daughter castings for wannabe mannequins.

Diptyque
195 Westbourne Grove W11 2SB
Apart from selling their signature candles, Diptyque makes great-smelling fragrances to wear on your person or perfume your home. Diptyque has a religious following by the fashionable and merely pleasure-seeking in search of natural-smelling, quality-made, perpetually hip scents, including the cult figuier, which is popular with both men and women.

Paul & Joe
39-41 Ledbury Road W11 2AA
Elegant French streetwear from Sophie Albou, who trained with Azzedine Alaïa before launching her successful brand in 1995 (named after her two sons). The Paul & Joe aesthetic has won her fans and expanding boutiques around the world, including this Paul & Joe outpost on hip Ledbury Road, just off Westbourne Grove.

Zadig & Voltaire
182 Westbourne Grove, London W11 1BB
The second London location of snazzy casual Zadig & Voltaire opened recently on Westbourne Grove, joining the glut of French fashion stores along the road. Look for a refined Parisian interpretation of glam rock chic, with subtle sparkles, studs, and muted colors in fabrics like cahsmere, washed silk, lace, and metallic leather.