Straw Bag Snippets: Snoopy is Serving

Le Style Snoopy exhibit in Paris, some observations on French retailers expanding

I didn’t expect to get emotional at a Snoopy fashion exhibit today, but here we are.

I made a point this morning to get up bright and early to visit Le Style Snoopy on its opening weekend, which explored the surprisingly tight-knit relationship between the revered comic strip Peanuts and fashion.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen Snoopy in his designer threads. Two years ago I visited the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa on sort of a mother-daughter day date. Above the gift shop—charmingly untouched since the 1990s—there was a small upstairs gallery lined with glass display cases. Inside: plush Snoopies dressed in Vivienne Westwood, Fiorucci, and Jean Paul Gaultier. No one else was up there. I remember thinking, “Why isn’t this the main event?”

We all know that Snoopy’s popularity has skyrocketed in the past year. He’s become shorthand for every emotion under the sun—loneliness, joy, ennui. His meme-ification is part of a larger trend of revisiting old-school characters (Hello Kitty, Miffy) that offer softness, nostalgia, and cuteness in this chaotic world.

I wasn’t expecting much from the exhibit—maybe just a hall of designer Snoopies. I was wrong to think that. It was exceptionally done, full of unexpected storytelling, Peanuts ephemera, and those sought-after archival vintage character crewneck sweaters in pristine condition that I’ve only seen listed on Japanese eBay for well over $400. Vince Guaraldi’s piano followed you from room to room, offering a light-hearted jazzy mood. From Charles M. Schulz’s own sweater preferences to the era-defining licensing deals (brokered in San Francisco, I might add!) that launched Peanuts into homes around the globe, the whole thing was a reminder of how deeply embedded these characters are in visual and material culture.

Snoopy in Valentino, Gucci, Isabel Marant, Dorothée Bis, Chanel. // The rare vintage collegiate crewnecks I was talking about.

But what struck me most was how classically Snoopy, unserious yet proud, it all was (in the best way). There is something wonderful and whimsical about Marine Serre and Alessandro Michele for Valentino dressing a cartoon beagle. It’s fashion fully leaning into play, the idea that clothes can still be meaningful while also being clever and cheeky. So much of fashion is serious. But here we are, fashion’s most famous brands happily creating looks for Snoopy.

A tender personal note: Peanuts has always been linked to the Bay Area (Schulz lived in Santa Rosa, CA, and the first Snoopy & Belle fashion exhibit was held in San Francisco in 1982). Seeing this take shape in Paris felt like a little hometown hug.

Le Style Snoopy is on display at Hôtel de Grand Veneur until April 5th.

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There’s been a lot happening in the world of French retail lately. In case you missed it (though I’d be surprised if you did), historic department store Printemps just opened a location in New York City—and the word “magnificent” doesn’t even begin to cover it. The sprawling 55,000-square-foot outpost is dressed in its spring best, and it’s making a serious entrance. One user on TikTok said they felt “instantly transported to Paris.”

In the weeks before the Printemps opening, Merci opened a second location in Paris, kicking it off with a collaboration with Carhartt WIP—a so-very-American workwear brand that felt right at home in their shoot with Japanese chef Masafumi Nomoto at his Parisian restaurant. Just before that, they dropped a capsule with Erewhon, which struck me as oddly funny—Erewhon is such an LA thing. But there it was, embroidered tote bags and all, propped neatly in the middle of their two-story concept store on Boulevard Beaumarchais, looking very Merci.

(Photo: Gieves Anderson for Printemps New York)

And just this past Tuesday, Jeanne Damas hosted an evening cocktail meet-and-greet at her Rouje boutique in Soho. Not a department store, not a concept store—but another kind of Parisian export: the personal brand turned lifestyle empire. It wasn’t quite the fanfare of the Printemps opening, but still, another signal that Parisian style is packing its bags and showing up.

It feels like a quiet but deliberate global positioning—retail expansion as cultural expansion. French retail has long been about luring the world to Paris. Now, those Parisian codes are testing new avenues into other cultural ecosystems. All of this strange synchronicity felt like a statement to me—dare I say, a reassertion of Parisian relevance?

Paris retail has always had a gravitational pull. It’s one of the best cities in the world to shop in—whether you’re after something independent and under-the-radar, or classically luxurious and branded. People book flights just to do this. Paris has always been both a destination and a source—but it definitely feels like it’s exporting its codes with more intention, more reach, and more frequency. The codes are on the move, people!

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Some recommendations/updates for you:

1. Secondhand shopping update: I got a pair of loose, low-waisted jeans…and I love them. This is entirely out of character for me, as I hold steadfast to my high-waisted straight leg jeans. But I’m loving the relaxed fit and not feeling like I’m being squeezed. They’re the Calvin Klein 90s Loose.

2. Album: Chris Cohen’s Paint A Room that came out July 2024.

3. I’m still trying to get through Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik. Not because I don’t like it, but I’m kind of in a book reading slump right now! It’s been more feasible for me to read long-form articles and Substacks during the week because of my work schedule.

Thanks for reading <3 See you in the next one.