For a weekend at Mama Shelter in Paris, pack basics that are simple, honest and a little bit hip, just like the hotel.

When packing for a weekend stay at boutique hotel Mama Shelter in Paris, get inspired by the hotel’s interiors and bring a mix of cool casual staples and more classic dressy pieces. According to the hotel’s website “Mama loves things simple, honest and a little bit hip,” which sounds like a perfect recipe for a bag filled with low-key, high style, French design.

Misericordia Cotton Blue Oriente Pants
These harem-style sweat pants can go from chilling on the plane to lounging at the bar, all in one day. Just add a pair of sexy heels. Ethically produced in the Misericordia workshop in Lima, Peru by a team of skilled seamstresses.
Approx. $143, Misericordia

Kami Organic Cotton Cardigan
French eco-label Kami‘s collections are inspired by a real desire to see the world of fashion be more respectful of our environment. The company is working towards obtaining ISO 14001 certification in order to ensure it limits its environmental impact, season after season. This zippered blue cardigan is made form 100% organic cotton and features zipper-details on the sleeves and front pockets.
Approx. $300, Place des Tendences

Stella Pardo Irma Dress
This alpaca dress with pleated belt and shoulder details perfectly toes the line between French elegance and casual coolness. Designed in Paris, by sustainable designer Stella Pardo, and handmade by a traditional tailor in Lima.
Approx. $130, L’Exception

Ambrym Lapin Tank
This black tank top by French eco-designer Ambrym echoes the drawings on the walls of Mama Shelter. Made from 100% Organic cotton, the tee features a cute original screen print. Pair with loose-fitting jeans for day and a mini skirt and heels for night.
Approx. $95, Ambrym

Sakina M’sa Jupe Skirt
Designer Sakina M’sa is originally from the Comoros Islands off the East Coast of Africa, but works in Paris and has become one of France’s leading sustainable designers. This bright blue patchwork skirt is made from recycled fabric and will make you ready for a night on the town in an instant.
Approx. $89, La Tendance

Beyond Skin Archie Heels
This new model from vegan shoe line Beyond Skin has an almond-shaped toe and a retro block heel. They are handmade in Spain and come in three different patterns. This nude floral print is very on trend and highly versatile for spring. Use these heels to lighten up an outfit in black and blue or pair them with an all-white ensemble to channel one of spring’s hottest trends — monochrome.
Approx. $210, Beyond Skin

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Mama Shelter is your hip new hangout in the city of love, courtesy of Monsieur Philippe Starck.

Paris in the springtime – yes, it’s a cliche, but who’s going to say no? Super-chic hotel Mama Shelter, in the tourist-free 20eme arrondissement, is irresistibly, and dangerously, affordable. The money you saved will, of course, immediately be spent on a painfully chic outfit from Colette in this season’s soft pastel shades, with matching macaroons from Laduree.

This place is all about simplicity with style – it’s the brainchild of Club Med and is designed by the tireless Philippe Starck – and a sense of humour. Rooms are small and dark, with block-coloured walls offering large mirrors, flat-screen monitors, and quotes etched onto black surfaces both horizontal and vertical; many ceilings and floors around the hotel also provide writing inspiration. Bedside lamps are comic book character masks, which you can try on yourself, should you feel the urge. Bathrooms are white-tiled and clinical, but with the hard edges softened by Kiehl’s products.

Each guest room (there are five sizes, from single to suite) comes with iMac complete with thoughtful location-specific bookmarks, and which also acts as an in-room camera so you can document your activities for the public photo album (hiding your identity with the mask – clever, eh?), CD/DVD player, free WIFI and free movies on demand, as well as a microwave and minibar. What the rooms lack in floor space, they more than make up for in gadgets.

The bar is like something from a nightclub, with an open central serving area surrounded on all sides by counters; not for wallflowers. The fun, big-kid theme is continued with table football; there’s also an outside terrace and a rooftop in summertime, with barbeques. Live music on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays ensure the joint is jumping; this place is hugely popular with locals.

You can eat at the restaurant, presided over by a two-Michelin-starred chef described as a “cultural wink,” or brasserie with its long wooden tables and benches and hanging pots and pans. There’s also a pizzeria, complete with red-checked tabletops. If you get tomato sauce on your newly-purchased chemise, fret not: you can launder it in the on-site machine, rather than being ripped off by a sky-high-priced laundry service.

Rates start at $103 including tax, and the opportunity to mix with (other) beautiful, cultured, bohemian types.

Photos: Francis Amiand/Mama Shelter

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

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