Bourgine: a Parisian couture shop and sewing collective
Interviewing Bourgine's Caroline and Romane about the brand's most cherished designs and historic French influences.
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Just a few corner turns away from the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris is a picturesque spot that you must add to your itinerary: Bourgine.
Bourgine is a couture women’s clothing brand that has been soaring with a unique spirit for ten celebrated years. The shop’s interior feels like a chic 1930s Vienna modernist-era diner-meets-historic-French-café, except with colorful, character-filled, handmade clothing hanging throughout. Upstairs, a private atelier allows Bourgine’s team of six to design, sew, and creatively direct the brand. Bourgine reads like a collective of passionate, visionary women who are vibrantly reviving antique methods of French clothing construction.
I spent an hour or so at Bourgine discovering, twirling, and laughing—all while softly touching the fabrics, soul connecting with Romane, and trying on what I call “my life’s dream shoe.” More on all of this below! Everything about the shop—the clothing, the women’s group spirit, and the graphic design of Bourgine—makes my art- and clothing-history-loving heart sing.
The shop also has a little, sophisticated black cat named Norma, who was a natural conversation starter between me and the enthusiastically sweet Romane when I visited last month.
Caroline, the brand’s creator and namesake, and Romane, the Editorial Manager, were kind enough to share with me a current design they're most excited about, and to give a peek into the brand’s French historical references.
The next time you’re in Paris, you absolutely have to visit Bourgine!
For those of you who are far away: the brand has an equally beautiful website—totally shoppable and shippable to international destinations. Right now, they are offering free international shipping on orders over 100 euros. It’s the perfect spot to shop for your design or France-loving friends (and yourself)!
I one thousand percent recommend that you follow on Instagram, admire their bulletin of the week blog, or:
BOURGINE & CAROLINE
Caroline Bourgine is the designer behind the eponymous Bourgine. After studying at the Studio Berçot and working for A.P.C., she opened her own boutique in 2015 in the 6th arrondissement—tucked between the Luxembourg Gardens, the Odéon Theatre, the Sorbonne University, and the rue Champollion with its historic cinemas. For ten years now, she has been designing, crafting, and selling her pieces at 15 rue Racine, supported by her loyal Bourginettes.
Caroline’s current most-cherished design at Bourgine
One of my all-time favorite designs—which we’ve just launched in a multicolored shade called Arlequin for our anniversary collection—is our beloved Théâtricule. It is our version of a cardigan.
How does this design reference history?
The Théâtricule was the smash hit of our 2023 collection, inspired by Edward Gorey, the American illustrator. Gorey was a fashion enthusiast. Among his many artistic endeavors, he led a puppet troupe known as Le Théâtricule Stoïque. A devoted Francophile, he enjoyed inventing French-sounding words and created unexpected word pairings. Our own unexpected pairings are often made out of antique silhouettes and materials firmly rooted in the 21st century.
In 2023, I visited the Edward Gorey House in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and discovered through his drawings that he had a fondness for the puffed sleeves of the 1890–1910 period—a silhouette we’re big fans of at Bourgine.
Back in Paris, I designed the cardigan inspired by his female characters with theatrical—slightly dramatic—shoulders. These puffed sleeves are historically known as gigot sleeves, or “leg-of-mutton” sleeves. They were especially fashionable in the first half of the 19th century and had a revival at the turn of the 20th. You can spot them in the paintings and photographs of the time, on the dresses worn by ladies of high society: they’re voluminous at the shoulder, tapering toward the wrist and create the illusion of a narrow waist. A shape greatly admired by Romantic artists. I love the architectural quality of the puffy sleeves, but they must remain comfortable, which is why our cardigans are made from soft fleece.
More specialness about Bourgine
What we did with the Théatricule reflects my usual creative process: at Bourgine, we dive deep into archives and reinterpret historical garments and silhouettes for the contemporary world, always with one intention—to tell stories through clothing.
Every piece is made by us—we’re 6 women—at 15 rue Racine, which functions as an atelier, a boutique, and a miniature manufacturer all at once. I like to say that we’re the heirs of the neighborhood seamstresses of yesteryear. We produce small quantities, have standard sizes, but we also offer made-to-measure pieces for our customers.
One last thing - we have a shop cat, so come say hi to Norma if you’re in Paris!
BOURGINE & ROMANE
Romane is a Bourginette—meaning a loyal Bourgine customer, admirer, and now team member. She studied both Women’s History at the Sorbonne University and English literature. She lives in the Bourgine neighborhood, and that’s how she first met Caroline—by chance—almost ten years ago. She joined the Bourgine team recently as Editorial Manager, where she delights in telling the story of the brand through their newsletters and in accompanying Caroline in all her entrepreneurial adventures. For her, there’s never a dull day at 15 rue Racine!
Romane’s current most-cherished design at Bourgine
I love everything Caroline and the girls are creating, but at the moment my favourite design is the Corpiqué. It’s a piece excerpt from our collection dedicated to Marie Antoinette, transformed into a jersey.
How does the design reference history?
The “corpiqué” is the girdle’s ancestor. It was a fashionable garment in the 18th century. Made of quilted fabric with closely stitched lines, it offered structure and support while remaining far less rigid than a traditional corset. It belonged to the category of so-called “négligé” garments, which Queen Marie Antoinette was known to favour in private. I love the look of it, it’s very flattering and chic. But what I like the most is that it feels like wearing a modern piece of history, so cool.
More specialness about Bourgine
I encourage people to subscribe to our newsletter to discover what’s happening at 15 rue Racine, find out about our inspirations and daily life :-).
And to learn more about the Bourgine “success story,” you can have a look at the little short movie we made to celebrate the brand’s 10th anniversary. Norma, our shop cat, will guide you through our archives with great delight.
Kelsey’s Bourgine favorites:
Another branch of Bourgine’s genius is their shoe brand, Souliers Dulion, which I strongly claimed above as “my life’s dream shoe.” You’ll discover below, in Souliers Dulion’s own words, that they have historic nods to Marie Antoinette, oil paintings of the era, and the silk goodness of these types of shoes (which are now precious heirlooms).
You can order a pair in either the original silken white or black here. Today, they launched a pair of ruby reds. I can’t begin to tell you how comfortable they are, or how graceful I felt while wearing them!
The Bourjean Jacket is high on my list as well—I adore the contrast stitching, the collar, the slightly flared sleeves, the structured pockets, and the toggles. The name is also really clever, as Bourgine is pronounced the way English speakers would say bour-jean (maybe it’s more phonetically like bore-jean)!
Merci mille fois à Caroline et Romane d’avoir consacré du temps à cette interview et pour tout le soin qu’elles ont apporté à la création de cette marque si attachante et si formidable.
Related notes:
Bourgine’s Paris Pocket Guide shows you their highlights: cafés, restaurants, bars, bookshops, and other picks—both near the shop and scattered throughout the city.
Again, obsessed!!!
Caroline introduced me—and all of us above—to Edward Gorey, the illustrator and author. The Gashlycrumb Tinies is the most absurd children’s book ever published, but I kinda want a copy…
Speaking of ruby red shoes:
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Kelsey Rose
Not much fashionable myself, but it’s nice to read something outside my scope of expertise. I did find it relevant that there had to be a cat as part of the collection, and I also like the sound of french words, mais mon français c'est pas trop bon.
Wonderful new discovery for next visit to Paris. Thank you!