ORBIS city intelligence

Buying in Lille: A Waffle, and a Textile City Making Things Again

Two things are worth carrying out of Lille. A waffle filled with Madagascar vanilla, and clothing from a city trying to put manufacturing back into the Nord. They are a short walk and a long argument apart.

Meert: start here, at 27 rue Esquermoise S1

The vanilla-filled waffle is the thing to buy, and this is the confirmed address on the page. Queues form, so come early rather than fitting it around other stops.

Ask how long the waffles keep and whether they should be eaten warm. Ask the counter to box them if they are travelling, because a bag will crush them within the hour.

Gaufres Philippe De Bie: the other waffle, and the sugar that defines it S2

The gaufre flamande is a different biscuit from the Meert waffle. Vergeoise, the soft beet sugar of the north, is what separates a northern waffle from a Belgian one.

Buy both and compare rather than choosing. Ask which vergeoise treats keep longest if the purchase has to survive more than a day of travelling.

La Gentle Factory: made in France, from Roubaix S3

Roubaix drove French wool for a century and spent decades losing that trade. This label was built to put some of it back, which is worth understanding before judging the garment on price.

Ask which pieces are made in France and which are not, since ranges usually mix. Ask about the fabric mill if provenance is the reason you are buying.

Le Colonel Moutarde: the small end of the same idea S4

Bow ties and suspenders are sewn in a Lille atelier in prints that are deliberately loud. Wedding accessories are handled too, which is the reason most people arrive.

Ask about lead times if you want something for a specific date. Ask whether a print can be matched across several pieces, because that is not always possible from stock.

Encuentro makes bean-to-bar chocolate from Saint-André-lez-Lille, taking cacao through to tablet rather than melting someone else's couverture. Cafés Méo has roasted as a family since 1928. Molly Bracken is the Lille-born womenswear label at a broader commercial scale.