Vintage shopping in Paris
2nd October, 09
As promised here’s a little insert about vintage shopping in Paris. Paris has lots of vintage shops, as well as markets. Some markets are for food, some for antiques, some for clothes… I didn’t get to go to all of them but did hunt down a few. So here it is, my vintage shopping experience in Paris:
Saturday:
We didn’t mean to go flea market shopping that day, but it’s like the flea markets were looking for us! We set out to wander around the neighbourhood of Montmartre close to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, “Basilica of the Sacred Heart”. My friend’s favourite chocolatier is in that neighbourhood, and as well a restaurant which serves a really kick ass salad. Traveling with a foodie naturally meant we had to go check out both.
We got off at the “Anvers” subway station and wandered up and down the hilly streets, within 5 minutes voila! A Flea market!
It was a pretty decent market and I would say most closely resembling the ones we see in North America. There was a large variety of “stuff”- knick knacks, clothes, purses, accessories, lots of furniture (some surprisingly beautiful pieces from the mid century modern era, mint condition!). I didn’t think so at the time, the pricing was decent compared to some of the other markets. Being it was the first market we saw, I was hesitant to buy anything. I only had one suitcase!
We left Montmartre and went to check out the Opéra Garnier neighbourhood for kicks that afternoon. On the way home we decided to catch a bus instead of the subway ‘cos dark tunnels get pretty boring after a while. Our bus drove pass an open market in front of the stock exchange building. I don’t know whether I pulled the emergency cord or the next-stop cord, either way, the bus stopped in a hurry and we got off.
Ooooh! Looks like it’s the tail end of a street sale! And even though some vendors were packing up there were still lots to see and poke around. We found some kitschy coasters for my friend’s restaurant for €1, and I found a cute dress for €5 at another. It’s a good start!
Sunday
I’ve been reading a lot about this antique market called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen just north of the city. Boasting to cover 7 hectars and is the largest antiques market in the world. Les Puces de Saint-Ouen gets between 120,000 to 180,000 visitors each weekend and I wanted to be one of them. When I told me friend I wanted to check it out he sighs, seems every other visitor he’s had who’s come to visit him in Paris wants to go to this particular flea market. He’s been so many times he wishes they gave out frequent flyer miles.
Hmmm… how to best describe my experience at Les Puces… Going to Les Puces is like… playing a video game. There’s multiple levels to Les Puces, each with it’s own challenges. To get to the good stuff you have to make it though all the bad stuff first.
Level 1 -The undead-selling-you-knock-off-bags level.
As soon as you peak your head up to street level, you are immediately swarmed by the undead. No not your traditional undead, this particular kind of the undead try to sell you knock off purses, wallets and watches. Instead of coming at you moaning “braaaaaains” they come at you moaning “Guuuuucci, Chaaaaanel, Praaaadaaaaa, goooooood price!” Dodging them is pretty easy, just don’t make eye contact. Big boss challenge: There’s hustlers selling roast corn on the cob from shopping carts. Watch out! Yes they are wheeling around bucketfuls of flaming hot coal in their shopping carts, weaving in and out of crowded streams of people. Take care not to get shoved into one! Once you break free from the zombies you will arrive at the perimeter of the market. Proceed to level 2.
Level 2 - The never ending maze of made-in-china crap level
To get to the actual antique market you have to fight your way through the seemingly endless and impenetrable maze of crap. Aisles and aisles of ‘Adiidas’ runners, ‘Nikee’ t-shirts, ‘Calvin Clien’ perfume, Think Dr. Flea’s market x 100. No don’t go spending your money on that tacky bong or skull Zippo. Eek! Oh and watch out for your purse so that it doesn’t get picked, it’s freakin’ crowded! Hang in there tiger, you’re almost at the antique-ee part!
Level 3 - The try-not-to-flinch-when-they-tell-you-how-much-things-cost level.
Once you make it out of the maze, you’ll see a few actual buildings. This is where the antiques are hiding. Oh I’ve had dreams about coming here, to dig around these Parisian antique markets and finding cute jewelry findings that I could modify into necklaces for my store. I fantasize about buying so much good stuff that I’d have to ship it back to Canada, where I would roll around on a bed, tossing my vintage findings in the air like some mad millionaire throwing around money…
*pouff* wake up from dream.
Oh Les Puces has antiques alright, sadly none of it is cheap and hardly any of it is even reasonably priced. We saw little plastic barrettes selling for €19 and resin pendents from €12 - €36 PER PIECE. Beads were €16 for a ‘goblet’ (goblet being not much bigger than a shot glass). I’m taking plastic costume jewelry here, not gold, silver or Bakelite even. I see the same stuff in New York for way less! There were sad cookie jars and tins for about €40 and plastic gnomes were about the same. Old postcards were €3 if you’re lucky, €5 if you’re not.
With the number of tourists coming to this market, I don’t blame the shop keepers for jacking up the prices. While wandering around my friend and I walked by a couple of Japanese tourists with a french lady speaking with them in Japanese. We saw them again in a stall and overheard her talk to the shop keeper in french. Turns out the lady is a translator and the couple has hired her to be their personal translator for the day, to haggle prices with the shop keepers. I’m sorry, if you can afford your own personal translator, I think you can pay the sticker price.
There sure is a lot of nice stuff though so it’s worth looking around. Think of it more as a museum. We saw some luxurious tapestries, beautiful chinaware, side tables made from letterpress blocks and mint condition Art Deco furniture that was so beautiful it makes little baby Jesus cry.
Don’t worry, hang in there! You’re just getting to the good stuff…
Level 4 - The dig-deep-and-you’ll-find-the-good-stuff level.
Alright, let’s rehash, you’ve weaved your way around the undead, dodged flaming shopping carts or corn, avoided getting your purse stolen, found you way through the maze of doom and managed to keep a straight face when shopkeepers told you the price of a bracelet. If you’re still standing you’re a trooper. Welcome to your reward!
Pass the buildings you will find stalls that again sell a mish mash of stuff (like at the market in Montmartre). I hesitate to say stalls because these aren’t officially stalls they’re selling out of, more like a garage sale or street sale. There’s interesting stuff here and the prices are decent. I managed to find a vintage 70’s dress for €10 and a few postcards for €1. Have fun, walk around, haggle.
Be warned! The good times don’t last forever. If you wander too far into this street sale you’ll start seeing people selling half empty bottles of hair conditioner, opened packs of razors, used socks… Suddenly it’s just piles of dirty clothes thrown on top of bed sheets! Hey wait that’s not a stall, that’s just people selling trash they’ve found in the garbage! I think it’s right under a big bridge where you’ll see this kinda stuff, oh and the flaming carts of corn on the cob are back. When you see the corn again you know you’ve gone too far, it’s time to go home.
Monday
My friend decided I’m fit to travel around on my own today, having spent the last two days getting me acclimatized. So he sent me away to go check out the flea market at Porte de Montreuil without him. Woohoo!
Here’s a tip, when you get off the subway at Porte De Montreuil, take a moment to stand by the entrance of the station to look around. The reason for this is that the market isn’t located right by the subway, it’s a little ways off. I made the mistake of charging outta the subway and walking exactly in the wrong direction for about a mile before I realized I’m going the wrong way. If you stand by the subway entrance for a moment, you’ll see in the distance a steady stream of people (like ants at a picnic), heading towards what looks like a busy intersection next to some office towers. Follow the ants.
Much like Les Puces de Saint-Ouen there are perimeters you have to work your way through. You’ll start by seeing old men selling mismatched pairs of shoes, stained undershirts (ewwwwww!) and broken radios along the streets, then move onto the made-in-china section *yawn*. Soon after you’ll start noticing stalls with heaps upon heaps of clothes piled high on top of planks. Those are the vendors you’re looking for.
I wasn’t aware of this when I went but the Porte De Montreuil market specializes in second hand clothes. Most stalls charge only about a euro or two for whatever you can find, the problem is that this market makes Value Village look like Holt Renfrew. There’s nothing hung or sorted in these stalls, just piles and piles of clothes on top of planks so you have to DIG. Yes you and every other baby-tottin’, grocery bag haulin’, pushy shovy housewife are standing elbow to elbow DIGGING through heaps of clothes. Like a lot of the by-the-pound places in North America, there’s tons of stuff to weed through but once in a while you’ll find a gem. I picked up a few really beautiful scarves at this market, and saw some cutie knick knacks that I would’ve purchased if my suitcase wasn’t so tiny.
There are a couple proper vintage clothing stalls in the market itself. You’ll notice that the clothes are hung neatly on a rack instead of thrown in a pile. Check it out but be warned that you’ll be paying 100 times more than what you’re paying at the other stalls. Dresses range from €35 and up, Jackets €80 and up. I picked out a nice little shawl (which wasn’t priced but I just wanted to get an idea of pricing) in one of these booths and the lady told me it was €150. I guess it’s because, as she said, “hand crocheted in the 1940s”, or perhaps it was just that I asked inquired about the price in English? I’ll never know.
Tuesday
Since markets aren’t open on Tuesdays, I thought I should check out some actual vintage clothing shops in Paris. In regards to vintage shop shopping in Paris, it’s a well covered topic with many articles and blogs written about the subject. The Marais, for example, has been dubbed the “haut-lieu du vintage,” or the high place of vintage in Paris. Yes there’s lots of pretty shops but it seems these days that as soon as you tag on the “vintage” to any item, the prices get jacked up. If you get tired of window shopping and don’t care for vintage Versace gowns or €150 crocheted shawls, go check out Free’P’star.
There’s two Free’P’star locations not far from each other. They may not be pretty on the inside but both have tons of stock and great prices. Don’t let the gruff looking (though polite) store owners throw you off, these guys have a great eye for vintage! I found 3 cute dresses (each for less than €20) and a purse (€5) at Free’P’star. One of the locations look a little small when you first walk in but if you go around the back, there is a staircase or as I like to call “the spiral metal deathtrap”, which leads into the basement. Do you even need to ask? Yes it’s worth risking life and limb to go down to the basement. It’s where the good stuff is!
So that’s all folks. If you’re interested in shopping vintage in Paris, make sure you schedule a trip with a weekend. Most markets are open on Saturday and Sunday only, with the rare exception of opening on Monday. I guess what I’ve learnt from shopping in Paris is that the price you pay for an item is directly proportional to the display / convenience / location in which you’re shopping at. For pretty Parisian high end vintage shops, expect to pay high end prices. But if you’re willing to get down and dirty and dig a little deep, you’ll probably find the same item at a fraction of the price in the market down the street.
Categories: Field Trips.
Tags: Free'P'star, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, Marais, Montmartre, Paris, Porte de Montreuil, tips on shopping, Vintage shopping guide, vintage shops.
Subscribe to the comments feed if you like.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.