Wednesday, January 6, 2010

thrift shopping - les puces

one of the things i wanted to do in paris was to find some cool thrift shopping. enter "les puces."
there are 3 major ones in paris, and we hit up 2 :)
the first was les puces montreuil.
the internet advised us that this was the most filled with clothing and everyday things, we thought we would start there.  a bit disappointing to see, especially after a bit of a trek on the metro.
it was a city block of regular people who had 4x4 sheets laid out on the sidewalks, selling everything from canned food to baby clothes and a whole lotta used shoes.
not entirely the vintage haven i had in mind.
but! in the middle of all the shoes was an old Canon 550EX flash.   that worked. with my camera that i had with me. and had batteries and a case. for 30 euros. and he took 20 for it.  sweeeeet!
(test shot of the other shoes as i verified it's working order, you can see the case on the top left)

in case you're wondering, i looked it up on ebay later -  they go for $280-350.
worth the subway ride.

now after this we didn't feel we had gotten the true paris flea market experience, and headed to the puces de cligancourt.  7 hectares of flea market. not exaggerating.
there was a lot to see. it was overwhelming. we got lost and couldn't find our way out.
not as many cool pics as i would have liked, but photography wasn't really allowed...
we found a covered building to browse in (cold outside!)
unfortunately didn't find anything to purchase - definitely higher priced stuff, but fun to see!

drool:
 


and randomly, a lot of erotica in the toy shop - with this cute Snow White set.

the clothing and jewelry shops are always my fave.


steve likes to hunt for records and old posters.


so it was fun, and on the way home we found this gem of a store, and i scored a vintage navy velvet beret.  so very french. the perfect souvenier.  check out the stacks of hats though - all 5 euros!

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fabulous adventure - and I'm glad you found a couple of bargains :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looooove these pics! They make me happyyyyy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow those are amazing pictures! great finds! I bet in person it was even better! I seriously need to go thrifting!! thanks for posting this!! so cute!
    xoxo,
    Lindsay

    ReplyDelete
  4. thank you so much for your birthday wishes, so sweet of you! it really warmed my heart.

    i'm so excited that you'll be sending some happy mail to me! and dont worry, a late card is just as appreciated as one in time!

    i've seen a few episodes of flight of the conchords and quite like them. they are sort of mighty boosh's new zealandic cousins. the mighty boosh is a bit more twisted though. you should really check them out!

    have a lovely day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's it. I am officially jealous. The flash... the drool-worthy cameras... just about everything else there... *Le sigh

    ReplyDelete
  6. LOVE your photos and amazing finds!

    Stopping by from SITS roll call :o)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my goodness...You hit a gold mine of wonderment. This is the type of shopping that I love. I would love to be shopping with you. Great finds. Love everything that I see in this shop. I am coming to you by way of SITS. thank you for letting me visit. I will see you again.

    ReplyDelete
  8. wow, looks like you found a great place! I loved all the pictures, makes me want to go there and rummage through the things with you! :) I love those cameras... and great bargain on the flash.

    xoxo,
    Cat

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a great find! I rarely get that lucky! I have only been in Paris once and only for a couple of hours - no time for fun like this!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wanted to stop by and say thank you for the comment!!!

    I have to say, those shops look fabulous!!! I could see getting in a LOT of trouble there! I absolutely love the old hats... I never wear hats, but for some reason I am fascinated by old ones!

    ReplyDelete

thank you for leaving a comment! i love to know what you think :)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails