A Little Trip To Paris

We just returned from a surprise long weekend in Paris. We took my Mom there to celebrate her 60th birthday. She didn't actually know where she was going, nor did she know that myself and Greg were going to accompany her and my stepdad. Well done for pulling it off Mr. Aslanowicz!  

As always, we were on the hunt for vintage, but found the selection to be rather disappointing. I only came away with a bargain pair of fur lined boots.

Here are some spots worth visiting and, as always, a few photos of the trip for your enjoyment!

Mamie Blue Vintage on Rue de Rochechouart is literally JAM PACKED with goodies. I actually found there to be a much better selection of men's clothing than women's, and at far more reasonable prices. There were some lovely 1940's and 1950's Hawaiian shirts for between 55-85e, which I thought was more than fair. There were loads of lovely winter coats and sports jackets, but these went up to around 225e in price, which, whilst well worth it, is a little more than we would like to spend. Here is the link to their website for more details; http://www.mamie-vintage.com/

A little further up the road is Mamie, the smaller sister shop of the above. I actually prefer the general atmosphere of this boutique, although the wares are (again) crammed in so tightly it hurts your arms to look! They have some beautiful accessories and jewelry - the clothing is nice, but from a women's point-of-view, it's a little overpriced. They know their stuff, so there is a massive gap between prices for their 60s,70s and 80s garments and their 40s and 50s. I found a gorgeous purple crepe 1940s dress, but at a price of 185e it was a little too rich for our blood! Their website is as above.

We took the Metro to Port de Clignancourt to visit the flea market there. Once you get through the horrible stalls carrying terrible designer knock-offs and bongs, you'll find an array of vintage and antique goodness to whet your whistle.

You can find anything here - anything but reasonably priced vintage clothing, that is! There were some great stalls and units selling beautiful jewelry from the 1920s-1960s, and loads of great mid-c homewares (always a pain to find stuff you love when you are travelling abroad, as there is always the issue of how to get it home in one piece!). There was a lot of fur and antiques from the 16th - 19th century. Any clothing we did find was ludicrously expensive, and though we got excited to find a shop selling great 40's and 50's menswear, our spirits were soon dampened when we asked the price of a Chimayo jacket (nothing at all was priced in the shop!) and were told 750e!

Mamzelle Swing (above) is a delightful little shop in La Marais district. She specialises in mid-century clothing, and is knowledgeable about what she is selling. I did find the prices here to be a little steep, but I suppose comparable to London shops. A telephone cord purse was 95e, 50s blouse around 40e and dresses around 75e. Her website can be found here; http://www.mamzelle-swing.com/

There are also a ton of Fripperies (thrift stores) in this neighbourhood, in which you may be able to find yourself a bargain. We didn't, unfortunately.

So whilst the shopping was generally disappointing, the shops are cute, Paris is beautiful and it's definitely worth a wander round, especially if you have money to spend. We didn't make it to the vintage shops in Montmatre, but they are on our list of things to do next time!

Meanwhile, here are some shots of beautiful Paris and semi-beautiful people.