Get us in your inbox
🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
Discover the magic of the dépôt-vente
There's oodles of vintage to be found in Paris, but the really savvy will plan their shopping sprees around these dépôts-vente and ressourceries. Dépôts-vente are second-hand stores where you can drop off your good, high-quality old clothes and, once some else buys them, recoup a percentage of the profit. Ressourceries are semi-permanent car boot sales where you can pick up everything from clothes to furniture and household items. At these shops, bargain-hunting is cheaper and more fun.
Madame de… takes its name from the 1951 Max Ophüls film, in which the Parisian heroine is forced to pawn her beloved diamond earrings, causing all kinds of trouble. Nothing so dark here, just a delightful second hand shop where owner Armelle Franz reassures her customers that ‘I make it a point of honour only to select pieces that are like new’. And indeed, leather bags glow and there are no loose threads on the knitwear...
Orchestrated by Martine, originally a New Yorker, the Chine Machine boutique is wonderfully eccentric: old mannequins with blue lipstick, old television sets, framed photographs of stars from way back when, all set against new wave background music. But if the walls are hung with tunics made entirely of bells and knee-high boots with gilded fringes, the racks offer items suitable for any wardrobe...
This dépôt-vente with its hot pink shop front in the rue des Tournelles has been around for 30 years. Renamed five years ago after its charismatic owner Sissi, it offers loads of clothes categorised by size, type and colour, and isn't limited to big name brands. Tailored trousers, tartan skirts, sleeveless jackets and mink coats can all be found here at very reasonable prices, like €60 for a See by Chloé jacket or €120 for a pair of Jimmy Choos...
If dépôts-vente had a queen, it would probably be Chercheminippes, whose sign in the Rue de la Cherche-Midi has been there for more than four decades. Today, Chercheminippes boasts no fewer than six shops, each in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, each with a specific focus. The first offers ready-to-wear – from Agnès B to Comptoirs des Cotonniers via Antik Batik...
Philippe Devant honed his taste for second-hand treasures as a compulsive collector since the age of 15, and a regular rummager at the Vanves Flea Market for more than 20 years. The passion comes through at his chaotic dépôt-vente on the Rue Faidherbe: he has a particular taste for vintage Vespas (from €1500 to €5000), as well a whole slew of other atypical knick-knacks...
'I am always very touched by the loyalty of our clients' says Laurence, owner of Lorette et Jasmin (formerly Passy Puces). On the racks, vintage sits along side haute couture and ready to wear mixes with luxury garments. 'I try to meet demand. I have, for example, clients who like the Pleats Please collection from Issey Miyake. For them, I always keep a few pieces sorted in a corner…' The collection which incudes pieces by Chanel and Vivier and a few suprises, like a polka-dot silk shirt for €70 or a pair of Repettos...
With its fuchsia pink shop front and its prominently displayed tulle marriage dress surrounded by paper birds, L’Appart by Cendrine is forthrightly whimsical. But don’t be fooled by the girly-girl façade – inside is all elegance and class. Structured black and white Chanel dresses sell for €690, red striped blouses by Isabel Marant fro €129 euros, teamed with Louboutin shoes...
The candy-pink shop front of Vintage 77 clearly waves the flag: this is one for girls. Inside you'll find vintage clothing, but also bags and new shoes by designers like Nat & Nin. Perched high up in the rue de Ménilmontant, Vintage 77 is also a dépôt-vente: clients can bring their clothes, which must be designer, in good condition and from a recent collection, and offer them for sale...
This tiny, narrow boutique is situated in one of the most commercial streets in the quartier. On the tightly grouped clothes hangers you can find silk skirts for €29, jackets and striped jumpers. The colours and cuts are feminine, there is no question here of dressing in black from head to toe. Some less obviously in vogue pieces can have a whole new lease of life with the right pair of jeans, says the owner of the place...
A hop and a skip away from the dwarfing mall on la Place d’Italie, this secretive little den offers an altogether more interesting shopping experience. The family-run Studio-Carton operates on the simple premise that trash can be turned into treasure with a little imagination.The idea is that you bring unwanted items – belts, bike tyres – out of which a team of resident artisans then build chairs, jewellery, furniture...
A fabulous bric-a-brac store with low prices and excellent taste, this place was a gamble by the Emmaüs Défi anti-poverty charity that is really paying off. Nearly a hundred previously unemployed people work the huge site, which is only open on Saturdays. The former market space has lost none of its character, now encompassing an area for furniture, a corner for games and books and changing rooms made out of butcher’s fridges. The prices are adapted to the clientele, with day-to-day items and basic furniture at giveaway rates...
The Emmaüs bric-a-brac store is hidden in the heart of the 104 cultural centre, a great little address where you can mix with hip-hop dancers and cultural performers to bargain hun in a boutique done out like someone’s apartment. The atmosphere is welcoming, and the stuff on offer more or less well organised. At the back of the main room there's a little library with books, CDs and vinyl, on top of endless rails of clothes, shoes, furniture and other bits and pieces. Everything is dirt cheap: books for €1, around €10 for a jumper...
’70s ties for €0.50, skirts for €2 and coats for €5 – La Petite Rockette makes living cheaply easy. A venue for locals who prefer to give things a new life rather than throw them away, the association that runs the store also lays on a range of activities as well as an enthusiastic welcome from its workers and volunteers. A former artist’s squat, the new car boot sale-shop-exhibition space has kept in touch with its origins – also on offer are dance workshops, yoga, sewing classes...
This agreeable little post-industrial boutique offers up a range of elegant accessories and idiosyncratic curios, all centred on an urban theme. Line, the effervescent Canadian owner, fabricates most of the goods herself out of recycled materials: old flags, used tyres, anything. Ask her to show you how to fold up a 400m2 sheet of canvas, or how she fabricated the shop counter out of tin cans, and she’ll certainly oblige...
In a huge space near the 18th arrondissement town hall, l’Interloque manages to fill every corner. You’re not very likely to unearth any valuable treasures here (apart from the smiles of the staff), but you will find plenty of car boot classics: DVDs, crockery, home electrics and cheesy 12-inch records – plus, there's a bike repair and resale point. The labelling of items is inconsistent, so feel free to bargain if the price isn’t displayed. Given the opportunity, prices tend towards those of a second-hand store rather than a car boot...
Discover Time Out original video