Sustainable Baddie in Paris: 10 of the Best Thrift Stores in the City of Love
In early March, I flew all the way to Paris and stayed through the end of April to compile the perfect list of thrift stores for all of you susty intrepid travelers. Just kidding! Obviously, I went for other personal reasons, but one of my goals was to explore the Parisian thrift scene and share my findings with my lovely SB community!
One thing I’ve noticed about Europe is that their vintage clothing is reasonably priced. You won’t find resellers selling a 2000s era TJ Maxx top for quintuple the price just because they can. From the cost of a glass of wine to the cost of a 90's Miu Miu bag, the prices make sense. You just need to know where to look.
Although Parisian thrifting practices are very similar to American ones, it’s important to note that whenever you walk into a store in Paris, the polite thing to do is say “Bonjour!” to the shop worker and as you leave, say “Merci, au revoir!” or any other suitable French goodbye you packed in your mental suitcase. It’s also common that stores will not allow you to film inside, so ask before taking a phone or camera out to snap a pic or vid. We may be American, but that’s no excuse to give Emily in Paris energy! There are hundreds of thrift stores in Paris and the vibes of each will vary depending on the type of clothing they sell and their price ranges. These are the ones I found to be welcoming of my Americanness, fitting to my personal style, patient with my A2 level French, and most varied when it came to selection.
After two months of walking through the streets of Paris in search of the perfect vintage and secondhand pieces, I’ve narrowed my list of favorite places down to these ten. To make your travels a little bit easier, I’ve marked these stores with $-$$$ markers based on the following price ranges. Remember, we’re talking euros here:
$ - Most, if not all, pieces under $100
$$ - Most pieces between $100-300, can go below, can go over
$$$ - Nearly everything is around or over $300
1. Selection - $$
Address: 26 Rue de Poitou, 75003 Paris
Selection brings together vintage luxury and archival pieces and accessories and, as hinted at by their name, their selection is impeccable. Owner Alban Bardin is the former head of visual merchandising and styling of the iconic French luxury department store, Printemps.
2. Seven Boys & Girls - $$$
Address: 7 Rue du Pont aux Choux, 75003 Paris
I walked into this store after noticing a gorgeous sporty Miu Miu bag on the mannequin in the window. I’ve found that a lot of places will brag about having designer vintage, but the pieces look very grandmacore (if that's your thing, we’ve got you). That’s not the case at Seven Boys & Girls. Their selection is timelessly trendy, if you catch my drift. You’ll definitely find some unique designer pieces here.
3. Chez Sarah - $$$
Address: 18 Rue Jules Vallès, 93400 Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine
If you’re interested in sourcing specific runway pieces, Chez Sarah is for you! You are sure to find a few of the iconic pieces worn by Carrie Bradshaw at Chez Sarah.
4. Relique - $
Address: 1 Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, 75003 Paris
Relique curates a selection of pieces from the 60s and 70s. If bell bottoms and paisley are essential to your personal style, definitely check it out! It’s possibly one of my favorite thrift stores ever!
5. Gaijin - $$
Address: 20 Rue du Pont aux Choux, 75003 Paris
Gaijin specializes in Japanese vintage and secondhand. The owner was featured in this episode of Vogue France’s Le Street Style series on YouTube (one of my favorite resources for learning French and more about Parisian fashion).
6. Les Puces de Saint-Ouen - $
In the search for another thrift store I’d seen in Vogue France (which I never found), I stumbled upon this enormous flea market at Porte de Clignancourt. It’s held Saturday to Monday and you’ll find a huge variety of secondhand vendors selling everything from clothes and jewelry to antiques and furniture. You may want to set aside a full weekend to explore this market as they have over 1,700 vendors!
7. Free’P’star - $
Free‘P’Star has multiple locations throughout Paris, each stocked with a great selection of secondhand clothes. Here you’ll find some of the most sought-after pieces by thrifters like denim, windbreakers, and Hawaiian shirts. Free’P’Star is one of the most affordable thrift spots in the city as most items are under 10 euros!
8. Kilo Shop - $
Kilo Shop is a European vintage clothing chain store, so you’re sure to find locations throughout the city and all over Europe. Unlike American secondhand stores, their selection is curated to be on the funkier side and you pay based on the weight and price marker of your item (pay per kilo)!
9. Vintage by Ramin - $
Address: 64 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris
One of the smaller and more chaotic vintage stores, Vintage by Ramin will require you to sift in order to find your treasure. They have a ton of vintage gems, most of which sell for around five euros.
10. Hier Vintage - $$
Address: 8 Rue du Pont aux Choux, 75003 Paris
This small shop is located on the same street as Seven Boys & Girls and has a selection of secondhand pieces that might serve as the subtler building block of an outlandish Pinterest look. Amongst their racks, you may find an off-brand gem or a toned-down name-brand piece.
If you have any questions about thrifting in Paris (or Europe in general) shoot me a DM!