The best vintage shops in Paris

If the flashy high-end boutiques of the rue Saint-Honoré or Saint-Germain aren’t really your thing and you prefer your clothes, bags, shoes, and accessories to have history, you’ll want to make a beeline for the finest vintage stores in Paris. Here, we’ve gathered together the best for your perusal, spread across the many outstanding shopping districts of the French capital. You could spend hours rummaging the racks, rails, baskets and piles of clothes and accessories that fill the following brilliant vintage shops in Paris.

Prisca Paris

Feeling a little under-dressed in the City of Light? Prisca brings together high-end retro outfits from the biggest French designers of the 20th century – think Saint Laurent, Courrèges, Dior and Carven originals. For vintage luxe, there’s nowhere better. It may be expensive and feel more like a museum than a shop, but dig deep and you’ll end up with a look to rival any Catherine Deneuve.

Espace Kiliwatch

The trailblazer of the Rue Étienne-Marcel revival is filled with hoodies, casual shirts and washed-out jeans. Brands such as Gas, Edwin and Pepe Jeans accompany pricey, good-condition vintage garb. Kiliwatch is also a prime spot for shoes by labels like Puma, Fred Perry and INK, designer sunglasses and even watches.

Fanny Miami

Somewhere near the Porte de Clignancourt, Fanny Miami draws in passersby with its eye-catching graffiti-splashed exterior. Fashion stylists and amateur fashionistas alike flock to this recently opened vintage shop which brims with an excellent selection of second-hand clothes spanning ’30s lingerie, ’80s cocktail dresses, cowboy boots and glamorous coats from all eras.

Episode

Like in any second-hand store worth its name, here you’ll find ’80s dresses, leather bags, boots, skirts, jeans and so on. Where Episode stands out from the rest is through its organisation – you have to rummage, but it’s amazingly well arranged, and prices are reasonable; around €10-€15 for a shirt or €30-€40 for a military-style fur coat that’ll see you through winter. There’s a good selection for men as well.

Célia Darling Vintage

This is the kind of place you’d come if you wanted to get street-snapped outside the Grand Palais during Fashion Week. Owner Célia isn’t just a seller: she worked in art before becoming a vintage clothes specialist, and hand-picks then ‘edits’ all her offerings. That means you know you’ll come away with an outfit that’s truly one-of-a-kind. The original clothes range from the ’40s to the ’90s, but the end results are dazzlingly contemporary.

Aux Comptoirs du Chineur

If you need a rip fixed or a button replaced, and happen to be in the Marais, you’re in safe hands at Aux Comptoirs du Chineur. Part vintage shop, part record store, this place is hard to pin down, but rummage through the mountains of second-hand goods and you’ll almost certainly turn up a winning souvenir.