Paris: People, Places and Bling

By Theadora Brack

Today I’ve decided to wear my tour guide hat, and fashion a special excursion for our retro-loving trendsters. Boasting about recent vintage scores never gets old, so let’s sail to the Porte de Vanves flea market.

Off to the puces

Once you’ve arrived, take a deep breath. Keep your head. Throughout the flea market, you’ll find scads and gads of vintage clothes, along with perfume bottles, belts, bags, hats, hat boxes, jewelry, sunglasses, and shoes. Also, watch out for haute couture labels.

My treasures

My latest Porte de Vanves booty includes a nautical cap and an ultra-mod studded bag in red, along with a thick pile of vintage fashion magazines. And none cost more than five euros. I also found two pair of Ted Lapidus hexagonal sunglasses for even less.

Anchors Aweigh!

Back in the day, Ted Lapidus (Brigitte Bardot’s favorite designer) introduced a groovy kind of unisex dressing, coolly meshing nautical, military, and safari-inspired outfits with jazzin’ blue jeans.

I’ve always been a big fan of the wardrobe mix-n-match. For the love of money and juxtaposition, who isn’t?

So when I got back home, I paid tribute to the late, great French designer by dressing up my newly acquired accessories with a striped shirt, a pair of skinny denim jodhpurs, and red tall riding boots. Très, très Chic Ahoy!

For your Rolodex

Marche aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves, Paris
Métro: Porte de Vanves, 14th arrondissement
Days and hours: Every Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.