Les Soldes Paris (Paris Sales Summer 2010)

The Paris summer sales starts tomorrow, are you ready? Not to worry they go from Wednesday June 30th and end Tuesday, August 3rd. Many places opening as early as 8am and close as late as 10pm. Uncommon to Paris – many stores will also be open on the Sundays during the sale period.

celebrity woman with many shopping bags
Tips:

Go the day before and you can get an idea of what will be on sale the next day as most vendors start to make there mark downs, and you can try stuff on the day before that way you don’t waste time in lines in the changing room.

Go early the day of the sale if you to be sure to find your size.

Wait until the 2nd or even 3rd week if there is a lot of the particular item you desire, since every week the discounts usually drop 30% , 50%, 70% etc every consecutive wednesday.

Don’t buy something you wouldn’t actually pay full price for, logic being if you want to avoid buyers remorse and squandering money, just don’t get it “because it’s cheap and it’s on sale”.

Location, location, location…seriously any smart bargain shopper will tell you to go to an area with many stores that way you can cover in as little time as possible a large surface area.

For hard to find sizes avoid the huge shopping malls and try smaller, more discrete locations of the same store. Chances are because they are “out-of-the way” they’ll have more back stock of whatever it is you’re looking for.

Shopping with kids? If you don’t have the option of leaving the tots at home, try to avoid peak hours when the stores will be extremely crowded and pushing around a stroller will make you feel more frustrated than excited about the bargains. Personally I find that the morning, of the second day is less crowded and you can still find really good stuff. Or take them out during their nap time!

Paris Thrift Shopping in Le Marais

There are times when I get so caught up in a idea, trend or just fantasy I can’t seem to think about anything else. These days it’s all about vintage! I’ve been seeing so many of my friends and fellow bloggers pulling off some amazing vintage finds that have made me so jealous I think i’m having a nose bleed.

So I headed over to my favorite vintage shop this morning, Freep Star, right as they opened up at 11am (truth be told I was there at 10:45 and the guy asked me to come back in 10mins – shame shame I know, but the early bird catches all the worms, right?).

Except for this situation I didn’t really catch any worm, or good vintage find I should say.

The choices were so many and so cheap:

• skirts for 5euros,

• dresses 10-20euro,

• blouses and shirts 10euros

• handbags 5-10euros

• shoes varies but around 30euros for a pair if its leather.

I was simply overwhelmed; I’m ashamed to say I only left with one measly skirt and it doesn’t even look vintage! I think my subconscious is not embracing the vintage idea at all, I’m afraid I’ll look like a granny.
Take a look for yourself.

Now I need help figuring out what to wear it with or ways of wearing it. I have a purple top I got at the Manoush sale last week that I have nothing to go with maybe this will work?
FYI:

Where -Fripes Star//Freep Star

8 Rue de la Verrerie 75004 ( Le Marais)

Time -Mon-Sat, 11am to 9pm

Sunday, 2-9pm

When to go
- avoid saturdays and sundays as both boutiques are really small and thrift shopping can feel liek you’re in a war zone.

What - Vintage clothing for women and men. everything from purses , dresses, jackets, shirts and shoes in great condition.

Price- great finds between 5-20euro

P.s. their other boutique is not far away at 8 rue Saint Croix de la Bretonnerie 75004. This one is so much smaller, if you’re traveling with an child they can’t even fit a stroller, so bring the baby Bjorn!