I purchased a Hermès scarf from this vendor years ago and later realized it was a fake, of which…read morethere are many in circulation. I should have looked more closely and I would have seen a hash mark on the silk which would never have been circulated were it a genuine Hermès. Be careful out there.

This place was really hard to find, almost like a needle in the haystack, but worth every…read moreexhaustive, ready to give up, second. I was actually standing by the big building this shop is housed in, I couldn't find the vendor amongst the maze of stalls/shops/booths. Anyways, it was worth getting lost and I'm grateful for the kind Frenchman who didn't speak a word of English, but was able to decipher my notes and the address to this wonderful shop. The owner has a tremendous collection of Louis Vuitton vintage trunks, briefcases, purses, bags, accessories, lots of Chanel, Hermes everything. Vintage purses by every premier French maker. Thinking he would have just a few Hermes scarves to see, I figured I would choose one easily. Little did I know that there weren't a few scarves for sale, there was a collection for sale. In other words, a sea of silk in brightly colored patterns from the early 1900's to last year. He had to have at least 250 scarves to chose from, and one was more magnificent than the next. Having been to the flagship Hermes store the day later, it was then I realized that this man, Alain ZIsul, just may have a bigger selection of Hermes scarves than the flagship store itself. After around 2 hours of going back and forth, wanting every scarf I saw, I picked one that looks nothing like the 2 I have. For 185 euros, I have a beautiful Hermes scarf. It's definitely not "new" per se, but it's absolutely gorgeous and it's new to me.

Had a very nice selection/collection of Goyard, Hermes, Louis Vuitton accessories for sale, but…read moreabsolutely NO PRICES. Owner, Elisio, isn't versed in English, I'm not versed in French, so we had difficulty discussing price. I'm not sure he was willing to part with his treasures and/or wanted to be relieved of anything in his collection, so we just looked around and enjoyed seeing what he had.

I visited several of the markets at St-Ouen and Vernaison ended up being my favorite. It has pretty…read moremuch everything honestly - from trinkets to jewelry/fashion to furniture, art and everything in between. Once inside, it's a literal maze of stalls to explore. You could spend most of a day here, no problem. There's a ton of high end stuff but also a fair amount of reasonably priced things that are easy to bring home - vintage linens, silver flatware, books, jewelry and much more. Now, these are experienced dealers so you're not going to get a real Chanel bag for $100 but I did think many of the prices were affordable. There's a epic poster shop, a fun dead stock store (Tombee Des Camions) and too many more to mention.

I have been frequenting Marche Vernaison and the surrounding other Flea Markets at St Ouen for…read moreyears. There are several all in the same area and they are open to the public on weekends. One can literally spent the entire day shopping and looking. It really is a mind blowing experience. Everything from the funky to the serious antiques. Looking for something weird and odd? You will find it. Looking for a dining table from 1600? You will find it. Marche Vernaison has a bit of everything but more of the funky odd items than the other Marche's close by. If it is your first time going and you plan to go by the Metro please heed my advise. You will get off at the Porte de Clingancourt Metro Stop. When you exit you will see a Flea Market off on the left side of the street with tents and such and will most likely think this is where it starts. WRONG! Yes there is a flea market there but it is a bit sketchy. It has t shirts, cheap sunglasses, knock off bags, junk like that. I made the mistake of going in there the first time I went and immediately wanted to get out but then had to go through it to get out and ended up having my Gucci sunglasses pick pocketed from my person. It is not the Flea market you are looking for. My advise is when leaving the Metro stay on the right hand side of the street and continue past the underpass. These days there is a bit of the sketchy stuff that appears on that side of the street as well but it is easier to traverse and then after the underpass you will see the Marche Vernaison on the left. Cross at that intersection. Marche Vernaison and the other Flea Markets at St. Ouen are not the only flea markets in Paris if you are really into that thing but it is really an amazing and mind blowing experience you shouldn't miss when in Paris.