The number one vintage boutique in Helsinki. Rare finds and big price tags, but so worth the visit…read more Top hats, feathers, sequins and rhinestones. This shop is often featured in Finnish fashion magazines as the source of special items in photoshoots. Ranges from fashionable retro stuff to delicate antiques.

The best vintage clothing store I've ever been to in THE WORLD. This is not a thrift shop or second…read morehand store; it's not cheap but the best quality vintage shouldn't be. It feels filled with wonder and history like a museum but cozy and inviting like someone's home. (There is even an adorable dog sleeping peacefully in shop). You will find women's clothing for all occasions and seasons and a wide array of accessories and underpinnings. There's even a men's section, which looked impressive too. Amazing selection aside, the owner is so knowledgeable and kind. She knows the origins of every piece in her shop. I stumbled upon the store by accident and ended up spending hours trying on wedding dresses and evening gowns, learning a lot about vintage clothing history in the process. There is an impressive amount of dead stock items too. I can't wait to return here, it was a really special place.

Located on lovely Kaivopuisto waterfront, this place is the Buckingham Palace of…read moresecondhand/consignment stores. Possibly my favorite place to spend an hour or two perusing for treasures. There's a lot of junk (again...I really hate when people try to sell their old junky H&M crap and promotional t-shirts and such when they really ought to just be donated to people who can use them) but also a lot of great stuff to be found. Shoes, dishware, jeans (my favorite!), handbags, etc...there really is something for everyone. The underground, mouse-maze aesthetic of the space makes shopping here even more fun. I think their booth rental prices start at around 50e/week. On my almost-daily walks through Kaivopuisto, I almost-daily stop in to see what's new. Best Kirppis in Helsinki so far for my taste and wallet.

If you knew how many potential face-plant leap-dives I've made to catch some breakable or another…read morefrom hitting the floor of Olkkari in the wake of my toddler, you'd know I must really like it to keep coming back. Half consignment shop for children's clothes, shoes, and gear/Half toy and design shop, this is a curiously cute little jewel box of a market tucked away in Krunna. The "new stuff" part of the store is made up of vintage-y toys, ecologically-sound and artisanal goods for children as well as dishware, home goods, and design novelties. Perfect place to buy your kid used clothes and people you like nice gifts :) TONS of size 92-164 and loads of shoes, carriers, and accessories for baby. The infant clothes selection can be a bit sparse but I think it's because they don't take things that have been spit up on, shat on, or otherwise severely marred by the previous owner (thank you!). They also carry a carefully curated collection of women's consignment clothing, shoes, and bags. There is an extensive, and I mean EXTENSIVE, room in the back dedicated to rain gear, Winter suits, and boots of all sizes, shapes, and varieties for children size 92 and up (smaller sizes are always up in the itty-bitty baby room). Overall, the setup is neat. Clothes are in marked colorful bins. So when your (my) kid takes handfuls of said clothes and tosses them in the air, they more or less land looking just like they did before Hurricane Korhonen came through. The nicer clothes are hanging and the PoP and Marimekko have their own racks next to the kids' play area. Yep. There's a play area. Your (my) kid will probably steal something from it and you'll find it when you get home. But that's ok because you can always use a reason to come back here!

Seriously difficult to rate one stop above others as anything in this market is going to be good…read more Solid bars good options at several stalls and cute shops to hunt for that special item. Bonus that this has restrooms and is inside - a great way to get out of the cold! Though there ARE opportunities to sit a spell, people watching here might be limited (if that's your thing) as the hallway around the market is more narrow and doesn't have much room to sit and only one or two stalls have seating areas. Service at each business is fast as it can be for a popular place and of course the value for your spend might be limited as well because there are tourists everywhere! When in doubt grab a sweet roll!

Best place to eat local food if you want to sample a variety of items, from Asian to reindeer,…read morefish, pastries, gelato, etc. We ate at Kumpi Peruna that offers baked potatoes with your choice of toppings. Everything is gluten free and healthy. We shared the reindeer potato with blue cheese and lingonberry at the suggestion of the server. Also added pickles and beet slaw. This was very good. We also had a cheese cake and sponge cake from two other vendors. We had hoped to go here twice but ran out of time as the close at 6:00 and we couldn't get back in time for a second round.

When in Helsinki this is the perfect place to get your Moomin bed linen fix. I wish more of the…read morelinen was available in grown up sizes too (because clearly you never are to old for Moomin), but at least there's always a great selection of pillow covers. Plus towels, tea towels, vanity bags etc. The Tom of Finland-bed linen series is pretty cool for the adventerous mind. But of course they have loads of other less flamboyant but no less adorable bed linens and towels in great quality with different prints too. Reasonable prices.

I'm old and married and have kids and an apartment. So this place is more or less heaven to me…read more Duvet covers are the new "come (bleep) me" heels of my life. A big day out = shopping for hand towels and accent cushions. I enjoy the classics, and this is the place for that. My son is all about the "Elefantti" and I dig the selection of understated, quality duvets and linens. I'm not a "mixer and matcher" - it's all white or all wrong with me. It's easy to get a theme going and stick with it here. The selection isn't vast but it's pretty consistent and aligned, so I can buy a boatload of linens, throw them on their respective surfaces, and my house looks pulled together. With minimal work on my part. I can buy pillows, comforters, towels, duvets, pillow cases, cushions, cushion covers, kitchen accessories, and everything else I need here. I don't have to go anywhere else. I like that. The sales staff are oh so nice. Ordering through their website has resulted in some hiccups in service but the associates at the shop are helpful in sorting things out, special ordering products that are out of stock, and contacting me in a timely manner when said items arrive in shop. They have great sales, too. I think Finlayson is a great alternative to Marimekko, which I love but which feels a bit generic to me in terms of home decor. Plus, this is a one-stop shop for Scandinavian classics in a big, airy space with an old-school vibe. If it was a bar, I'd go there all the time.

OSKLEN is one of my favorite brands in the world. It's Brazilian and minimalistic at the same time…read more And Urban Story is their Finnish importer and distributor. Apart from OSKLEN you can find WILD, a brand that does "ethical" fur (meaning that the animals were not killed for their fur, they were killed off due to too large population according to someone - and then they took care of the fur and made something beautiful out of it) here. These two brands are my two strongest memories from Urban Story in Helsinki, but there's more! The owner is lovely and a true fashionista. Ask her about what Finnish brands she has in store at the moment, and she's probably already wearing it and you probably already thought "I want to buy what she's wearing". There are also some men's wear (buy gifts to trendy men here), some bags and apparently a favela styled dressing room is about to be built in one corner of the store. Need I say it? Don't miss this place. Last but not least Urban Story shares venue with Hymy Rawfood Cafe that makes great rawfood.