I dragged my husband to this vintage store after visiting Giardino Bardini. This shop was on a quiet street a few blocks away.
The shop owner was outside and greeted me as I went in. She told me to start in the back back room and that there was a lot of stuff in the shop. She was NOT exaggerating in the least. This would be a hoarder's dream. This was not a small space at all but the sheer amount of stuff that was there made it a bit hard to maneuver around the shop. There was essentially only room enough for one person to be walking down the path at a time. You'd have to duck into a crook if someone wanted to pass you.
The back back room held racks of clothing that was jammed with hangers. It was a bit hard to sift through the racks because it was so full. There were many fashion brands, from brands that can be found in the US like DKNY and Levi's to Italian brands that I can't remember. I don't believe I found anything high end but truthfully, I gave up on clothing pretty easily so I can't say for sure. There were also different types of clothing from jackers/coats to pants to tops.
There was also a bathroom, which also served as a fitting room between the back back room and the back room. I believe there were more clothing racks in the back room as well as a few handbags.
The front room housed most of the handbags and shoes. This is when my experience soured a little. I always try to be careful when I'm shopping, whether it be at a thrift store or at a regular store as I don't like to inconvenience others. It was hard looking through the handbags as they were all stacked on top of the other. (IMO, a bad way to store bags as they will crush and leave marks on the bag beneath) I was carefully trying to shift them around to see what there was. This was also a fairly dimly lit room, so that was another obstacle. She called out to me twice to be careful. The third time, she decided that I was somehow manhandling her goods and came over to help me look. I get that she was protecting her stock but I was a bit insulted by that. It wasn't what she said but how she said it that bothered me.
I moved onto shoes after that because I didn't want to wait while she pulled out a bag at a time to show me. Most of the shoes were in their boxes, so I had to open the boxes to peek at what was inside. Once again, these were all stacked on top of each other, so I had to shift them around. The shop owner stopped me again and asked me what size I was. When I told her I was a size 9-10, she told me she didn't have anything for me as most of the shoes were size 7. She informed that she had a beautiful pair of shoes from some high end brand for sale but alas they were too small for me. And there was also a luscious pair of boots but again, in a smaller size. Ok, got it. My feet are too big for your store.
I walked out with a leather handbag (from the back room where I was allowed to roam freely like the wild bull that I somehow was) and a silk DKNY shirt for 60 euro. The shirt was a good price for 10 euro because of the material and it was in great condition. The bag was 50 euro and was relatively still a good deal. The leather was soft and supple, but it was a bit faded with some discoloration from use. I hoped that a little TLC would restore the color a little.
What dropped this shop down by another half star for me was what I found in the bag upon returning to the US. I didn't get around to cleaning my bag until a few months later. I found a dead bedbug inside an outer pocket on the bag. I was immediately grossed out and proceeded to steam the shit out of the bag. Thankfully, that was the only one that I found and it was dead.
This place would have been good if I came in for something specific, as she would know where to look and she could help me look as well. Due to my experience here, I wouldn't come back here. But if you have at least half an hour to spare and want to treasure hunt, I would still recommend this store. There is slight room to negotiate pricing. read more
