Shopping in Paris on a Budget

One of my favorite pastimes back in the United States is thrift shopping. While for some people, walking into a room filled with racks and racks of clothing, bins of shoes, and shelves of books is overwhelming - for me, it’s the beginning of my own treasure hunt.

Colorful sweaters line the rack as Paris gets ready for cooler weather.

I don’t remember where I saw this quote, but I feel like it completely encapsulates how I feel about thrifting:

“Come curious, leave a collector.”

Each item I purchase - whether it be clothes, shoes, or some weird little trinket I find cute, it once was someone else’s which I find to be so cool. It does take getting used to the idea of someone wearing your clothes before if you’ve never done it before. But, hey ya wash it, and it’s like brand new.

Not to mention, you save money, you can get super lucky with scoring some brand names, and you’re helping the environment by not contributing to fast fashion. Win-win-win-win-win in my book.

Okay, so studying abroad in Paris. Fashion capital of the world - on my way to school alone, I walk past Givenchy, Gucci and Fendi stores to name a few. So to find the more quirky, thrift vintage stores is a bit more difficult, but by no means impossible.

All you need to know is one word - Emmaus.

Emmaus in the third arrondissement.

Emmaus is an organization in Paris whose one goal is to fight exclusion. They do this by providing jobs, holding community events, and offering cheaper clothing to those who would not be able to afford it otherwise.

They have tons of boutiques all over Paris that sell secondhand clothes and items.

Shopping in the men's section is a great spot to find flannels.

Here are just a few that I have visited - each one a little bit different. So I recommend going into multiple stores and finding out for yourself which one is your favorite!

On top of the discounted price, some stores offer sales.

This store had a ton of scarves and blazers. Skirts were around 15 euros, sweaters around 20 euros, and accessories under 10 euros.

Purses, beanies, scarves, and other accessories can also be found in Emmaus stores.

Next, this one had amazing fur coats - ranging from around 20 to 50 euros depending on quality.

Some stores offered Halloween costumes for the spooky season.

And this store was a bit larger and offered trinkets such as plates and mugs and they also had an entire kids' section.

Books, stuffed animals, and children clothing are available at certain stores.

Lastly, here is my favorite one. While all the other stores had individual price tags for each item, this store charges you based on weight. 1 kilogram of clothes =  10 euros.

1 kilogram of clothing = 10 euros!

I haven’t seen anything like this in the U.S. and I think it’s so awesome! No matter the brand, no matter the article of clothing, 1 kilogram is 10 euros.

Lots of shoes to choose from - men and women's.

This store does require a bit more digging though, but if you’re patient enough you will come out with so many new finds. This store also has a great men’s section.

Looking through the heaps of clothes is one of my favorite parts about thrift shopping.

Know of any other places I should get my thrift on? Comment below!

Leah D. is the Fall 2017 CEA MOJO Blogger in Paris, France. She is currently a Junior studying News & Documentary Production at Chapman University.

---

Read more about our CEA CAPA Content Creators.