The art of thrift­ing is noth­ing new to the fash­ion world. We as human beings have always had an instinc­tu­al long­ing to adorn our­selves in vin­tage. Peo­ple have been bor­row­ing from the past since there was a past dis­tant enough to rem­i­nisce upon.

How­ev­er, the pur­pose of thrift­ing has been rede­fined in recent decades. With fash­ion indus­try today claim­ing the posi­tion as the sec­ond most pol­lut­ing indus­try in the world, sec­ond-hand shop­ping has come to be viewed as less of a cre­ative hob­by and more as a sav­ing grace.

While there are many brands today who offer first-wear sus­tain­able cloth­ing, the process of seek­ing out and pur­chas­ing from these brands can be time-con­sum­ing and expen­sive. There is no sur­er, sim­pler or cheap­er way to shop sus­tain­ably than thrift­ing; and if you are lucky enough to be in Paris, the options for sec­ond-hand shop­ping lie around near­ly every street cor­ner, and come at a range of prices and styles acces­si­ble to near­ly every con­sumer.

At Paradigme Mode, we believe that sustainable, ethical fashion can and should be accessible to every member of the fashion world.

That is why we com­piled a list of our favorite thrift des­ti­na­tions in Paris, account­ing for a wide range of options in style, loca­tion and price. We hope your wardrobe and con­science will be left a bit brighter after indulging in this list of the chiquest thrift des­ti­na­tions in the city of fash­ion.

Freepstar– 20 Rue de Rivoli

Come to Freep­star pre­pared to sort. This 2 sto­ry vibrant shop is over­run by crowd­ed racks and shelves of deals as cheap as just €1, but you will have to sift through lots of rocks in order to find the jew­els. Freepstar’s selec­tion is so wide and unique that it’s near­ly impos­si­ble to cat­e­go­rize, and they cer­tain­ly don’t attempt to do so. The jack­et you’ve been dream­ing of may very well be hang­ing in a clut­ter of lin­gerie dress­es and men’s out­er­wear. Don’t be afraid to become one with the chaos, the process of search­ing may just be what makes those spe­cial finds so reward­ing in the end!

 Bhumi– 28 Rue Rivoli

Bhu­mi’s orga­nized and bright­ly lit inte­ri­or fea­tures pieces neat­ly sort­ed by gar­ment type, gen­der and style. You will be pleas­ant­ly trans­port­ed by their vin­tage selec­tions, large­ly fea­tur­ing ensem­bles from the both 80’s and 90’s. Their afford­able prices range from about €10- €50, depend­ing on gar­ment type and/or brand. How­ev­er, for those seek­ing bar­gains, a steep spi­ral stair­case leads to an attic-like sec­tion above, fea­tur­ing an entire selec­tion of cloth­ing priced at just €5! Don’t be fooled by the cheap price, we found a range of qual­i­ty pieces in this haven of an attic.

If you’re look­ing to save your­self the stress of win­ter coat shop­ping next Novem­ber, con­sid­er search­ing for cheap ahead-of-sea­son finds here. This is a great sus­tain­abil­i­ty tac­tic, as pur­chas­ing dis­count­ed pieces ahead-of-sea­son will pre­vent the urge to shop at cheap fast fash­ion shops once the actu­al sea­son comes around.

The King of Frip– 33 Rue du Roi de Sicile

This invit­ing wood­en exte­ri­or sit­u­at­ed near the cor­ner of Rue du Roi de Sicile holds an array of trea­sures. You might just die and go to den­im heav­en while glanc­ing across their col­lec­tions of jeans, shorts, dress­es, tops and even over­alls. These racks are seam­less­ly orga­nized by brand and gar­ment style, fea­tur­ing names you’ll be hap­py to rec­og­nize, includ­ing Ralph Lau­ren, Tom­my Hil­figer and Lacoste. While these high-end names are well worth the €50- €70 prices, their gar­ments are not all per­fect­ly pre­served, and may require a good iron post-pur­chase.

  Mamz’Elle Swing– 35 bis Rue du Roi de Sicile

Step into this selec­tive vin­tage haven and tru­ly be trans­port­ed. Every­thing about this lit­tle shop– from its exte­ri­or, to its decor, to its ambi­ence– tru­ly encap­su­lates a jour­ney to the past. Their selec­tions include pieces from as far back as the 1930’s all the way through to the 60’s. These gar­ments evoke the height of sophis­ti­ca­tion, with racks of bil­low­ing skirt­ed dirndl dress­es, high-waist­ed sailor pants, slouch hats, clas­sic pearls, tai­lored skirt suits, and even old Hol­ly­wood style evening dress­es.

While some of these finds may be as old as 10 decades, they are fan­tas­ti­cal­ly con­served. With this being said, the col­lec­tion runs on the prici­er side, but is well worth the invest­ment, as you will find tru­ly unique, high-qual­i­ty vin­tage pieces that would sure­ly be impos­si­ble to find else­where.

Kilo Shop– 69–71 Rue de la Verrerie

For any­one dying to feel like the main char­ac­ter in a 90’s film, this vin­tage shop will sure­ly be heav­en. The Kilo Shop stands true to its name, as prices are fixed by weight rather than by indi­vid­ual gar­ment. This unique aspect makes the shop a true haven for bar­gain hunters and vin­tage col­lec­tors alike. Their col­lec­tion drips with per­son­al­i­ty, fea­tur­ing sporty leather jack­ets, 90’s den­im, print­ed silk scarves, and col­or­ful felt-tipped berets. Their play­ful shop win­dow says it all: “Choose, Weigh, Take Away.”

“Thrift is poet­ic because it is cre­ative; waste is unpo­et­ic because it is waste.” ― G.K. Chester­ton

While we under­stand that the ven­ture shop­ping sus­tain­ably can be intim­i­dat­ing, comb­ing through stores like these is a cheap­er, sim­pler (and fun) way to respect the envi­ron­ment while indulging in the thrill of fash­ion. We hope you enjoy your afford­able vin­tage tour through Paris! If you are look­ing for high-end exclu­sive vin­tage appar­el, check our arti­cle on lux­u­ry vin­tage stores!