Paris has luxury vintage stores spread over town from 4th to 18th arrondissement. London has Brick Lane. Budapest has colour-sorted thrift stores. But where is the circular fashion i Brussels?
Besides the charity chains like “Le Petit Riens” and Oxfam you find all over town, Brussels is an avalanche of second-hand gems. Especially if you have a little patience and a good nose for passing fancy.
If you have a few hours to spend, stroll from Rue Malibran to Flagey and further up Chaussée d’Ixelles. Here you’ll find at least 5 shops where you’ll be sure to find gems amongst the trash. The biggest challenge is that the stores don’t have webpages and change location from month to month. So you have to stroll around a bit.
The same goes for Les Marolles. Besides the large vintage market at Jeu de Balles, Rue Haute is the place to go for one of a kind finds – and junk. Melting Pot – vintage per kilo – the store to find the shirt or the tie in precisely the colour and cut you want, recently moved to the Bourse quarter. The Bourse area is also the place to go if you’re looking for that one particular dress from the 1950’es that will be that one fashion statement that saves the night. Here Ramon & Valy is a good place to start.
Or you can move closer to Chatelain and visit the labyrinths of Sylviana at the corner of Chaussée de Charleroi and Rue de l’Aqueduc where no. one obstacle is the many options and the patience it requires to see everything through the layers of retro treasures.
The queen of Brussels secondhand fashion, where you’ll find a selection of items from attractive fashion plates, is the mens’ and womens’ divisions of Les Enfants d’Edouard at Avenue Louise near Chatelain.
The staff manages to select both classical ladylike and oldschool men’s stuff with that item you were wondering whether to buy from this year’s collection of a top brand that will cut you a fine figure.
