AURA, photo: Dress Me Guide Me
The vintage and 2nd hand scene in Berlin is a very diverse world covering some rare vintage from golden times, contemporary high end brands as well as thrift stores where you can buy per kilo. The criteria which makes the difference between all those types is the selection of garments itself. While vintage is the label for clothes that were distinctive to a specific era that’s at least 10-15 years in the past, 2nd hand generally just describes clothes that have been worn by someone before. This could be anything ranging from 2000er high street pieces or last season’s designer stuff. Especially vintage stores pride themselves with the originality of their selection of pieces, that are mostly stand-outs, clean and in good condition. Just like well-curated 2nd hand shops they are usually done with a lot of love and passion, therefore vintage is usually more expensive than your average 2nd hand or thrift store.
Regardless of your personal preference, whether you buy 2nd hand or vintage as a political statement, to get trendy or luxurious brands for cheap or because you are searching for the pearl in a pile of random stuff to get that triumphant feeling of a precious discovery – Berlin’s got you covered!
Our guest contributor Emilie from Dress Me Guide Me selected some of the most awesome shops for you!
Read on…
by Guest Author | Charlottenburg, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Mitte, Neukölln, Prenzlauer Berg, Shops
You know how it is: Every time you need to dress for a special occasion, or maybe just for the next work day and you stand in front your completely overfilled closet yet still you feel like you have nothing to wear. Well, you have A LOT to wear, only you don’t feel like wearing anything you own and then you end up putting on that neutral black shirt and pair of pants because it’s the only outfit that does not completely bother you.
So we have two issues here: a) you need new clothes because obviously you kind of over most of the stuff you own and b) you need to get rid of a lot of clothes to make more space in your closet. Only one tiny problem: Hell will freeze over before you get up at 7 a.m. in the morning on a holy Sunday to set up a booth at Mauerpark. And you kind of don’t want to bother with taking pictures of every single item and putting it up online, let alone packing it up and sending it out to its new owner.
We might have a solution here: The Concierge Service by eBay in cooperation with Mädchenflohmarkt and the eBay Fashion Shop & Sell Boutique. As if by magic they will take care of all the complicated stuff in the process of getting rid of your old wardrobe so it can finally find its happy new wearer. I have been waiting forever for a service like this because I too have an overfilled closet and no time to sell the stuff myself so I better get going with this before my pieces are completely out of fashion.
To introduce the whole concept eBay and Mädchenflohmarkt are hosting a pop-up shop from June 11-16 here in Berlin. Find out more about it after the jump.
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by Frank | Fashion, Mitte, Shops
With all the vintage buzz going on Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Neukölln you probably haven’t come across one particularily amazing second hand shop in Wedding, just a few steps from the border to Mitte. Miki Banana is probably by far the most fun one of them all as the owners have put a lot of love to details and decoration into their big shop. As the name suggests there are a lot of bananas, and where there are bananas, there are also monkeys, and where there are monkeys, there are Barbies not to far. Well, the last one might be not as logical to you, as it is to me, but that’s anoter story.
The selection of clothes, shoes and accessories is pretty much focused on 80s and 90s with all the catchy it-pieces of the contemporary vintage-loving hipster, such as bold graphic print shirts, oversized jackets and Bill Cosby’s pullovers. The variety is quite big as the store has a huge stock and prices are quite fair, especially compared to most of the shops in the other districts. If you haven’t checked this place out, you should make sure to do so, you will love it. My favorite part of the shop is it’s sense of humor that makes shopping there an extra fun experience. Some more impressions and the details after the jump.
UPDATE: Unfortunately this great shop has shut down 🙁
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by Frank | Fashion, Places, Shops, Wedding
Trends come and go, but if there is one thing that will never fade it’s the love for vintage clothing. Every season they cycle through the past decades and what was once unfashionable suddenly looks super hip. Especially in big cities like Berlin with all the big fleamarkets and second hand boutiques vintage styling has almost become an obsession for the fashionable crowd. Every girl has their own preferences. But whose style is the best?
Apply now with your best vintage outfits for iHeartBerlin.de’s Vintage Smackdown and be a model at our Fashion Show at the Wedding Dress festival on July 9, 2011 during Berlin Fasion Week. How you present your best vintage Pearls and DIY projects is all up to you. The main thing for us is that you are having fun with your style. Model size and your age do not matter, we count on your fashion sense and your confidence. We have 10 places at our fashion show to give out (including model fee). In addition, you have the chance to win a big prize of 500 EUR. Learn more about the contest after the jump.
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by Frank | Fashion
It’s Sunday late afternoon and some of you probably just came home from browsing though the fleamarkets at Mauerpark, Arkonaplatz and Boxi looking for vintage treasures. Maybe you even went to come cool second handshops this weekend too. But you didn’t find anything? And don’t want to wait until next weekend? Well, that’s where the brand new online vintage shop Jay Loves comes in. A group of girls from Berlin has piled up all their vintage clothing, accessories and decorative items and made an online shop to save themselves the time and effort of selling it all on a fleamarket. Quite clever. They even take on your stuff on comission. Check out their goods on JayLoves.
by Frank | Fashion, Misc.
