Fleamarket Finds

Vienna has a sad selection of second-hand clothes shops. We have a number of those super-stylish but ridiculously overpriced small vintage boutiques and also a non-profit chain of second-hand clothes shops which often seem equally overpriced. Sometimes I can find a couple of nice and affordable items there, but the majority of real vintage clothes in these shops are still expensive and often not worth the trouble.

This is why I love going to fleamarkets in Vienna, particularly small local fleamarkets. These are rarely crammed and I can usually always find something nice for a more than reasonable price. My favourite market is the one in my area, which is on about once or twice a year. I went there on both Thursday and Friday this week and found a couple of really nice things.

One of the ladies at the market had a couple of boxes of underwear. Usually I do not look at underwear at fleamarkets because I think it's kind of gross but this lady had some fantastic, unworn vintage pieces from an estate sale. I bought two vests, one in a viscose/cotton blend and one in pure wool, to wear in winter.

They both fit me perfectly and are really long and comfy to wear. Both vests are from Palmers, a quality Austrian lingerie brand, which has existed for almost a century. They had the original tags on them, which also show the price. 188.- Schilling, the pre-Euro Austrian currency, for one of them, which would be about 13-14 Euro today. This seems very expensive, considering the shirts are relatively old. But I don't know how old they really are? Any guesses? I'm thinking 60s, because I can't see how women would have worn these in the 70s or 80s or later. And I think they would look a little older and the tags a little less modern if they were earlier than 60s. What do you think?

I also picked up a t-shirt from H&M and a nightgown also from Palmers in white, very light cotton with yellow eyelet embroidery along the neckline and the hem.

And I bought a vintage white angora/wool/poly sweater, which is really, really warm and not really wearable for this season. I will probably refashion the sweater as it is not very flattering, or else I'll only wear it for outdoor winter adventures. And then I picked up another vest/t-shirt in cotton, also from Palmers, which is a little small and I'm not sure how to wear it yet. But I'll figure something out.

All in all, I'm very happy with my finds, especially as they cost me only 10 Euro in total. I'm sure I can get some good use out of them and it's nice to go shopping every once in a while.

Still, I envy all of you who live in the US, where, at least according to the blogs I follow, there seems to be an abundance of Goodwill's and estate sales and markets that are all far better than anything I have seen here. I have never even as much as found a vintage pattern on any of the markets here. Sadness. But if anyone lives near here and has good vintage shopping tips for me, they are much appreciated. I hope you all have a nice and sunny weekend!