"Dépot vente épouvante"

A few weeks ago, I headed to the alliterating rue Tiquetonne in the 2ème arrondissement for what turned out to be a duo of cavernous shops brimming with clothes organized by style, texture, and color. The downcycled silk shirts at Episode really tempted me: for 12 to 20 euros, one could acquire a longsleeved or sleeveless silk shirt in any color of the rainbow and its subtle variations. I may return there in search of the perfect one for Rosalie and Clara for next summer.

The mecca of vintage, Kiliwatch, was in fact disappointing because way overpriced. Once your sense of organization is in place, both Episode and Kiliwatch send one down a sensorial maze, in which one encounters rows of Austrian felted wool jackets (if I ever do get cold, these jackets at 40 euros a pop might be the solution), oversized Norwegian wool sweaters, leather boots, bags, coats and jackets (tried on yet another suede coat that made me feel very chic, but where besides Paris would I ever wear such a thing?), polyester print dresses that remind me of how horrible clothes really were in the 1980s. A tweed skirt with a Missoniesque wavelike weave made in London no less (back when labels were that precise) and a metal buckle in the middle of the waist was truly a classic – but not for me now.

Delft!

My travels brought me back to the Dutch city of Delft, which on a Saturday is abuzz with activity. After finding a copy of "Elle" from 1966 (photos to come) at the antiques market, my husband Remko and I had our usual cup of tea at the Beesten Markt. We looked for a shirt for him at a shop that sells major European brands, and found nothing of interest. However, on the Beesten Markt, there is a "recycle" shop that sells furniture, house wears and clothes. And there, for a few Euros each, there were two shirts of the same brand that we had just seen a few streets away. No photos of the shirts in question, but photos of the shop which also had some wonderful chandeliers that I wish I could put up somewhere in my imaginary urban cool house.