Day 155
Parisiens seem to consider themselves not completely dressed until they add a scarf. Some women wear fitted coats, and then throw a huge afghan sized scarf around their necks to complete the look. Here, scarves are equally as popular with men, if not more so, and let’s not forget the dogs. I’ve seen more scarves on dogs than any other pet accessory.
The French also like their vintage stores. Call them what you will, we grew up getting all our clothes from second-hand stores. Once a year before school started, we would make the 45 minute pilgrimage to Veteran’s Village. We would each split up and search for treasures, then meet back in the couches for final decisions. Anything you wanted over a dollar would need some serious convincing points, like, this is so practical I’ll wear it every day to school for the rest of my life, or this dress is so versatile I’ll wear it to church every Sunday and probably at my baptism when I’m older.
In college, a favorite outing with friends was going to the thrift store. At student-friendly prices we would buy huge over-sized sweaters that hung to our thighs, black men’s overcoats, already broken hiking shoes with red laces. There was the added bonus, if someone complimented your new-used sweater, to reply that it cost a buck fifty at the thrift store.
In Paris, Paul found kilo stores, where you buy your vintage clothes by weight. There’s a scale in the store. You can fill the basket with your finds, get a weight and price. This is especially sweet for scarf lovers, who can now buy them in bulk.
