When In Rome: Flea Market With Vintage Gucci, Fendi, Valentino, Chanel and more

It’s big designer names, names, names made even more enticing under the flea market tarp!

The city of Rome is truly a living architectural museum, but where do all the old fashion relics go?

A good chunk can be found on the right Sunday at the Borghetto Flaminio market.

Lot's of vintage costume jewelry and even some hard to find pieces at the Borghetto Flaminio from the 1960s and some Hermes.

While Porta Portese is the more widely known flea market in Rome, for me, it’s  a crowded and huge mass of junky new items and a few stalls of ratted up old fur. It’s been known that if you dig deep enough at Porta Portese that you will find “something” but for me it was more like something plastic and tacky.

Porta Portese has far more junk than vintage

Why dig when there is stall after stall of big designer vintage items– many barely worn or even new at Borghetto Flaminio. It’s a vintage collector’s paradise.

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It’s even been said that Frida Giannini, the creative director of Gucci is a fan of  the Borghetto Flaminio flea market, “I have rented stalls there to sell surplus stuff, and these days you will find well-to-do women emptying their wardrobes. I have found plenty of vintage Gucci items there, including a bag which helped inspire my Cruise collection.”

Lot's of new or barely worn Valentino shoes and even some pairs from Rene Caovilla

Yup, along with Gucci, I spotted plenty of Fendi, Prada (nothing like what’s at the Met), Valentino, Chanel, plenty of bright orange Hermes boxes, random Miss Sixty  and more big name vintage bags and shoes, jewelry & plenty of clothing– although the accessories far outweighed the clothes on the day that I visited. Along with Giannini, a list of Italian tastemakers, vintage dealers and  ladies trying to keep face in the fallen economy have all poked around Borghetto Flaminio, the “garage sale” in an old bus depot.

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Most of the flea market vendors take pride in their goods and unlike many American flea markets, this one is more on order of a vintage clothing show with items artfully laid out, steamed, and merchandised to their best advantage– it is Rome, after all! Reasonable and respectable bargaining is in order and it’s usually best to try get a discount if you are buying more than one item from a specific stall.

Vintage doll clothes even have a special touch

You've gotta love the style of this dapper older gentleman at Borghetto Flaminio

Chanel!

The Borghetto Flaminio isn't overly large but there was at least one interesting item in each stall on the day that I visited.

This silverplate horse made it back to New York with me.

When in Rome: Flea Markets

Borghetto Flaminio ”garage sale” market
Piazza della Marina, 32 is a short walk behind Piazza del Popolo
Every Sunday from Mid September to Mid July… but check first
Phone-  06 5880517
Website- http://www.creativitalia.com/i/prodotti/garagesale.htm

Porta Portese street market
Via Portuense in the Trastevere neighborhood,
Every Sunday from 7am to 2pm… but check first