This weekend, I went to my favorite flea market at the Ashby Bart Station in Berkeley (Adeline & Ashby) and on Sunday, traveled over to the Laney Flea Market on 7th Street in downtown Oakland.  Although I went to the Ashby Flea Market on both Saturday and Sunday, I was luckier on Saturday, but unfortunately, I didn't have my camera.  I was able to score a brown suede shirt (Ellen Tracy) and a cashmere Ralph Lauren sweater for $6.  I also admired a 1940's fur coat, but it had a price tag of $350, so I knew that was out.  But since it was at the end of day, the vendor sold it to me for only $5.  I'm definitely not a proponent of fur coats, but this one was in perfect condition and is seriously vintage, so I could not say "no."

I hadn't been to the Laney Flea Market for several years.  I used to go there on Sundays with my friend, Nancy, who loved to pick up odds and ends for her art projects.  It used to be a fun place to go because there were a lot of independent junk-oriented venders with interesting stuff, so there was always a chance of picking up a gem for very little.  How surprised I was to see it now.  It is still big, but mostly with new things or piles of clothes, shoes and purses that need serious time to look over.  It was a disappointment and I doubt I'll go back there.  I did find some couture items, but they had steep price tags for the flea market.  So here are some photos of my trips.

Entrance to Laney Flea Market

Stacks of shoes at Laney Flea Market

There were some cute jackets for only $5

Sgt. Pepper at Laney Flea Market

Gucci Pumps at Laney Flea Market

Gucci casual heels at Laney Flea Market

Gold Chanel shoulder bag for $40 at Laney Flea Market

All clothes here were $1

Piles of clothes at Laney Flea Market

Beautiful silver vintage purse at Laney Flea Market

Cinderella silver heels at Laney Flea Market

Entrance to the Ashby Flea Market

Red, white & blue flats at the the Ashby Flea Market

Colorful handmade purses at the Ashby Flea Market

Purses, hats & pants at the Ashby Flea Market

African masks that should be in the Asian Art Museum in SF

Original handcrafted clothing at the Ashby Flea Market

One vendor who at the Ashby Flea Market every weekend and sometimes has good used clothing

The collective drummers always at the Ashby Flea Market

Vintage on Haight Street in San Francisco

Haight Street has to be one of my favorite parts of the city.  It is colorful and never boring and it's fun to shop there.  Over the years, I have shopped at many of the vintage and consignment stores on Haight Street, so I wanted to photograph some of my favorite stores as well as new ones to share on this blog.  The first one is Held Over (1543 Haight Street) filled with all kinds of interesting vintage from several eras (all sectioned out),  including costumes.  Prices at Held Over are reasonable and if you're looking for that special vintage dress from a specific designer this is the place to find it.

My next stop was Relic Vintage (1605 Haight Street).  The owner was so gracious and even let me photograph him.  The decor and music were so inviting and the leopard print couch made me want to try on shoes just to get the chance to sit on it.  Prices were also reasonable here.  I didn't see anything over $100 and most items were less than $50.  Next stop was Buffalo Exchange - one of my favorite stores to shop for clothes.  It was very busy as the photos show.  Prices here are very reasonable and most items are not over $20.  The only expensive shoes & purses are behind the counter.

A short walk down Haight Street and I was standing in front of a vintage clothes emporium called Decades of Fashion (1653 Haight Street).  It was truly amazing and vintage heaven.  They had everything there from the 1920's to present and some clothes from the 19th century.  The space is quite large (it used to be the Diesel store) and it is literally packed.  It is pricey, but very fun to visit and window shop.

After drooling at Decades of Fashion, I found  a small vintage shop, Static (1764 Haight Street, www.staticvintage.com) that was even more interesting to me personally.  I really love purses and the first thing I saw there was a glass case full of vintage Chanel and Louis Vuitton purses.  They had collections of Coach and Gucci purses too and I broke down and bought a beautiful black leather, over the shoulder Coach purse.  The owners were also so nice and encouraging and let me photograph anything in the store.  Prices were also good here, but they do have expensive items over $200.  My Coach purse (in perfect condition) was only $64.  Finally, I visited Wasteland (1660 Haight Street) another one of my mainstays for years.

Held Over

Dresses from all eras at Held Over

Men's dept. at Held Over

Purses rack at Held Over

Prom anyone?

German girl in a top hat at Held Over

Petticoats and evening dresses at Held Over

Coats & shoe dept. at Held Over

Relic Vintage

Owner of Relic Vintage welcoming me to the store

View of the store with 1950's circle skirts on the left

The gorgeous leopard print couch for lounging and trying on shoes at Relic Vintage

Wall dress display at Relic Vintage

For that evening out

Buffalo Exchange

Shoppers at Buffalo Exchange

Buffalo Exchange packed with everything

Decades of Fashion vintage 1950's dresses on the left

Decades of Fashion - overview of the store

Decades of Fashion - dresses, hats, wigs

Decades of Fashion

Entrance to Decades of Fashion

Glass case full of vintage Louis Vuitton, Chanel & Gucci purses at Static

Static - view of the store

Friendly sales rep at Static

Boots, dresses and shoppers at Static

The perfectly wild summer dress at Static

Pink anyone?

Wasteland - if you haven't been here yet, you should because it's one of the best used clothing stores in San Francisco

The look at Wasteland has changed but the chic clothes for less still exists here

Leather & chiffon at Wasteland

Shades of blue & red at Wasteland