Vintage shopping in Munich

I've been traveling! Two times in Germany (first Munich/February, then Bremen/March)  this year and just returned from California... Two out of these three trips have been more or less accidental, but I don't mind. ;)

Trip to Munich was mainly for swing dancing and I actually planned that trip. There's the annual Rock That Swing Festival and this was my third time there. It's funny, really. Third time there was the first time that I actually got to see something besides classrooms and evening dance venues. The festival is lots of fun, but there are so many classes, the evening parties start early and if you want to eat something between the dance classes and the party, there really is no time to wander around. This time I decided to skip some lessons...

I had an agenda. I wanted to know if there were any cool vintage shopping opportuneties in Munich. I checked the internet and chose some places before the trip. There are plenty of second hand shops and costume shops in Munich, but I was more interested in the actual vintage.

First choice would have been Alexa's (Utzschneiderstrasse 10). The shop has good reputation and I would have loved to go there. Unfortunately when I decided to go shopping it was too late in the afternoon and the shop would have been closed by the time I would have walked there, so next time with better luck (and timing)! Alexa's has been around since 1985 and people say it has good selection of vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. The price level is said to be medium. Some other bloggers have featured this shop too and if you'd like to read more, go to Styleclicker's. Next time in Munich Alexa's will be on my list.

So, I looked at my other my options and went to Vertigo Vintage (Corneliusstrasse 19). It was still going to be open for a while... The place has some groovy stuff, but more late 60's to 70's kind of vintage than the 30's to early 60's kind I'm after. Still worth a visit.

I knew there was also another shop nearby: Tricia Leonard's, but at the time I only knew the name of the street, not the number, so I didn't know if I was going to the right direction. I was about to give up searching when I saw it. I couln't believe my luck when i saw that the shop was still open!

This was really my kind of place with beautiful hats, shoes, bags and jewelry. Not so much clothing, but really worth the walk. I ended up buing a beautiful 40's purse and some vintage millinery cherries. The prices were very decent and Tricia was soooo very helpful and nice (and I just found out she's also a jazz singer!). So if going to Munich be sure to visit her store (Baaderstrasse 53), it's a real gem! Meet my beautiful new handbag and those cherries:

The walk back to our hotel was a real treat. I discovered that the next street, Fraunhoferstrasse, was crowded with antique shops from Baaderstrasse all the way to Müllerstrasse! Yes, by that time they were all closed, but the shop windows made me drool.

So, I'll be sure to go there too next time I'm in Munich. ;)

Since I had really little time in Munich I didn't get to see everything I wanted, but there's always next time...

Some other interesting vintage/second hand shops in Munich I'd like to see:
Gerdismann (Fraunhoferstrasse 9) - Classics for men
Kleidsam (Blutenburgstrasse 65) - Second hand fashions for women
Patina (Türkenstrasse 63) - Fashions from past and present times, but also furniture!
Xdress (Augustenstrasse 104) - Stuff from 20's to 70's, for sale or rent
Zsa Zsa (Schellingstrasse 66) - Original rarities from 20's to 60's and repros

Then there's also Kostüm Kontor. They've closed their store, but there's a website... only in German so I don't understand what it says. Too bad for me. ;)