By Arian Chopra
University of Louisville – Arcadia
Florence is globally regarded as the birthplace of the Renaissance, a time period filled with revolutionary changes in art, knowledge, and culture. It is also known as home to the world’s most famous fashion designers, such as Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo. With deep ties to art and luxury fashion history, Florence has blossomed into a wonderful destination for fashion and vintage clothing lovers.
Shopping second-hand and vintage has many benefits. It is cost-efficient, as you can often find designer and luxury fashion brands at extremely low prices. Vintage shops also provide you with styles of clothing from different eras and decades that are rare to find. Alongside the stylistic and economic benefits, shopping vintage is also very environmentally friendly. It helps increase the life cycle of clothing, leading to a reduction in the Earth’s carbon footprint.
Although shopping vintage can help you find stylish and cheap pieces, it is often difficult to find stores that sell high-quality items at an affordable price range. As someone passionate about fashion and second-hand clothing, I have spent lots of time visiting all of the thrift stores and vintage shops that Florence offers. So, I will give you a list of some of my favorite shops around the city.
Humana Vintage
Located in Via delle Belle Donne, Humana Vintage is one of my favorite vintage stores in the city. This store sells vintage clothing and accessories for both men and women. The garments are very reasonably priced and the stores have lots of sales and discounts. This is a great shop to find hidden gems at a very low price. There are a wide variety of options, with styles from all different types of eras and decades. Personally, I have found lots of wonderful men’s wool sweaters and cardigans at Humana Vintage. This shop is also very sustainable since all second-hand clothing comes from an ethical and transparent supply chain. They work with Humana People and People Italia, a non-profit organization focused on the recovery of used clothing. Profits from this store also help fund other non-profit initiatives and projects all across Italy.
Flea Markets
My favorite place to purchase vintage and second-hand clothing in Florence has to be at all the weekend flea markets dotted across the city. These markets are usually found in piazzas across the city and have vendors selling a variety of goods such as clothing, food, wine, and jewelry. The piazzas I frequent most to shop are Santo Spirito and Piazza S. Ambrogio. These two locations often have lots of stalls that sell second-hand and vintage clothing. I have found lots of retro Levi’s denim and cashmere sweaters at these markets. They also have a very large jewelry selection, with lots of unique and vintage designs. If you want to purchase vintage clothing at a reasonable price, flea markets are a very important destination.
NOVEMILA Street Vintage
Another favorite vintage vendor of mine is NOVEMILA. They have curated a vintage clothing collection from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, focusing on the streetwear aesthetic. Novemila does not have a dedicated storefront, the vendor bounces around to different flea markets throughout the city. This vendor showcases all their clothing garments on their Instagram page and will notify followers what market they will be at next. Novemila also sells clothing online through a website and Instagram account. They have also done weeklong pop-up shops in the past with lots of vintage clothing. This shop is a great location for people who are looking for streetwear and trendy vintage pieces. They have a wide selection and style of clothes for all price ranges. To view their current clothing collection, you can follow them at @novemilavintage on Instagram.
All these locations are a wonderful starting point to begin your vintage shopping experience in Florence. Humana Vintage is a wonderful spot to find reasonably priced clothes while also contributing to environmental sustainability. The flea markets around the city take more effort and time to search but are home to beautiful, unique clothing. Novemila vintage has a curated collection tailored to those who enjoy the streetwear aesthetic. With countless vintage shops and thrift markets across the city, the possibilities for expanding your wardrobe are endless.