Vintage Shopping in St. Paul, MN!

(Me and Peter Cottontail)

Hello everyone!

I thought I'd share with you a bit of my vintage shopping adventures from St. Paul Minnesota. Recently, I've been striking out with thrifting at my local Goodwills/Value Villages, so the concept of a vintage shop is really comforting to me. For those who aren't aware, there are differences between the two:

Vintage Shops: The owners hand select pieces they have thrifted, purchased from estate sales, purchased from antique fairs, or items they have acquired from home-visit sales. Cost= $$ to $$$

Thrift Stores: Houses items that are donated from the public in which the proceeds usually go towards some type of charity. Cost= $ to $$

(Missouri Mouse Antiques, 1750 Selby Ave, St. Paul)

There are benefits and disadvantages to both.  Thrifting is almost always cheaper, but you have to sift through a lot of material and risk not finding anything.  Vintage stores are usually more focused, so you have more of a possibility of finding something you like - yet because of this convenience the prices are almost always higher. It's ultimately up to the buyer to choose what's best for themselves. 

(Interesting finds at Missouri Mouse Antiques)

My friend Sarah and I ventured to Selby Ave. and went to Missouri Mouse Antiques. Like most vintage shops, there is more to it than meets the eye - literally. Every corner you take leads you to an entirely different room, covered with random knick knacks. It's sort of disorienting but if you have a lot of energy it can be amazing. 

 I managed to pick up a couple records for around 50 cents each before we left.  My purchases included The Sound of Music, Carousel, and The Steve Miller Band. Not sure what kind of condition they are in, but if anything they will be great for decor purposes. 

After realizing how draining antique shopping can be, Sarah and I headed over to the Neighborhood Cafe (1570 Selby Ave) for a couple grilled chesses and malts. 

After recharging, we headed over to one of my new favorite vintage shops called Up Six Vintage.  Half of the store is full of vintage clothes (big emphasis on the '80s), and the other half is furniture and decor.  I loved the abundance of metallic shoes they had, it gave me a '70s glam mixed with the millenia vibe (Comme Des Garçons, Rodarte, etc).  I think overall the owner has selected some really nice pieces, and mostly everything that I saw was under $50. 

I only walked away with a couple things - the first being a '70s dusty rose flowy dress. I also found some nice black lace up heeled boots that instantly reminded me of The Craft. 

We stopped at a few other stores and picked up some more pieces, but I thought I'd end it here. I guess the moral of the post is that you should always give vintage shops a try - even though they can be a little expensive.  You wouldn't imagine the thought and time the curators put into the shop. Even if you don't get anything, it's always nice to look around for inspiration. Anyways, I took some footage of our day as well, so perhaps I'll make a video/haul on the adventure on my youtube channel, JustACurbsideProphet.

I hope you are all doing well!

Much love, 

Lauren Rose

Curbside Fashion