The magic of my visit to La Galerie Dior
Parisian flea markets, they can be absolute treasure troves! If you are lucky, you can sometimes find the best vintage designer labels, even on very rare occasions, Dior.
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With the high demand for the best quality vintage pieces, they are not going to be cheap, but they are certainly the epitome of Parisian chic if you’re looking for something unique!
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When choosing where to search for antiques and vintage, including clothing, remember I publish the best vintage market venues in Paris on my Instagram stories. Follow me so you don't miss out, there's a link below.
Specialist fashion markets and pop ups have professional vintage sellers. However, the best finds can be in the ‘Vide Greniers’ a type of flea market where individuals rather than professionals sell their own belongings. For the best chance of an exciting designer find, I head to the wealthiest areas of town, I’ve found the best places are the old monied ‘quatiers’ of the 6ème and 7ème arrondisements, and the 16ème too is worth a visit. Just be aware that you may not find anything, professional sellers spend a lot of time searching out their stock.
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Paris the heart of designer chic
Paris historically has a reputation as the chicest fashion city in the world and unsurprisingly is the home of many of the world’s most famous fashion houses: Channel, Dior, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Christian Louboutin to name but a few
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The most prized vintage designer finds are considered to be Channel and Dior (although, this is my preference, thankfully everyone has their own style).
To learn more about one of my all-time favourite designers, Dior, I visited La Galerie Dior, in an elegant quintessentially Parisian building, which was the original atelier or studio where Dior himself established his fashion house, Maison Dior.
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As a lover of vintage Dior, it was truly an amazing experience!
Full of the glamour of the House of Dior from its establishment in Paris in 1947 with Christian Dior's "New Look" designed to banish post war gloom, through the Yves Saint Laurent years, who took over from Dior after his sudden death in 1957, and follows its evolution to the present day.
Here are some tips for your visit:
The museum is in the up market Rue François I, it's worth taking a bit of time to explore the area around the museum as it is full of beautiful buildings, the place François I is exquisite, so quintessentially Parisian.
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You enter by the Avenue Montaigne door. I would suggest you book tickets in advance. There are two lines, a shorter one for ticket holders and a usually very long one (it can be up to two hours) for non-ticket holders.
Once inside you ascend a marvellous white sweeping staircase, past a floor to ceiling glass display case full of a myriad of rainbow hued Dior maquettes. Â
The visit route is easy to follow and takes you through the genius of Christian Dior and you learn how his business rose from a small atelier to a leader of fashion respected worldwide.
 A dress is a piece of ephemeral architecture, designed to enhance the proportions of the female body - Dior
There are plentiful fabulous dresses and jewellery pieces, of course, and the bilingual explanations and pictures are interesting, but what I found the most breathtaking is the way the museum is presented. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that the House of Dior had designed this museum so beautifully. The glamour of Dior extended to the staging of La Galerie.
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Highlights? Too many to mention but it was very special to see Princess Diana’s iconic Dior dress and attending a talk about the making process of bespoke outfits by one of the Dior cutters was very interesting.
  Deep in every heart slumbers a dream, and the couturier knows it: every woman is a princess - Dior
We didn’t have time to stop at the tearoom, but I hear it is delightful too, the perfect excuse to return.
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Will you find a vintage designer piece in a Paris fleamarket? I can't guarantee it, but you'll certainly have fun searching!
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Want to know more?
For more Parisian vintage and flea market tales, including venues of the weekly fleamarkets, follow me on Instagram
To browse and shop Quintessentially French treasures
 Here's the Dior Museum external website link in English