A chunky lambskin leather jacket with hulking shoulder pads, a red and black resin necklace straight out of an ‘80s fantasy, a tiny white mini skirt with even tinier red polka dots, and a massive 1960s silver cuff with accents of carnelian and turquoise: this is a non-exhaustive list of things I bought last fall at Carrie Bradshop, the Carrie Bradshaw themed boutique in Lyon, France. On their own, they’re the kind of rare vintage oddities that easily shake up an everyday look. But together? Definitely, exactly like something Carrie Bradshaw would have worn, especially when Patricia Field was styling the character in the original Sex and the City series, which ran from 1998–2004.
Courtesy of Carrie Bradshop
On a quiet street, Carrie Bradshop’s signature pink sign shines bright. Inside, disco balls hang, Y2K era displays line the floor, and huge Sex and the City posters dominate the walls. There’s a great selection of affordably priced, non-designer vintage items that look like they were plucked straight from Carrie Bradshaw’s closet: silk scarves, sunglasses, printed mini skirts, colorful tops, and little dresses. But accessories are one of the main attractions: designer handbags, statement jewelry and eccentric belts. Shop owners Yvo Deprelle and Patrick-Pierre Olinger stock anything and everything, as long as it’s true vintage, feminine, and looks like something Carrie would wear. (Though they also have a special place in their hearts for 1980’s Joan Collins era fashion from Dynasty.)
Upstairs, there’s an entire section devoted to menswear–decorated with a huge poster of the infamous 2003 Yves Saint Laurent M7 fragrance campaign featuring a sensual shirtless male model. Imagine, not the kinds of things Mr. Big or Adrian would wear, but maybe how a Carrie superfan would dress.
Deprelle and Olinger met in 2006 and immediately bonded over their love of Sex and the City and vintage fashion. They started doing pop-ups and vintage markets before opening up the shop in 2010. They each have their own eclectic backgrounds. Deprelle worked as a fashion editor between Lyon and Paris at titles including Marie Claire, Blush and Euronews while Olinger was raised by an antique dealer father who inspired him to search for vintage treasures all over the world. Deprelle also started vintage shopping at the age of 15, when he was a singer in a gothic band with an affinity for designer fashion. “With YSL the world is yours,” he says.
