Seven Fantastic vintage stores in Oslo
Clothing, shoes, accessories, and interior details.
If you're concerned about the environment, you should buy fewer clothes. Producing clothes is very resource intensive, makes a big contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and the people who make them risk damaging their health.
Approximately 40 percent of all clothes manufactured today are made of polyester, which is closely related to plastic. Polyester is derived from oil (that you get from source rock) and is usually not biodegradable. People who produce polyester clothing risk damaging their health.
Cotton is by no means a clean product, quite the opposite. To manufacture a T-shirt in cotton, you need 5,000 liters of water, 134 grams of fertilizer, 5 grams of pesticides, ½ liter of petrol and at the same time, you will cause 4.1 kg of CO2 emissions. Cotton growers work with hazardous chemicals. But we have to wear something. One good alternative to buying new, is to buy used clothes. And in Oslo you don't need to compromise on style, either.
Oslo's best vintage stores
Step into Elizabeth Taylor's walk-in closet
Frøken Dianas salonger
Stepping into this store on Grünerløkka, feels almost like stepping into Elizabeth Taylor's walk-in closet. Hanging on the rails here are both new and used 1950s dresses with narrow waists plus elegantly decorated gowns from the 1960s. They also stock jewelry, bags and hats. The price tags are by no means frightening, so you can quite simply become the Hollywood star you always wanted to be.
From clothes to books and furniture
Fretex
The Salvation Army runs the 43 store (in 2014) used goods chain Fretex. They have several stores in Oslo with the largest on Alnabru, and the profits go to support the work of this religious organization. Here you'll find both old and new furniture, cups and containers, clothes, shoes and books. Their new branch on Universitetsgaten also has a good selection, including several racks of vinyl records. Low prices.
For all music fans
Råkk og rålls
This store on Stortingsgata has a huge selection of LPs and CDs from most musical genres. Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Beatles plus Norwegian rock bands like Backstreet Girls, can be tracked down in the racks and racks of old fashioned vinyl, here.
A well-sorted variety of book antiques
Nordlis antikvariat
If you walk into these library like premises on Universitetsgata, you can rub shoulders with authors like Proust, Steinbeck and Voltaire. If you’re looking for an old translation of Dickens that's virtually impossible to track down, you'll find it here. The staff here always have their noses in books here, so they have a very impressive grasp of what’s available on the shelves.
Luxury fashion brands
Velouria Vintage
Halfway down one of Oslo's main thoroughfares, Grünerløkka, is Veloria Vintage with clothes, shoes, bags and accessories from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. If you’re looking for vintage Louis Vuitton or Chanel, you have a good chance of finding some tasty pieces here. It's a place that is just as delightful to shop in as to people watch.
Oslo's best fashion store
Ma Vintage
This is the best fashion store in Oslo. Here you'll find dresses, blazers, suits and skirts from Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Prada and Isabel Marant – barely worn. It's not cheap, but the clothes are of such high quality that they’ll give you plenty of wear. Very environment friendly. You often encounter famous faces from the worlds of entertainment, politics, blogosphere and media who come here to either buy a Celine bag or to sell clothes they've grown tired of.
Buy and sell your clothes here
Usato Second Hand
Usato Second Hand is located at Holmen on Oslo's west side. It changed name and owner in 2013. You can now find clothes from popular brands and designers here. You can also sell clothes to the store.