Located among old and traditional little shops run by tailors, shoemakers and fabric retailers, four shops offering amazing clothes and accessories at incredibly low prices have emerged on Protogenous St, Psyrri, over the past two years or so, creating a small hub which could become a major vintage scene should it expand further.

TREASURE HOUSE BOUTIQUE

Owner Giorgos Karras, a collector of authentic garments and accessories of particular value, is interested in both brand-name and unbranded items dating from the 1940s to 1970s. He usually acquires leftover stock from old manufacturers and private collections in Italy and France. A locally tailored felt cloak dating back to 1850, reminiscent of the Belle Epoque period that followed soon after, and a Victorian dress both rank as this collector’s rarest items. Naturally, neither is for sale. Stand-out items available for customers include 1960s shirts, the dresses of all periods hanging on the “timeline” rack, as well as the superb men’s leather shoes, all in excellent condition.

PALIOSYNITHIES

Anything from old Indian totems to sofas, starting at the price of what it would cost to have a few gin and tonics, old analog-era 1990s video games in perfect working order, frames, typewriters, vinyl records, shop signs and authentic women’s lingerie of yesteryear, unworn and still packaged in their original boxes, may be found at Paliosynithies, Greek for “mean old habits”. Items here tend to go fast, so make sure you leave behind a deposit if necessary. A ribbon noting “beaten to it by somebody else” will then be attached to your chosen item.

GUADELOUPE

The exotic and slightly trendy Guadeloupe offers garments and accessories from the Netherlands and UK, as well as stock linked to old Greek clothing manufacturers. The Wehrmacht boots, 1950s umbrellas with elaborately carved handles, women’s 1960s shirts and double-breasted men’s woolen jackets, which have endured four decades and can be expected to last that many more in your own wardrobe, are among the items that caught our attention. Prices range from €2–45.

LIKE YESTERDAY’S

Zeta, this spot’s proprietor, converted, to a certain extent, her personal wardrobe into a shop. The collection includes old perfume bottles, porcelain boxes for the boudoir, floral chests, American faux bijoux, 1970s dresses with psychedelic prints, and even a phone like the one used by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but which is not for sale.