Portobello Vintage Boutique

Portobello Vintage Boutique Overview

The craze for vintage is slowly taking hold in Krakow, buffered by the efforts of vintage enthusiasts such as the owners of the charming new shop, Portabello Vintage Boutique, which opened on Florianska Street in August 2011. Known as Krakow’s “shopping street”, Florianska connects the elegant Planty gardens surrounding the Old Town with the majestic Main Market Square, and is chock full of classy shops selling clothing and accessories, many from well-known chains. Portabello Vintage Boutique, where you can find one-of-a-kind, top-quality items from past decades, some of them carrying a history of forty or fifty years, adds a breath of fresh air and a pinch of originality to the mix.

The shop itself is a veritable treasure trove. As you walk into the tiny room, brightly painted in a hip green, you feel like you’re climbing into a magical dress-up box, full of carefully kept hand-me-downs from past ages, each with a history and an aura of its own. Crocodile-skin purses, quaint sparkling clutches, jazzy lace-up shoes, flamboyantly bright dress shirts, chic jackets, saucy hats and, above all, tailored, shapely, feminine dresses are artistically arranged on hanging racks and in cubbies. The décor, simple and designed to set off the collection like pieces in a museum, is artfully arranged to make the most of the space, with eclectic paintings, also for sale, adorning the open spaces on the walls.

The pieces are selected and transported personally by the owners of Portabello Vintage Boutique, who bring most of their collection from England, where the fashion for vintage has been in full swing for years. Having spent many years living in England, they caught the vintage bug and determined to bring this fascinating pursuit back to Krakow, a city known for its young, open-minded culture and its own sense of style. Their interest in the vintage fashion certainly gives their boutique a personal touch; as you browse, stop to chat over a glass of fruit juice or wine and find out all about the intricacies of each item, its conception, creation and production, down to the minute details of sewing techniques from bygone days. And the prices are certainly reasonable; Portabello Vintage Boutique caters to Krakow’s young clientele, to those whose fashion tends to the more daring and innovative, while there are also some high-end treasures to be found, perfectly preserved pieces made by well-known designers of their day. Whether you’re looking for a bit of fashion flair or are a true connoisseur of vintage collections, Portabello Vintage Boutique makes the perfect stop on any Old Town shopping adventure.