NYC: Chelsea, flea markets, vintage clothing
September 7, 2014 8:17 AM

Going to NYC in a couple weeks, staying in Chelsea, want to go to flea market ...

Among many things we will do doing, we will be looking for women's vintage clothing in small sizes (like 2 or 3). We were thinking of the Chelsea and/or Hell's Kitchen flea markets. What can you tell us about these? (e.g. best days, exact location) or other places to find this clothing?

Afa NYC in general, we have tickets to a Yankees game,the Book of Mormon and the Jeff Koons retrospective (No I don't particularly care for his work, but it is a force that cannot be ignored).

Anything you can tell us about Chelsea and the surrounding area that we might not find in TravelAdvisor is appreciated.
posted by falsedmitri to Travel & Transportation (11 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
Not sure how those particular flea markets are for clothes....you may also want to check into vintage clothing stores. There's a fairly good one, Buffalo Exchange, in that neighborhood (they have ones all over the city, but one outpost is indeed in Chelsea, at West 26th).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:44 AM on September 7, 2014


There's also a flea market in Williamsburg. No idea about it though other than it is right across the street from my apartment....
posted by dfriedman at 12:13 PM on September 7, 2014


Over on 23rd Street and 3rd Avenue, there are a number of thrift shops. The best one seemed to be the Housing Works shop. A friend and I were there just last week and found some great clothes and shoes. I found Banana Republic bootie heels for $15 (retail was $170-200) and Merrell wedges for $5. I also got three dresses - all for $5 each. The selection was huge!
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 2:32 PM on September 7, 2014


The flea markets in Manhattan (from my admittedly limited experience) are crappo. The Williamsburg one is pretty neat. Neither one will have bargains of any kind though. Chelsea is a lovely place to stay otherwise. Go to the half king bar and walk to the Hudson a lot.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:22 PM on September 7, 2014


Aren't all the old Chelsea flea markets long gone by now? Your best bet would be thrift stores, I agree.
posted by monospace at 6:08 PM on September 7, 2014


Williamsburg seems the best. What's the best train to get from Chelsea to Williamsburg flea market?
posted by falsedmitri at 8:57 AM on September 8, 2014


Take the L from 14th St. & 8th Ave. to Bedford (first stop in Brooklyn).

Walk along Bedford to N 11th St. (four blocks). Take a left (headed toward the east river) to 50 Kent St. That's where the flea market is.
posted by dfriedman at 9:13 AM on September 8, 2014


Thanks for the directions. And thanks to everyone for their input.
posted by falsedmitri at 6:04 PM on September 8, 2014


We don't really do flea markets in NYC, better to go to vintage stores or thrift stores like housing works and goodwill. There are locations of both within walking distance to Chelsea.
posted by rmless at 11:26 AM on September 11, 2014


rmless: falsedmitri is actually referring to the Chelsea Flea Market, which has indeed been a longstanding and longish-existing thing in New York; hell, I saw a Woody Allen movie which set one of its scenes there, which is as sure a sign of Authentic New Yorkiana as you can get.

It's more of an organized thing than the kind of flea markets you may be thinking of, but it's definitely a thing.

But to re-iterate to falsedmitri - the Chelsea flea, in my experience, is more so for antiques and random tchotchkes, and clothes are a little hit-or-miss. There are are clothes, but in my experience it's usually either priced way out of my range or a a haphazard selection. You'll have way more luck at vintage stores. I'm even a little skeptical of the Williamsburg flea, to be honest, but your odds for clothes are a bit better there, and if you don't find anything there you're within walking distance of the Williamsburg Buffalo Exchange outpost, as well as the Beacon's Closet in Greenpoint. Both are vintage stores with a big selection.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:19 PM on September 11, 2014


Just wanted to say that we went to the Chelsea flea market (she found a nice vintage necklace) and to the Williamsburg flea (she found some funky sunglasses), so thanks again.
posted by falsedmitri at 4:44 PM on October 10, 2014


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