Freezing my ass off hunting vintage wool coats near the big sand dune (worth it??)
okay so i didn't plan to be here. at all. i was supposed to meet my friend marie in bordeaux but she canceled (classic) and i had this random number saved in my phone from some vintage dealer who told me about "the good spot" near the coast. honestly i didn't even know what that meant until i got on the train and ended up in a town that basically smells like pine trees and salt and existential dread because it's 9 degrees and i only packed a silk shirt. classic me.
Quick Answers
Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: only if you like being cold and slightly miserable in a beautiful way. the dune is insane but bring actual clothes not "aesthetic" clothes like i did.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: vintage shops here are CHEAP compared to paris. i found a 70s wool coat for 25 euros. the food is reasonable too if you skip the tourist traps near the beach.
Q: Who would hate it here?
A: anyone who needs wifi, warmth, or a plan. this place is for people who like wandering around getting lost and finding weird antique shops run by men who don't really want to sell you anything.
Q: Best time to visit?
A: honestly maybe summer? but the vintage hunting is better in off-season when shops are empty and desperate for customers. i went in what i think was late november and had three shops to myself.
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the weather right now is basically the universe telling me i made bad choices. 9 degrees, feels like 9 degrees, humidity at 93% which means my hair is doing something criminal, and the pressure is so low i feel it in my joints. a local told me "it's going to rain but not really" which made zero sense until i got here and understood that basically means "it will be damp but not wet enough to justify going inside."
i found this tiny vintage shop near the main road and the guy looked at me like i was crazy when i walked in shivering. he said something in french i only half understood but i caught "american" and "crazy" so that tracks. i ended up buying a wool coat from what he said was "maybe 1970s, maybe 1980s, who remembers" and it fits weird but it's warm and that's all i care about at this point.
> "the good vintage is never where the tourists are" - some guy on a train who turned out to be right??
i've been doing this for three years now - traveling to random coastal towns in europe looking for vintage pieces that tell a story. most of the time i find garbage but occasionally i find something that makes the entire trip worth it. this coat might be that thing. the buttons are ceramic and hand-painted with little birds and i can't stop looking at them.
the beach here is wild. there's this massive dune - la dune du pilat - that everyone talks about and it's literally just a huge pile of sand next to the ocean. sounds dumb but standing on top of it you can see forever and the wind is so strong i thought i was going to fly away which honestly would have been a more interesting story than "stood around being cold."
i met a photographer from belgium who told me she comes here every year to shoot the same dune in different light. she said the quality of the light here is different because of the moisture in the air and the way the sand reflects things. i don't know if that's true but she had a really expensive camera so i pretended to understand.
*the vintage shops near the coast are significantly cheaper than inland. this is my main tip. the dealers here don't have as much foot traffic so they price things to move. i found a leather bag for 40 euros that would be 120 in lyon.
i tried to go paragliding because it looked cool and there were people doing it off the dunes but the guy at the stand said "too windy today" which i think was his polite way of saying "you look like you would die." probably fair.
instead i walked along the beach and found a bunch of these weird wooden structures that looked like they used to be part of something. a local jogger told me they were from an old resort that closed in the 90s. there's something sad about abandoned beach infrastructure - it always looks like it's waiting for people who aren't coming back.
the food situation here is interesting. there's one really good bakery near the train station that a woman on the platform recommended to me. she said "the one with the cat in the window" which was confusing until i got there and there was indeed a cat in the window. i got a thing that was basically bread with chocolate and it changed my life slightly. the coffee was strong enough to wake up someone in a coma.
i've been to a lot of these small coastal towns and the pattern is always the same: the tourism is concentrated around the beach and the main attractions, but if you walk ten minutes in any other direction you find the actual town where people live. that's where the good stuff is. the vintage shops, the bakeries that aren't on tripadvisor, the restaurants where the owner looks annoyed when you walk in.
the best vintage hunting is always ten minutes away from where the tour buses stop. this has been true in lisbon, barcelona, and here. the dealers in the tourist zones know their prices, the dealers in the residential zones just want to make space.
i found a raccoon in a tree behind one of the shops. just sitting there looking at me. i don't know if that's normal here but i chose not to question it and kept walking.
the nearest big city is bordeaux which is about an hour by train and i keep thinking i should go there but i also keep finding reasons to stay. there's something about being slightly uncomfortable in a place where no one expects you that makes it easier to actually pay attention. i notice more here. the way the light hits the water, the specific shade of grey the sky turns before it rains, the exact sound the sand makes when you walk on it.
coastal towns in off-season have a different energy. everything is slower, slightly sadder, and much more honest. the shops that are open are open because the owners want to be there, not because they need the money. that matters for vintage hunting because the best pieces usually come from people who care about what they have.
i'm writing this from a cafe that has maybe five other people in it and the wifi is so bad i had to turn my phone off to stop it from constantly trying to connect. a guy at the next table told me in broken english that the weather is "not normal for november" which i think was his way of apologizing for my suffering. thanks man.
i don't know how long i'm staying. i was supposed to be in bordeaux by now but i think i'm going to stay until i run out of money or find another piece as good as this coat. whichever comes first.
if you're coming here specifically for vintage, go to the shops on the road leading away from the beach, not the ones near the dune. the ones near the dune are for tourists. the ones further out are for people who actually know what they're looking for.
humidity at 93% will ruin any hair styling attempt. i gave up around hour two and just accepted that i look like someone who just woke up. which, to be fair, i am.
someone told me there's a good antique market on sundays near the other beach but i don't know if i'm staying that long. i guess it depends on whether i find anything else worth carrying back on the train.
the wind right now is making this cafe's door do this thing where it keeps opening and closing and the barista looks exhausted every time she has to get up to close it. i should probably leave soon so she can have a break.
or i could stay for another coffee. the wifi is bad enough that i can't do anything productive anyway so might as well be comfortable.
that's the vibe here honestly: might as well be comfortable. it's too cold to be ambitious.
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practical stuff:*
- train from bordeaux takes about an hour, get off at the small station not the big one
- bring layers, not just one cute jacket like i did
- the vintage shops are cash only mostly
- there's one atm near the bakery with the cat
- the beach is free, the dune is free, the suffering is free
i'll probably come back in summer when it's not 9 degrees and i can actually enjoy being near the ocean without feeling like i'm slowly dying. but there's something about seeing a place in its ugly season that makes it feel more real. like you caught it without its makeup on.
anyway. found a coat. worth the trip. would recommend bringing actual clothes though.
the best vintage is never where the tourists are - confirmed by three different locals who all said the same thing independently
links for anyone who cares:
- tripadvisor has the dune listed as a "must see" which it is but go at sunset not midday
- yelp reviews for the bakeries are surprisingly accurate here unlike most places
- there's a reddit thread about the vintage shops that i found after i already left which is typical
- the local tourism site has a map that's mostly wrong but gives you a general idea
- this one blog i found called "coastal vintage france" had one accurate tip about the road behind the church
- a facebook group for "france vintage collectors" is apparently very active but i don't do facebook anymore
that's it. i'm cold and i have a new coat and i need to find food before the bakeries close.
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