So, this post has been a loooooong time coming, but after I went to Tallinn last year to visit the boy, I wanted to do a roundup of the best second hand shopping place I found.
It’s going to be a bit of a photo-heavy post because I suck at maps so always wish people would just post an image of what to look out for!
Humana
So, first up is Humana. This is a charity shop chain (there’s several in Tallinn alone) and is basically super awesome. It has a Buffalo Exchange kind of feel, and is open really long hours. Here’s all the ones in Germany (just for future use FYI).
I went to the Kaubamaja branch in town which is hidden downstairs (there is a door on the street that’s pictured on the website though).
Everything was in racks based on price, so as you can see a LOT of stuff was 2.50€ – winning!!
You could also donate in store, which is always handy for people on holiday who overfill their suitcases (aka me!).
I thought the selection was awesome – loads of shoes, tops, dresses, etc, all packed into a fairly small space, and relatively well organised.
Hello 90s Spice Girls awesome shoes!!
It was a big annual folk festival so almost everyone was in traditional dress – LOVED IT!
As you can see: pretty big space and decently tidy. Win.
I ended up getting (amongst a few things) a blue silk nightie which I wore as a top. It’s featured in an OOTD post here.
MISC CHARITY SHOP
So, sorry for the information fail but this is a charity shop I stumbled upon at Narva Maantee 38. I don’t know the name or what they do, but they had clothes for cheap and here they are on a map….
I was kind of far out but nice and big, so if you’re on a thrifting binge might be worth the trip.
Balti Jaam Market (aka jaama turg)
This market is THE.BOMB – I am not kidding around – I had an amazing time there. But….. it’s a little tricky to find the venue, and a lot tricky to find the actual cheap section. It looks far on this map but I promise you it’s super close to the town centre.
It’s open
Here’s my stealth spy instructions…
From right on the edge of the Old Town head down the underpass labelled as Balti Jaam (this is easy to find as Tallinn is super small).
Then go towards (and through) the left hand concrete door/hole.
I think you then cross some train tracks, and end up here. Just keep going straight until you see this sign….
Now, this is where you’ll end up and become disappointed and leave (like I did the first time). It’s a locals market selling bras, food, electronics etc – super snore!!!
BUT…. if you persevere you will be richly rewarded. Head for this big barn and go round the back. There you’ll find LOADS of people selling second hand clothes by the truckload.
It’s open 10-5 but I’d recommend going earlier as the market people tend to pack up. I went around lunch time.
The ‘fancy’ things are hanging up, while the cheap things are mounded onto tables with big cardboard signs listing the price category. They were all between 50 cents and 2 euros – fantastic!
Obviously you can’t easily try stuff on, and it takes some fairly hardcore rummaging. But it was epic and I got heaps of stuff.
If you wanna see some of the stuff I got you can check out the below OOTD posts:
