I found more, a lot more, in Toulouse.
I feel like a bit of an ass jumping the gun like that last week, but
hey, live and learn, right?  As I live, I am learning and what I’ve
learned, to no surprise, is, the longer you stay in a place if your
eyes are open, the more you learn about it.

I discovered a pair of vintage stores called Groucho that has way better stuff than Le Grenier D’Anais
(sorry L.G.D’A). The Groucho store on Rue Cujas has fab selections of
vintage jeans, coveralls, T-shirts, blouses, shoes, and boots, and the
other on Rue Peyrolieres has a lot of designer vintage couture, like
Chanel, Givenchy, Valentino, and more. Upon entering, I noted a black,
beaded, fringed flapper dress in mint condition for a whopping 1,500
euros (gasp). It was hung high up so even my grimy hands couldn’t touch
it, and you can see why. They have lots of Victorian undergarments,
hats, jewelry, bags, and nice shoes as well.

Kilostock on
Rue Peyrolieres is a large and somewhat overwhelming
thrift/vintage/costume shop with racks from floor to ceiling amass with
blouses, T-shirts, and tops for five euros, a bin of scarves for one
euro a piece, as well as really intense prom dresses from the '80s and
'90s, kids' clothes, military wear, wedding wear, and, from the ages, a
plethora of cute sunglasses, sneakers, and shoes. There are bins of
hats, wigs, and ladies' bags. It’s a place that you have to have the
patience to dig through.

Nearby, I found a hat artisan (chapellerie) called Idée En Tête
(pictured) also on Rue Cujas, and I was losing my mind it was so great.
There was a hat that looked like a  foamy cup of cappuccino on a plate;
headbands with flowers and feathers, some with veils attached; and a
pillbox hat with bizarre arty, wiry, seemingly floating swirls hovering
above it. She also had tiny hats (my favorite). The artisan herself
makes hats to order so there are various hat accoutrements around for
you to pick through (feathers, flowers, etc). I saw a woman coming from
a wedding wearing one of these the next day. It was three shades of
pink and at least three textures as well. Tres jolie!

Sun Bell
Store, another store or I should say stores I discovered, though not
vintage, has three locations on Rue Cujas: a women’s clothing store, a
men’s clothing store, and a men’s shoe store. Again everything was on
sale. In the men’s store, they have Cheap Monday and Fred Perry and lots of Euro brands. The shoe/sneaker company I found and like a lot is called Shmoove.

So
I learned my lesson: Don’t jump to a conclusion till you dig in deeper.
And speaking of digging in deeper, another thing I found is that all
the homeless young people here have dogs -- off the leash dogs. Off the
leash makes me crazy, I get so scared for them; I don’t care how well
trained they are, they could get hit by a car -- god forbid. Still, the
Toulouse homeless must-have fashion accessory is a dog -- off the
leash. I am seriously not being facetious, it’s a just an observation.
I guess they're  keeping the "loose" in Toulouse.

Theo Kogan is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Fashion & Design. Her THEOlogy column appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.