Flea Market Chic

PARIS -- The "Salon du Vintage" opened in the Marais today and runs through the weekend. But "flea market chic" is a concept that has yet to catch on in Iran.

tehran editor: Here we have something called the Friday Bazaar. It's open only on Fridays and you can find anything and everything there from record players to traditional Turkmen outfits and jewelry, to Indian saris, wooden furniture and antiques...a lot of stuff. All prices are negotiable and the sales people will cave if you walk away and pretend you lost interest in their stuff.

editor at large: Secondhand clothes?

tehran editor: Clothing is not something people buy secondhand; appliances and furniture though, yes.

I used to have an American boyfriend, a former rocker. There was a time when he wanted to be nice to me so he sent me a care package full of clothes. While they were nice clothing items, they were all secondhand and I donated every single one becuase I don't understand the concept of wearing secondhand items. I understand that it's a difference in culture, but I didn't like it one bit and said thank you to be polite. He realized his mistake and never ever gave me anything secondhand again.

Another issue is secondhand furniture. While I didn't have an issue buying a secondhand fridge, my mom was very unhappy with my decision and in the first chance she got, she gave me a fridge and made me get rid of the used one.

I guess for many Iranian women certain secondhand items like wooden furniture are ok to buy, but others like shoes, fridges, washing machines, etc. are an absolute no-no...

There is also an annual charity event in which they give away clothes and school stuff for kids and everything given away is new. It has been drummed into people here that if you want to give away something to the less fortunate, make sure to ask yourself whether you'd wear it yourself if someone gave it to you. Basically this translates into get new stuff even if you're going to give it away.