Free’P'Star interior

It was the packing conundrum of the century — what to take with me for:

•a weekend in Seattle;

•a seven-day cruise to Alaska;

•a week exploring Turkey;

•family time in Italy; and

•Fashion Weeks in Milan and Paris?

Since I was moving around so much, I had to be mobile, meaning that outfits for all of the above situations had to fit in my rinky-dink carry-on suitcase. I managed to do it somehow, but I arrived in Milan and Paris feeling hopelessly underdressed, without the funds to go boutique-shopping for new outfits. Fail.

Thank dieu for the phenomenal, affordable Paris vintage scene. Today, between shows, I hit up the twin Free’P'Star stores in the Marais for some emergency accessory shopping.

Its website clarifies that the store is called Free’P'Star — “not Freepstar, or Freep’star, or Free p star, or Fripes star, or Fripesstar, or Fripestar, or Fripes’star, or Fripe’star, or Frip’star, or Fripstar, or Frips’star.” Whatever. I call it heaven. The two shops, one on the Rue Sainte-Crois de la Bretonnerie and one on the Rue de la Verrerie, have racks overflowing with great finds — retro day dresses, distressed leather jackets, baggy knit sweaters — for less than what you’d pay at H&M. I picked up a high-waisted black pouf skirt for 10 euros, a navy leather purse for 3 euros, and two funky belts for 5 euros each. I threw on one of the belts for the Vivienne Westwood show, and four photographers asked if they could photograph me. Success!