Desii Vintage & Opportunity

For those of you that love a bit of vintage (and who doesn’t?), if you visit Florence, you must visit Desii Vintage & Opportunity, located in Via de’ Conti. It is actually on the other side of the little piazza from UB, the shop I wrote about last week, so you can really have a lovely shopping experience of fashion and home-wares without breaking a sweat pounding the cobbled pavement going from one side of town to the other!

Desii is a refreshing mix of the old and new. Step inside and you will find yourself surrounded by precious, vintage Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags, a beautiful collection of designer silk scarves, a pre-loved clothing collection in mint condition and a shoe collection from new and past designers.

It would be a mistake to rush through this store as there are little surprises everywhere you look. I always have the feeling that I am going to miss out on something if I don’t concentrate. There are some very exquisite pieces available here that have been hunted down by store owner, Carlo Alberto Andreani. With an unlimited budget, I’m sure I could do some serious damage here and would probably also need to build a new wardrobe to showcase my new collection. Unfortunately though, I was sorry to leave the store empty-handed. (the financial negative side of maternity leave!)

I personally would have liked the Vintage black Birkin above, plus a gorgeous Hermes show jumping print scarf that beckoned me. I also spied a small Gucci suede shoulder bag with bamboo handles, just big enough to hold my phone and maybe a credit card or two, perfect for a busy mamma who needs both hands free to take care of baby!

I am very fortunate though to be the extremely proud owner of my late mother’s Louis Vuitton red beauty case and I was pleasantly surprised to see a matching bag in the same red grain leather. This collection is not manufactured anymore so it would definitely be an ‘investment piece’ as my sister-in-law Mas would say!!! A good enough excuse to buy I say, although her husband/my dear brother does not seem to agree. Can you believe that she was actually banned from buying any bags for this whole entire year of 2012??!!

Desii has two stores next to each other. The good news for the men in your life is that one of these is indeed menswear, selling an equally impressive collection of vintage accessories alongside newer shoe brands. These two stores exude style and elegance while also being very fashionable and with an appeal to the younger generations. Timeless fashion at it’s best!

One popular shoe brand featured quite prominently in the women’s shop is Jeffrey Campbell. Even though this is a contemporary brand out of California, the high chunky wedges blend perfectly with the whole collection of clothing and accessories. It is a perfect example of how well one can mix the old with the new.

I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking here as these photos certainly do tell a thousand words – well a thousand Oohs and Ahhs I’m sure!