Last Sunday, I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market, also called the “world’s most unusual flea market, the shopping place of the stars”, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Rose Bowl, a stadium built in the 1920s, has hosted numerous football games (including some of the 1984 Olympics games and the 1994 Soccer World Cup Final) and concerts alike. For the last 40 years, it has also been the home of the Rose Bowl Flea Market where, every second Sunday of the month, over 2,500 vendors and 15,000 to 20,000 buyers come together rain or shine.
All the booths are organized on the parking lot grounds surrounding the stadium and it can be quite an experience. Regardless of what you’re looking for, this flea market has everything and even more — from stunning vintage furniture and clothing to the latest fashion trends or second hand designers’ gowns, shoes, and handbags. There are also rare collector’s memorabilia and bizarre finds like real embalmed animals and dusty taxyderms, for example.
I was tempted to buy a few vintage dresses (like an exquisite black dress paired with a white furred collar coat from 1956) but I had to master some self control and focus on my primary search: a vintage fascinator hat. After examining a few booths, I didn’t quite find one that I really liked and settled for a contemporary one, all feathers and ribbons. I was able to find some cute sunglasses and I scored a Michael Kors handbag which the Duke almost killed me for! Okay, I couldn’t resist, it was too good of a deal.
Next time I’ll bring lots of cash and a cart, but most importantly I’ll go without the Duke, so I can shop until I drop.
Around the World with the Duchess 
What a wonderful place to browse and shop! 🙂