Fun flea markets in Los Angeles

I LOVE fun flea markets in Los Angeles. My daughter, Maya lives in the Silverlake/Echo Park area, so every time I visit her, I check out the neighborhood flea markets. It’s not like I’m in need of anything, I just love wandering the aisles to see cool outfits, shoes, records, etc. These aren’t craft fairs, but more vintage clothing and jewelry, eclectic housewares and accessories, stuff like that. There are candle and crystal booths too, a bit of everything.

Here are two of my favorite fun flea markets in Los Angeles!

Los Feliz Flea Market

Presented by The Odd Market, you’ll find 170 vendors spread out around the grounds of Marshall High School. The very location where movies like Grease, Pretty in Pink,  and The Hot Chick were filmed! It certainly adds an air of magic knowing all our favorite Hollywood personas strutted on the same asphalt!

 

I went with Patrick and Maya to this market, and after a while they decided to sit on the bleachers and wait for me.  I love to walk every aisle and examine EVERY booth and they just couldn’t hang so they grabbed a bite from one of the food trucks on site and people-watched. They knew better than to make me rush!

I loved this market because of the variety of booths. Lots of handmade arts, even plant vendors, plus vintage clothing and accessories, of course. Each booth had photo-worthy pieces for sale. Check out these acrylic boots!

It’s not just about shopping, cruising these grounds offers so much inspiration. For example – I saw many vendors selling jeans and flannel shirts with all kinds of patches and appliqués. All handmade locally. This is an indicator of what is going on on the grassroots DIY level. It made me want to go home and make my own version.

This is mural at the high school. Bright and cheery – I couldn’t resist snapping a pic. Her hair radiates out into rainbow hearts, friends, and thoughts, backed up with music!

Crystal and incense booths were also in full force. I met a lady who sold beautiful heart shaped crystals and after chatting I felt inspired to buy a heart. It now rests atop my dresser and I see it every day and think about my day at this market. 

The daylight was so gorgeous, I had Patrick take of pic of me. Pic or it didn’t happen, right?

When we exited the market, the first street sign read “Lyric Avenue” – perfect for Patrick!

Some of the vendors had themes, like this one. It’s not only entertaining to wander, but also to strike up convos with the business owners. They will share crazy tidbits about how they scored their goods, which ones have haunted energy attached, which ones were owned by famous people, etc.

 

Now it’s time for my other favorite fun flea market in Los Angeles (there are LOTS more!)

Silverlake Flea

Vintage clothing is the biggest offering here, but there are plenty of other gems mixed in. THIS purse was my favorite find. It caught my eye and wouldn’t you know the owner of the booth was Scout Willis, Bruce Willis’ and Demi Moore’s daughter! She was so kind and sweet. I definitely have plans to paint this bag! 

You’ll see racks and racks of cool threads. At first I got all excited and started gathering items to buy to sell over at Crafty Chica’s Happiness Emporium, but then I stopped myself and remembered I was just there for recreation, not work! I do plan to return for a buying trip because there were soooo many great pieces that would be perfect for resale. And the best part is the owner usually has a story to share about the history of the item – like how, where or when it was made. 

We learned how to spot an authentic Pendleton 70s shirt -but the length of the pointy collar! 

If you are into items to paint or refashion, this is THE place. From boots to bags to boas, you’ll see a lot of statement pieces, ready for transformation. Or to be enjoyed as is…

This is my dear comadre, Alexa. She just moved to L.A. and met me here so we could have a day together. She almost bought this trench for $130, decided to walk about to think on it, then came across an even better trench for only $30! 

I bought some Valentine goodies from NoHo Candle Co. – I couldn’t resist, they were so pretty! See all those chunky tiles? Yup, I picked up a few of those too. Not sure what I’m going to do with them yet! 

 

There was another candle vendor, I bought this Goddess to put with my fancy crystals!

Alexa and I stopped to take pics. She is so artsy. I saw this in her stories and busted a tear, she so sweet! Viva la MySpace, right?

I also took a pic with Maya, she met up with us at the end of the day for lunch!

And as usual, I took a pic in the setting for memories sake. I want to look at this post in the far off future and remember how fun of a day I had!

TIPS for shopping at these flea markets!

• Every vendor used Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, etc. No cash or credit card needed. Simply open your smartphone’s camera on the the QR code (they usually have it in a frame in the booth) and it will open up to Venmo or whatever other payment platform they are using. 
• Make it a memorable experience and greet the business owner, ask them about their items. 
• If you want to visit a flea market, look it up online to see if they will have food trucks or if the location is surrounded by eateries.
• Most places have portable bathrooms to use.
• Ask permission to take pics, and if you do, tag the vendor on social media! They will be so happy!
• Sometimes the wifi can be wonky at these outdoor markets, so be patient.
• I never asked, but noticed most vendors mentioned they were open to negotiations on vintage clothing items. However, this is not appropriate for handmade items by artists. I am always happy to pay full price to support artists and makers, I hope you are too! 🙂

Well, that’s wrap for my fun flea markets in Los Angeles. I plan to visit more, I’ll share them when I do! I also plan to do a post on Phoenix flea markets! We have some good ones here!

Do you have a favorite flea market in L.A. or in your own city? Please share the deets!

Have a great week!