Sanlitun's 3.3 Mall Becomes the Unlikely Mecca for Beijing's Vintage Shopping

Until about a month ago, you could have entered Sanlitun's 3.3 Mall and never guessed that it was home to some of the city's best vintage shopping. Only those in the know were likely to stumble across the collection of clothes, accessories, and barber shops that had been banished to the sixth, top floor of the complex. That has now changed, with a rejigging of the space that sees all of those stores and more open in the mall's much more accessible basement.

Many of the shops here also have outlets in Gulou Dongdajie, and while you won't have the same experience of ducking in and out of the racks, dodging chuan'r-wielding tourists, the larger space of the basement, and convenience of having everything in one place makes for an altogether more streamlined approach to browsing and bagging what you need. The fact that most of the stores are also present on WeChat (add them with the IDs below) means that you can browse online before you buy, and have the opportunity to clinch prized pieces before anyone else.

A word of warning: If you've ever visited those Dongcheng-located stores, you'll know that vintage shopping in Beijing does not come cheap. Prices here are much higher than in Western or Japanese vintage stores on account of import costs, a limited market, and superstitions that surround wearing secondhand clothes. Even after haggling, you'll be stunned at what some of the items are marked at.

Apart from Tiger Vintage Store (ID: Tiger_Vintage_Store), most of the shops only have a railing or two dedicated to men's clothing. Women, therefore, have a lot more to choose from and Mega Vintage (ID: mvintage3), DDR (ID: ddrvintage3), and Vintage Caravan (ID: vintagecaravan2) stock everything from high-end vintage pieces, casual wear, knick-knacks, shoes, and even furniture. There's also Fala Wang (ID: gh_573615c7d4ab) which specializes in vintage jewelry as well as Luxes Wang, a store dedicated to the iconic brown-and-gold Louis Vuitton bags and accessories.

Dotted in between there are other stores with goods ranging from tattoos (Destroy Tattoo), leather products and workwear (Rivets). Twoface barber, which we've covered previously, also makes the jump downstairs along with their slicked-back cuts.

One of the more original openings is Lomoparty (ID: nightbright). Though somewhat sparse, the store is well-stocked with secondhand vintage cameras as well as all types of film for photographers looking to re-up. They also provide a convenient service in which they develop and scan your film, and provide you with a digital copy (BYO USB stick) for about RMB 25 a roll (4-5 days processing time), should you not want hardcopy prints.

While Beijing still has a long way to go before it's considered a hub for vintage shopping given the lack of cheap, secondhand clothing that floods markets elsewhere, a growing demand for more niche items and fashion trends that value something other than the "newest and shiniest" mean that vintage shopping here is on the rise. While the basement space is currently only half-occupied by stores, as it stands 3.3 is already the best one-stop shop for the city's vintage needs.

Callus Vintage Market
B1, 3.3 Shopping Center, 33 Sanlitun Beijie, Chaoyang District
朝阳区三里屯北街33号3.3服饰大厦地下一层

Want to explore some of the curios that Beijing has to offer? Try a tour around the historic Dashilar district.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tom Arnstein