flamingo plaza

Miami isn't exactly the mecca of second-hand shopping, but one strip mall in Hialeah has been attracting the blooming hipster set for over a decade. Flamingo Plaza is located right off Martin Luther King Drive and Le Jeune. Unlike specialty thrift stores, where the clothes is usually over-priced and picked out for a specific crowd, this set of shops force you to search and destroy among sequined tops, used lingerie, and occasional cat calls from the "viejo verdes" lurking in the aisles. I've had some good finds including a ceramic donkey I found in the parking lot whom I named Van Gogh after the absence of his ears. Another recent purchase was a red leather lobster hand puppet. Don't ask, it was just so odd, I couldn't resist. What about the clothes? Sometimes you leave with nothing other times you walk out with a pair of white leather dancing shoes for $2.99.

Brand new, never been used, they called me from a stack of what I assume was an overstock selection from a dance store, there were about 50 pairs of different white dance shoes, but these were the only ones in my size that I liked. Not bad considering the Repetto ones were at Bloomingdale's for about $175, and who even knows how much the United Bamboo ones cost. I love white shoes.

The Repetto and United Bamboo versions.