A Depot Vente is a Consignment shop in English; do you buy second-hand clothing? I do, especially antique clothing.
Years ago, fifteen years ago, already that long ago, when Chelsea first met Martin, and I called him Mr. Espresso because he bought Chelsea a coffee machine for Christmas, Martin begrudgingly went to a consignment shop with us in California.
When entering the shop, I told Chelsea and Sacha they could buy whatever they wanted because that day, everything was 75 percent off. Off they raced, buying whatever caught their eye. Martin smirked, “I don’t like wearing other people’s clothing.” I nodded to say I understood and darted to see what I could find. About an hour later, we met at the check-out counter. Chelsea and Sacha put their few things in my cart, and Martin sheepishly said, “I found some stuff too.” I was pleasantly surprised, “Put it in my cart, my treat.” When he put his discoveries in my cart, I turned around quickly, laughing, barely able to utter, “What the hell, Martin? You gotta be kidding me!” He wasn’t embarrassed nor apologetic; instead, he justified, “These are Ralph Lauren’s; you know how much these cost new, don’t you? And look, they seem brand new. Maybe the person died before wearing them?”
Several pairs of plaid boxer shorts went on to my cart.
“You won’t wear someone’s second-hand sweater, but their underwear isn’t a problem?”
“Well, I am going to wash them of course.”
The French they say are complicated, and Martin was the poster boy that day.
(P.S. regarding the photo above- I bought the 19th century scarf and regret I didn't buy the outfit.
