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My first experience with vintage clothes, which naturally led to a full-on obsession, was sifting through the racks at Beacon’s Closet in Manhattan during college. It was the activity I looked forward to after class; my favorite procrastination when I had papers due. Instagram was a new app on the scene at the time — something that felt unfamiliar and only accessible via screen — so I couldn’t have imagined an amalgamation of these two entities. Thrifting for archival pieces on Instagram would have been an idea much too far-fetched.
Fast forward to today, and Instagram is suddenly the very resource for vintage designer items that you just can’t score in stores. It’s a sustainable practice to celebrate, with small shop owners curating their own feeds full of resale items they’ve handpicked to reflect a specific aesthetic. You might follow Sororité if you love uniquely refurbished shoes by the likes of Dior and Manolo Blahnik, available for purchase via DM the very moment a photo is posted. Or perhaps you’re a Miu Miu and Prada devotee, looking to accumulate as many pieces as you can from collections dating back to 1988. Then the account Existentialist Archive is probably more your speed.
Fashion journalist and celebrity stylist Corina Gaffey happens to love vintage couture seller Inez & Paulie, where she sourced her incredibly rare Fendi baguette pictured above. “Its perfect size, velvet texture, and timeless yet contemporary embellishment make it a true gem,” she tells The Quality Edit, going on to explain why thrifting has become not only applauded for the sake of the environment but incorporated into our scrolling time. “Usually, if it’s gone, it’s gone, so when you find something you love, you can be spurred on quickly to purchase . . . What’s important to consider when buying vintage is to ensure that you love the piece, treasure it, and get the wear out of it,” she says.
Ahead, you’ll learn about 11 of my favorite Instagram vintage shops that are quickly growing in popularity. Some of them have expanded to websites or host pop-ups in their local city, and almost all of them offer international shipping. The best part is, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world or what work you’re putting off — as long as you follow these accounts, you have access to the great designer archives at any given moment.
Inez and Paulie
Inez & Paulie is Gaffey’s go-to shop for quality designer couture based out of Dublin. They currently operate via Instagram and Depop, though they have a website coming soon. “They source rare vintage couture for connoisseurs and collectors, and the pieces they select are to be cherished or passed down, which I think is a super sweet sentiment,” Gaffey tells The Quality Edit. If you’re curious about new drops, just check the Instagram bio for the latest update, though they typically maintain their cadence of two drops a week on Wednesday and Saturday. Inez & Paulie do offer pieces for celebrities and stylists to pull on loan, and they provide plenty of context and history about their pieces via their Instagram captions. While they have pop-ups on occasion, the best way to inquire about a purchase is via DM.
Sororité Vintage
Sororité (French for “sisterhood”) sources rare authentic vintage items from around the world, with a website that you can shop from directly. Their items are all handpicked, but some of them are reworked editorially so they’re unique buys that aren’t necessarily in their original, straight-off-the-runway form. In fact, the sisters who run the brand collaborate with a cobbler to restore shoes and they also rework jewelry with fresh hardware. Many of the pieces available are also pulled by stylists for celebrity clientele. On Instagram, you can expect to find photos of standout pieces from the current collection with teases for new drops and a range of sizes that will be available.
Ivia Retrò
Olivia Capierseho started Ivia Retrò from Miami, FL in 2016. She styles shoots upon hire and also outsources her pieces to celebrities and stylists for rental. She has a natural appreciation for fashion, so most of the items she brings into her shop are ones she’d probably also wear. Capierseho organizes her pieces by category and models many of them herself. She alerts her followers about new drops on Instagram with a fresh crop of on-model images featuring some of the merchandise to get excited about. Her Instagram captions often include limited time discount codes for shopping online, so read carefully.
Bejewelled Baby
Bejewelled Baby is chock-full of vintage watches, jewelry, and other old gems. The timepieces are particularly special because a lot of them have intricate, eye-catching straps with vintage touches. Curated by Ivy from Orange County, she’s famously sourced pieces for Kylie Jenner. Everything available on the site is found at estate sales, thrift stores, or on Facebook Marketplace, and the prices are competitive, starting at $25 and going up to $600+ for designer. On Instagram, you’ll find inspiration shots of folks who have tagged the shop after purchasing and styling a look, as well as teasers for new drops so you can set your alarm. Alternatively, you can check out the “Next Drop” highlight for details, but inventory is generally refreshed on Sundays at 12pm PST. Ivy packages all of her items in gorgeous pastel boxes, and she offers international shipping for $25.
Sourced by Anna
Anna Cermak runs the account Sourced by Anna, where she posts items she finds for her own clients, as well as those that are available for sale via DM. The key is to keep your eyes on her page so you can send her a response ASAP if you’re interested in something she posts (she operates on a first come, first serve basis). Everything she curates is vintage/pre-loved and selected based on her personal taste. She covers all the bases, too, updating her posts immediately once something has been sold, providing multiple angles of items that are available for purchase, and including details about the condition of the item.
Side By Side
You have to DM if you want to purchase an item from Side By Side, which is a shop based in Berlin. While there’s a store that you can visit in person, the brand offers worldwide shopping if you’re not nearby. Side By Side provides plenty of context about each item sold, rating the condition of the piece on a scale of 1-10, and also confirming measurements. They do post shoots from time to time with models in a handful of the vintage items they have in stock, but most of their items are closeups on a stark white background for full analysis of the product.
West Archive
West Archive, based in the UK, has a physical showroom that you have to “book into” to visit, but you can also shop directly on the website where all of the items are shown on-model. All the pieces are specifically curated from the ‘90s and 2000s, with the option to shop by designer or request pulls and rentals for editorial shoots. If you do make a purchase, you can expect an international package to be shipped 3-7 days after the order is placed, with all UK shipments free. You can book your appointment to visit the showroom via DM.
Existentialist Archive
If you’re a lover of Prada and Miu Miu specifically (hi, that’s me!), you’ll want to start following the Existentialist Archive. The shop curates pieces from 1988-2003 solely from the Miuccia Prada-founded brands, and they usually try to source the runway video where the item originally debuted for the first time. These historical references would make any fashion lover all the more excited to shop, which you can do via DM with worldwide shipping available. There’s a highlights reel that you can click through to see items currently available, along with those that have been sold, that way you can get a feel for the general aesthetic before you shop. Most product images are taken on-model, and Instagram captions are updated ASAP to reflect a sold out status.
KikoVintage
If you’ve got an obsession with colorful, retro pieces spanning from the ‘70s to the 2000s, KikoVintage is for you. The website features product pages with multiple angles of each item and thorough details about quality, with most pieces also pictured on a model for great sizing reference. On Instagram, you’ll find snapshots of new designs that are about to hit the site, as well as shoots that cater to the label’s signature poppy aesthetic for inspiration. What’s more, the packaging is all eco-friendly and prices are good.
Bintagged
Bintagged takes a grunge approach to styling, but pieces are sourced from many different decades. Based in Spain, the company often posts carousels of new drops on Instagram to direct followers to shop online. When a particularly special item comes in, they’ll often create a whole post dedicated to it with details about the year it was debuted. You can shop by brand or category on the website, or you can peruse the sold archive for fun. Shipping is available worldwide, and you can expect to find a lot of currently popular brands like Prada and Miu Miu that speak to the zeitgeist.
Into It
Into It is a luxury consignment web platform with 100,000 followers. Founded in 2019 by Kate Mao, the pieces curated are extremely unique, so you can expect a much higher price point. There are over 5,000 items to browse on the site, with a specialty being unique designer bags from the likes of Fendi, Dior, and Chanel. However, there are plenty more categories like belts, shoes, and swimsuits. If you’re looking for rentals, you can pull pieces if you’re based within Toronto or New York, and you can subscribe to the mailing list to be alerted to new drops. International express shipping is only $20, and all items typically arrive in 5-10 business days.
Follow any (or all) of these vintage fashion Instagram accounts to get your hands on archival pieces from different countries you wouldn’t otherwise have stumbled upon. Thanks to these makeshift Instagram shops, designer items from around the world are now at your scroll-inclined fingertips.
