There once was a time when you could only secure vintage designer pieces through the wardrobe of a very fabulous aunt or an extremely lucky thrift shop find. Before the internet, ecommerce, TheRealReal, and all of the other tools we currently use to swiftly secure rare vintage designer finds, it was always up to the individual and a very good hunt. Oh how times have rapidly changed, and along with it, a collective love for vintage has grown amongst us regular folk and somebodies alike. With the sudden onslaught of Y2K revival and not-so-sudden obsession for anything 90s, celebrity stylists are increasingly tasked with finding the stores hawking rare vintage and archival pieces for red carpet appearances and every day street style.
Naturally, there have been triumphs and disasters when it comes to re-wearing archival pieces, especially when they carry certain cultural significance (one only needs to google what a certain Kardashian wore to this years Met Gala to know the reference). But love it or hate it, clothes are made to be worn, enjoyed, and appreciated, and 90% of the time, this becomes the case when archival and historic fashion pieces are treated ethically and carefully. Of course, it's the 1% who are wearing Dior by Yves Saint Laurent to a Gala, and the rest of us are just on the hunt for the perfect Fendi slip skirt to get us through summer. Either way, there are certain vintage sellers who do both so well that they have a roster of famous names topped up with some of fashion's most special archival pieces, so below, are our favourite celebrity-approved vintage stores worth checking out.
Aralda Vintage
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Brynn Jones, owner of the sought-after Los Angeles-based store Aralda Vintage has a client roster of everyone from Bella Hadid, to Amber Valletta, Alexa Demie, and Olivia Rodrigo. Jones works closely with stylists and costume designers to source and reserve some of the most special archival moments to re-imagine fashion history, like the above moment where Hadid wore archival Dior by Yves Saint Laurent to the Prince's Trust Gala this year.
Tab Vintage
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Alexis Novak started Tab Vintage in 2020, and already has acquired a steadfast celebrity fan club of names including Shalom Harlow, Megan Thee Stallion, Willow Smith, Paloma Elsesser, Dua Lipa, and more. Her archive spans hundreds of pieces from ’90s Vivienne Westwood corsets to Tom Ford-era Gucci.
Shrimpton Couture
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Named after Jean Shrimpton, Toronto-based Cherie Balch's archive is incomparable when it comes to designer archival pieces. Beloved by models like Adut Akech and Karen Elson, and the ever iconic Tracee Ellis Ross. The best part? you can shop it all yourself (budget allowing) online.
Archive
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With a client list of Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Paloma Elsesser, Lady Gaga and Kylie Jenner, Archive's Kerry Bonnell launched her vintage platform in 2006, and has grown it immensely since. If you've ever seen our lord and saviour Rihanna wearing an iconic vintage piece, it likely came from Archive.
Artifact
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Dominik Halas, Hugh Mo and Max Tsiring are the brains behind Artifact New York, the designer vintage archive that hosts a collection of over 3,000 pieces and loans out to everyone from Billie Eilish to Kourtney Kardashian. The website is only available to stylists around the world and industry insiders who are lucky enough to have the code to their password-protected website, if you were curious about how exclusive it is.
Opulent Addict
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Anita Todor's Opulent Addict was conceived 11 years ago when she began to sell pieces from her personal collection on eBay and First Dibs. With her first ever client being Kim Kardashian, Todor's archival collection was always destined for greatness, with names like Halsey, Miley Cyrus, Shakira, Gabrielle Union all on her list of clients. With over 1,000 pieces in her current archive, it's worth taking a look at.
