The world’s best vintage fashion dealers 

The Archive Dot Com, Dortmund

This Instagram-based emporium is dedicated to Phoebe Philo’s nine-year tenure at Celine. The account is headed up by Germany-based economics and tech professor Martina Lohoff, who started selling her personal collection via Instagram in 2019. Lohoff’s most requested pieces include the SS17 runway dress with an Yves Klein-inspired print (£5,500) and the crystal necklace worn by model Daria Werbowy in the SS13 Juergen Teller campaign (£5,000). Her “holy-grail” purchase, however, was a silk shirt from SS11 worn by Ye (formerly Kanye West). “I’ve sourced it once in all the years,” says Lohoff “– and never again!” A website is set to launch later this year. @thearchivedotcom Benjamin Canares 

Atijo, London

Meaning “in the past” in Yoruba, Atijo was founded in 2019 by London-based stylists Anu Odugbesan, Londiwe Ncube and Safiya Yekwai. Together they curate classic tailoring, artisanal accessories and homeware, showcased on their Instagram feed and available to purchase through Atijo’s website. Standout garments include a fitted caramel Prada blazer from 1992 (£294), Joseph knitted dress (£266) and 1990s leather Patrick Cox loafers (£168). All can be shipped internationally. atijostore.com Kira Richards

Constant Practice, Virginia 

Offering pieces to rent or buy, online shop Constant Practice is the result of more than a decade of curating vintage menswear from the past 50 years. Founder Zeke Hemme – who models his wares for the shop’s almost 700,000-strong Instagram following – launched the business in 2019, focusing on functional pieces that can be worn every day. His current highlights include a 1990s Katharine Hamnett wool bomber ($800), a Burberry Prorsum quarter zip ($350) and a 1980s Issey Miyake Circle Pattern sphere bag ($800). constant-practice.com Rosanna Dodds

David Casavant Archive, New York

This private collection celebrates conceptual menswear designers from the late 20th and early 21st century, with particular focus on Helmut Lang and Raf Simons. New York-based Casavant started collecting and loaning his pieces as a stylist’s assistant in 2012, with his collection of Raf and Helmut now numbering around 5,000 pieces. His eye for extreme minimalism and streetwear has even led to a book about his archive, items from which have been loaned to artists including Paul McCartney, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams, Timothée Chalamet, Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. davidcasavantarchive.com BC

Eva Fashion Art, Tokyo 

This small secondhand boutique is tucked down a side street in Tokyo’s Daikanyama neighbourhood and specialises in hard-to-come-by French and Japanese vintage. Owner Seiko Miyazaki sources Celine coats from the ’70s (from £620), Yves Saint Laurent jackets from the ’80s (from £500) and Hermès dresses from the ’90s (from £620), plus rare – and in-demand – handbags. Much of her stock is sold through regular Instagram Lives. evafashionart.com Jessica Beresford

Eveliina Vintage, Miami and New York

Originally founded in Helsinki in the 1970s, Eveliina Vintage – which now runs operations out of Miami and Woodstock, New York – is a family-run business specialising in 1930s slip dresses and gowns. “We love a puff-sleeve organza dress,” says Emilia Musacchia, who took the helm from her mother, Eeva, five years ago. “The way the light [shines] through them forever has our heart.” Current highlights, many of them hand-dyed in punchy hues, include an icy-blue cotton dress with layered ruffles that gather at the hem (€633.95) and a lilac spaghetti-strap number in silk chiffon (€569.95). Eveliina also has an edit of wispy gowns for brides. eveliina-vintage.com Inès Cross

Legarbaage, San Diego

Rescuing tired patchwork denim and distressed ’50s bomber jackets from landfill, Connor Gressitt vends SoCal’s discarded vintage glad rags exclusively through Instagram and Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Flea Market every second Sunday of the month. International shipping is available, with recent highlights including an original 1960s Peanuts comic sweatshirt and a 1930s deerskin jacket. Prices are available upon request. @legarbaage KR 

Lost Blue Heaven, Manchester

Manchester-based Lost Blue Heaven was founded in 2020 by Nik Sinha, and gained instant popularity for its selection of band tees from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. UK music is a speciality – one drop included a New Order T-shirt from the personal archive of Joy Division bassist Peter Hook – but international artists such as Björk also feature. New stock is dropped every fortnight and previewed on Instagram for keen collectors. lostblueheaven.com Marion Willingham

Lucia Zolea, Virginia

Virginia-based Lucia Zolea first rose to prominence on Instagram in the 2010s, known for her ethereal and feminine style, and has since pivoted to selling secondhand clothing online. She specialises in antique and vintage styles from the early 20th century, including lacy slip dresses, embroidered off-the-shoulder tops and crochet knit skirts. Bridalwear is also a strong suit – including a 1930s silk-satin collared gown ($820) and cowlneck silk dress ($320) – plus jewellery such as glass bead necklaces and pearl earrings. luciazolea.com JB

Mies, Paris

You don’t have to be a fashion connoisseur to appreciate the elegance of Martin Margiela’s Hermès. For Paris-based Noora Vesterinen, the Belgian designer’s six-year stint at the French fashion house is enough to dedicate an online shop to: “I admire how dedicated [he was] to studying the lives of the women he designed for, and how the garments adapted to their different roles – not vice-versa.” Since 2018, Vesterinen has trawled markets, auctions and closets of former Hermès employees to source items for Mies, her online shop. Currently she has a “transformable” duffel coat (€1,250) from the AW00 collection, while recently sold favourites include iconic Vareuse shirts (from €500), a SS99 trench (€830) and classic Clochette keychains (from €450). mies-preowned.com Åsa Hedvig Aaberge

MothFood, Los Angeles 

Los Angeles-based Mothfood specialises in pre-loved Americana from the early 20th century through to the ’90s. Whether it’s quirky slogan T-shirts – “Love Thy Grocer” ($88) – or oddball outwear, founder Tommy Dorr brings a cheeky, devil-may-care attitude to everything on offer. The memento-mori name is a reminder that, for Dorr, fashion “is really not that serious”. Alongside sourcing textiles for fashion designers such as Emily Adams Bode Aujla, Dorr has found a dedicated following among Hollywood celebrities and stylists. Slide into Dorr’s DMs or make an appointment at his showroom. mothfoodshop.com Daniel Penny

One Vintage, London

With new pieces dropping every week, Marcelle Symons’s brilliantly curated One Vintage is a go to for discerning lovers of vintage. From catalogued pieces by McQueen, Galliano and Tom Ford to sheer ’30s bias-cut party dresses, her finds are favoured by Kate Moss, Lola Bute and Charlotte Tilbury. Shop online or make an appointment at her London-based studio. onevintagedesigns.co.uk Fiona Golfar

Pen, Tokyo 

Every evening at 8pm JST, the Tokyo-based sellers at Pen post new finds on Instagram. The style is consistent – garments suspended by wires against white backgrounds, as if part of an art installation. Their taste is fabulously Japanese – from 1970s Issey Miyake and Comme des Garçons to voluminous robe-like Eskandar and Shirin Guild, and London labels that ruled the runways in the 1980s including Betty Jackson and Katharine Hamnett. Pen know their stuff, extensively detailing their garments. Pieces generally sell within a couple of days. penjp.thebase.in Mark C O’Flaherty

Persephone Vintage, Los Angeles

The aesthetic of California-based Persephone Vintage is so admired that founder Susan Choi has recently created a second Instagram account – @persephonevintt – for serious shoppers. (The first account –@persephonevint – remains, but is mostly for people who want to look at images of ’90s Met Galas and vintage frocks.) Choi specialises in dresses from the ’20s to ’30s, plus ’70s Halston, rare Dior and more. One of her favourite pieces to pass through her hands was a 1930s crimson devoré gown that was sold to Florence Welch – “the perfect person for the dress”. persephonevint.com RD

Ramonas, Berlin and London

The world may be obsessed with buying the latest versions of Margiela’s Tabi shoes – which now come in iterations spanning mules and Mary-Janes – but none are as good as the original designs, says Abbey Looker. The vintage seller is a “hoof shoe” aficionado, sourcing ’90s productions (from £1,200) of the style for her store, Ramonas, along with other iconic pieces from before the turn of the century, including Vivienne Westwood corsets (from £280) and Jean Paul Gaultier dresses (from £450). ramonasarchives.com JB

Retold, London

Launched in 2018, Retold offers a selection of secondhand finds for those whose taste skews towards minimalism – think navy ’80s and ’90s Margaret Howell wool suits (£450), Lanvin silk trenches (£545) and buttermilk Escada cinched blazers (£155, now sold). Pieces are handpicked by founder Clare Lewis and sold via monthly drops on their website. Prepare to move fast – they don’t stick around for long. retoldvintage.com Sara Semic

Santa Fe Vintage, New Mexico

Scott Corey, founder of Santa Fe Vintage, started collecting Americana clothing, art and objects more than 30 years ago. His treasures – fringed leathers (from $300), beacon blankets (from $220) and 1960s denim jackets (from $180) – are available to rent or buy from an appointment-only showroom in downtown Santa Fe. Corey died in 2019, but his legacy continues through Teo Griscom and Josh Kalmus – a stylist and a “chef and musician-turned vintage novice” – and their son Townes, who took over the shop four years ago. Go for the pristine vintage Western shirts, stay for the midcentury French skiwear. santafevintage.com Jo Ellison

Shrimpton Couture

Canadian fashion sleuth Cherie Balch, who set up Shrimpton Couture online in 2006, has become a major resource for red-carpet stylists looking for runway treasure. Balch is obsessive about the provenance and condition of what she finds, often getting her hands on rare and immaculate items. (Her one trusted cleaning company has even created a proprietary formula specifically for her items.) Expect midcentury Madame Grès and runway McQueen, 1920s flapper dresses and recent Valentino and Alaïa. One singularly gasp-worthy ensemble is a 1990 haute couture wedding outfit by Romeo Gigli with a pink chiffon coat, gold-lace hobble skirt and flowing silk jacket, complete with shoes, jewellery and silk bag – $18,000, and absolutely museum-worthy. shrimptoncouture.com MCO’F

The Untitled Raf Simons Project, Pennsylvania

The Untitled Raf Simons Project is also known as First Times Worldwide, but it’s soul is pure Raf. The Pennsylvania-based operation focuses on the British indie-aesthetic of early 2000s Simons – including a 1990s Blur vintage T-shirt (£103), AW04 Waves cargo pocket jeans (£381) and an Undercover Cindy Sherman denim Coaches jacket (£381). You’ll also find simpatico Balenciaga, Rick Owens and Undercover, and vintage band T-shirts emblazoned with Bauhaus, The Smiths and Depeche Mode logos. firsttimesworldwide.com McO’F

Vieille Rue Vintage Shop, Paris 

This Paris-based sports shop was founded by Benjamin Yuka Malambu and Hugor Nsingi Mbuta in 2018. With roots in Congolese Sapologie culture, Vieille Rue combines the pair’s interest in fashion, football and streetwear with their “addiction to collecting”. The duo also trades in socks, sneakers, scarves and other accessories, and currently sports the largest collection of Paris Saint-Germain merch in the world, with more than 500 items catalogued; most were made by Nike between 1989 and the early 2000s. Their archive also includes Serena Williams’ 2002 Cameroon-inspired Roland-Garros outfit and the kit worn by the Brazil national football team during the 1998 Fifa World Cup. vieilleruevintageshop.com KR

Vintage Polo Ralph Lauren, New York

Canadian actor Laird Mackintosh has enjoyed a life-long love affair with Ralph Lauren’s menswear. He started to sell his collection on Instagram in 2020 – an endeavour that took off, thanks to his impressive hoard of 1970s and ’80s rarities. “I have more than 500 vintage sport coats: hacking jackets, tweeds and tartans,” he says. “I also have more than 500 vintage Polo neckties. I’m always trying to acquire more polo coats – although the good ones are so hard to find.” @vintageprl Aleks Cvetkovic