Vintage shopping is no longer the preserve of dusty charity shops, thanks to a wealth of exciting Irish boutiques and international online options. Michelle Hanley tracks down some of the most exclusive pre-loved sellers, and gleans the tips every second-hand shopper needs.
She made a bold move opening her first store in Dublin at the start of the recession, but has never looked back. “The meaning of the Irish wordis ‘other’ so I felt the name was a perfect fit, as we represented another way to shop high-end accessories when we first opened,” Ella says. Laura Liena Elizabeth, founder of Belgian online vintage store Untitled 1991 specialises in nineties revival mainstays such as Ralph Lauren button-downs , Hugo Boss boxy blazers and the increasingly difficult-to-find Levi’s 501s . She explains that stores like hers “do all the hard work for you by curating each collection. All you have to do is find a store with a similar aesthetic to your own, and chances are that the stock will speak to you now or in the future.
Admittedly, it takes a modicum of patience to scroll through the mega-sites but Dublin native Jessica Garland-Blake, one of the most fashionable event managers in London, has a penchant for Vestiaire Collective and knows how to get the most out of it. She explains, “I have alerts set up for a few items at all times. My favourite finds in the last year have been an amazing 16Arlington dress with feather cuffs, and major pink suede Prada platforms.