The Rise of Vintage Fashion

Mimi Piqua
Oct 15
7 min read

Let's talk Vintage. I am a lover of all things vintage, I live, breathe and sleep thinking of my next vintage buy and i am loving the increase in recent years for the growing appreciation of vintage pieces. Which I think stems from celebrities increasingly using their connections to wear archival collection looks. At all levels of fame we are seeing more and more appreciation for designer archives. I mean even on love island this year Maya Jama was wearing vintage Roberto Cavalli and Versace on multiple occasions.

Personally I am 100% for this revival and want to use today's blog post to debrief the best places to browse and buy vintage, my thoughts on investment pieces, which designers are worth the money, and the vintage capital of the world - Japan. If you were unaware of this fact. Get to know!

Starting off strong with a website I devote probably a full time work week to. The Real Real, an American based internationally worshipped designer re-seller. Covering pretty much all the bases from womenswear, accessories, homeware, menswear and even kidswear.

The RealReal: A Digital Treasure Trove

this is me dreaming big and putting a birkin in my shopping cart - dream large ladies xx

I actually discovered this treasure chest of vintage after seeing a Tiktok in 2022 of a ridiculously wealthy Beverly Hills icon buying an engagement ring from The Real Real just for the fun of it. She said she wanted it because it’s a nice diamond, I cannot blame her for that. So obviously I was influenced and I headed straight over to the website to look for my own diamonds - ended up buying a bag instead oops.

Coming from a UK gal myself the shipping may be a put off if you are a UK or EU girlie - it is a little crazy! I have actually only ordered once from their website (full disclosure shipping is about £50 to the UK). Which I think is totally justifiable if the value of your order is enough or the product is expensive and the shipping isn’t adding much to the total. But I have to hand it to them, their prices are really competitive and sometimes you can even score some insane prices on designer vintage! Up to you whether the shipping seems worth it for the item.

They by far have the best selection, with weekly launches of tens of thousands of products they rival every other vintage re-seller, in my opinion. I just wish they had a UK warehouse so shipping would be your usual £3.99!

Below I've put together a few of my most favourite finds all from therealreal.com:

The prices really are insane because tell me why some resellers are selling Birkin 30s for upwards of 20k (which The Real Real also does have some in this price range) and this beautiful brown one is only £7k!! Investment pieces are serious business - see more below. And the Manolos! They are an absolute gem to have found! If only it wasn’t going into Autumn, they are the perfect summer kitten heel. Crying.

The rolex being only 3k is criminal, and don't even get me started on the Roberto Cavalli Vintage long skirt - I fell in love immediately, and even though £775 price tag may feel like a lot The Real Real puts the estimated RRP next to it so it still is less than half price! You genuinely would think this is an advertisement, but I'm just ridiculously passionate about good designer prices.

What is REALLY worth investing in

Of course you will all have heard of investment fashion, however in recent years the Birkin movement has truly excelled. New reports prove that Hermes Birkins and Kellys are better investments than Gold!! Running to go tell my Dad!

They hold such strong investment value due to their enduring popularity, limited availability, and high resale value. If you are looking for a way to convince your partner, dad, mum, sister, brother, granddad, grandma to invest in fashion just tell them that fact and i’m sure they will be on board in no time!

In my personal opinion, there are so many additional ways to use fashion pieces as reliable investments. Vintage pieces from the 90s and 2000s are becoming more sought after and you can buy to sell with large profit margins nowadays! The Real Real has some pieces with killer prices! As shown above a 2000s Marc Jacobs Denim Jacket for only £60?!?

Don’t get me wrong you do have to hunt for these prices; they aren’t all shown on the front page of the website. However I really believe investing in vintage is such a good way to prolong the longevity of a piece's lifetime, allow your money to grow until you are ready to sell, and keeps the item out of landfill. Helping the environment while in the process of looking exceptionally stylish. That's a literal dream.

Designers With Long-Term Value

Do not quote me on this as it is my personal opinion mixed with an educated guess (which i think is quite reliable in regards to all things fashion) I am going to provide you with a list of designers I think could bring you investment rewards if you let them appreciate in value over time:

Celine - Absolute classic! Known for their minimalist, cult-status pieces from the peak 2010-2018 era which are highly coveted. Vintage Celine pieces are like little chunks of gold. I love the elegance of Celine and honestly believe the older the fashion house gets the more the items will appreciate in value.

Chanel - Chanel classic flap bags (the most classic style) retain from 85 - 115% of their value, meaning you shouldn’t ever lose money on your investment. Making it more reliable than most other methods of investing currently! Over the past decade, values have risen by 72%! In 2001 you could buy a Chanel classic flap for $1600 and nowadays they start at about $11,000. WILD.

Hermes - Birkins and Kellys are the most obvious on the fashion scene and they retain usually 110 -150% of their retail price; and some rare styles such as Himalaya Birkings can retain value of up to 500%! They do this because of how ultra limited they are, the fact they are meticulously handcrafted, and of course Hermes has long-standing prestige.

Dior - Another classic obviously, however they have such iconic styles with a deep history, often reissuing pieces to bring nostalgic appeal. The pieces tend to retain from 75 -105% in value, particularly styles with historic relevance such as the Lady Dior which benefits from historical ties to Princess Diana, appreciating more and more in value the further in the past her death gets.

Obviously there are so many more designers that you could love and spend your money on and they will also have a high retention rate. However if i listed them all i’d be here for hours so i’m going to move onto discussing one of my favourite topics - Japan.

Vintage shopping in Japan is renowned globally and for good reason. I’m going to tell you about my experience and why you should definitely make the trip over.

The Vintage Wonderland of Japan

Japan is WILD. Vintage shopping is of course popular online as you can do it from the comfort of anywhere. However Japan needs an honorary mention for the mindblowing vintage shopping scene. In Tokyo the vintage was at a different level. My eyes were pleased to see Birkins and Kellys multiple times a day in hundreds of vintage shops - I actually debated buying one but thought potentially at 18 years old it could give the wrong impression so I thought better make myself wait. #birkinby25

I was in Tokyo modeling for 3 months and basically spent every spare minute I had in the vintage shops/ flea market finding the vintage goodies they had on offer! Below I’ve added a few pictures I took of pieces I wanted to buy but ultimately didn’t - which I regret to this day! (I will convert the incredible prices from Yen to Pounds for you don’t worry)

The Vivienne Westwood knit was only £200, they had Birkin bags for 5 -10k, Chanel bags galore, interlocking cc’s everywhere the eye could see, and even these were exceptionally priced! They had a vintage 2000s brown Chanel bag (shown above) that genuinely my heart loved, but it was £2000 ish. Louis Vuitton vintage kitten heels for £300, Chloe Paddington for £400, Dior kitten heels for £90 - these I died for but they were a size 3 and I am very much a large footed individual so couldn't participate in most of the spectacular Japanese footwear finds. And if you are sat there thinkig 'but what if they are fakes' Japan is one of the strictest countries on reselling laws and everything has to be vetted and authenticated!

My Own Vintage Steals

And of course what's better than what I didn't buy? What did I buy? I came back from Japan very much richer in the world of vintage. I bought:

Yves Saint Laurent cream Blazer for £25.
Acne Studios baggy washed jeans for £60.
Prada slouchy brown leather vintage bag for £85.
Genuine fur vintage coat for £8 - this is my find of the century i will never shut up.
Miu Miu denim blazer for £40
Hermes interlocking H bracelet - £25
Italian designer vintage cropped jacket - £15
Burberry wool knit turtleneck jumper - £20
Ralph Lauren Wide leg jeans - £5
Yves Saint Laurent, Loewe, Comme de Garcon & Dior ties - £5 total. WHAT.
JW Anderson Wool jumper - £5

What on earth? I almost had a heart attack reminiscing on those prices. I came back with over 10k worth of products that I paid under £300 total for. Japan is the place to be for vintage. The flight alone pays for itself when you are getting such steals! However if you aren’t looking for a trip then The Real Real remains my #1 website for online vintage finds.

Where Else to Shop

I have left below a few links to other reputable vintage resellers i find helpful and with good prices -