Buying vintage clothing isn’t a novel concept. Like many people, when I started shopping for used clothes during my high school years in Minnesota, I was simply adding an affordable splash of style to my wardrobe. Since then it’s become my passion, and I hunt down cool secondhand shops wherever I travel. Over the years, vintage has become serious business. Christie's and Sotheby’s auction off designer collections.
Supermodel
Karen Elson
is opening a boutique in
Nashville
this fall. And Oxfam has brought on fashion whiz Jane Shepherdson—former brand director of
London’s
trendy Topshop—to remake the company’s dreary charity stores and to shine a spotlight on the sustainability factor of vintage. “Initially people were drawn to vintage because it was one of a kind,” says Cameron Silver, king of the trade and owner of Decades, in
Los Angeles
. “Now it’s extra chic because it’s green.” A justification for my obsession at last. Here, a short list of my favorite boutiques worldwide. -
Travel & Leisure Magazine
Buying vintage clothing isn’t a novel concept. Like many people, when I started shopping for used clothes during my high school years in Minnesota, I was simply adding an affordable splash of style to my wardrobe. Since then it’s become my passion, and I hunt down cool secondhand shops wherever I travel. Over the years, vintage has become serious business. Christie's and Sotheby’s auction off designer collections. Supermodel
TO ENLARGE
. We can't all afford it. 
Prout-Farley's here to help. Her bustling
, 
-square-foot Congress Street shop has sold vintage
, 
and 
clothes and accessories for more than 15 years. Walls of vintage costume
and estate jewelry
and drawer after drawer of handkerchiefs
, scarves
and clutch purses
upon for costuming
help, she worked on Mel Gibson's 
and the 
movie 
. So, if you see something you love
at Encore, snap it up now before it goes 
.
TO ENLARGE