An around-the-world guide to second-hand shopping

Fashion

Unknown Archive, London, UK

Past collections by cult Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake, along with clothes from the myriad sibling labels those brands have created since they first appeared in the 1970s, attract devotees who won’t wear anything else. They see them as works of wearable art — scarce and unique.

So when Mirai Nakamura opened Unknown Archive in 2022 in the middle of Brick Lane’s jumble of vintage stalls and shopfronts, he knew there was demand for a shop focusing on the trifecta of the Tokyo avant-garde. He had been selling his own pieces from Comme, Yohji and Miyake while working at a store specialising in old Burberry, and customers kept asking for more black rayon and less beige, black, red and white check.

What started as five items from his own wardrobe is now a perfectly organised, fully formed minimalist shop with well-arranged racks carrying over 300 items. As befits these designs, walking in feels like you’re visiting any of the niche designer’s own stores in Tokyo’s Aoyama. 

Eighty per cent of the stock is menswear, but Nakamura notes that customers buy most things with a genderless eye. A big black Yohji coat is still a big black Yohji coat on anyone after all. Ditto Homme Plissé pants, or something unstructured in polyester from Comme des Garçons Black.

To keep stock refreshed, Nakamura and his team have hotlines to key sources. There’s always excitement when museum-quality rarities come to light. A notable recent treasure was a Yohji Yamamoto Pour Homme long reversible coat from autumn/winter 2021 — a reworking of a piece from his AW 1995 Rokumeikan collection, with a printed lining depicting social housing for westerners built in the 1880s. It was bought by an American filmmaker and has a new life now on the other side of the Atlantic. Mark C O’Flaherty

Textiles

Ganesh Emporium, Rajasthan, India

A visit to Ganesh Emporium is a must for anyone travelling to Udaipur, a historical city in Rajasthan. Housed in a 200-year-old haveli, a traditional Indian mansion with courtyards and ornate architecture, the store has been a treasure trove of textiles, curiosities and artefacts for more than 50 years. It’s also where designers such as Sarah Burton, Tory Burch and Pierpaolo Piccioli go for inspiration.

The emporium was founded by three brothers, Laxman, Ganesh and Ganpat Shah. Their collection spans India: Rabari and Banjara embroideries from Gujarat and Rajasthan, kanthas from Bengal, temple textiles from south India and rare Mughal brocades.

There is something for every taste and budget, from keepsakes to auction-worthy works. Prices start at about Rs1,000 ($12) for small fragments and can go up to several thousand dollars for museum-quality pieces. Among the most sought-after are Pichwais (hand-painted textiles originally made for Hindu Temples, a tradition that dates back to the 17th century).

Each piece on offer forms a part of India’s centuries-old textile narrative. “They can be collected for the home, incorporated into fashion or kept as symbols of cultural continuity,” says Vipul Shah, Laxman’s son, creative director and owner of Ganesh Emporium. New acquisitions are gently cleaned, lined with natural cotton and stored in climate-controlled rooms. One prized piece, a 19th-century elephant jhool (decorative cloth) embroidered entirely in silver thread, took over a year to restore. “The idea is to retain the soul of the textile, not make it look new,” explains Shah. Sujata Assomull

Jewellery

Pippin Vintage Jewelry, New York, US

Founded by Rachel and Stephen Cooper more than a decade ago, Pippin is perfectly positioned between the Chelsea and Union Square areas of New York, making it an easy stop for locals and tourists alike. A well-known source of vintage bling in the city, the shop somehow still also retains a local, mom-and-pop feel.

Stepping foot into Pippin’s sprawling, cosy, jewel box of a space is a completely mesmerising experience. Shelves, cases, tables and drawers are neatly lined with any and every kind of vintage jewellery from Victorian carved shell cameos, carved jet lockets and antique enamel brooches to glittering vintage opals, rubies and sapphires. A rare Gianfranco Ferré gilded lion belt hangs over a mirror while colourful Miriam Haskell brooches surround 1950s crystal bracelets by Coro.

The Coopers source their wares everywhere from auctions to personal estates and their own travels. The two bonded over antiques after attending their first auction together. Rachel was an elementary school teacher and Stephen was a vendor at the Chelsea flea market before they founded Pippin.

The thrill of shopping at Pippin is the element of exploration — one could spend hours looking through all the drawers and trying on favourites — but friendly staff are on hand to offer guidance when needed. There are plenty of under $100 options, and an equal amount of splurge-worthy luxuries such as rare Victorian garnet and gold brooches or heirloom-quality art deco diamond rings. Unsigned costume jewellery gems like 1950s rhinestone earrings by Weiss are affordable standouts alongside chunky gold-toned brooches, hefty colourful cloisonné bangles or perfectly patina-ed sterling silver wonders. Kristen Bateman

Watches

Antoine de Macedo Horloger, Paris, France

Antoine de Macedo is skilled in the art of finding out which wrist each of his watches should belong to next. “People don’t come here to buy a watch, they come so that we can sell them one,” he explains. That is the real charm of his shop: you don’t buy a product from a display case, you adopt an object that has already lived.

Vintage opens up an entire field of possibilities: if you dream of the 1930s, he will find you something slim and elegant; if your imagination leans more towards the 1970s, he will have something a little more graphic, a little funkier.

For clients who aren’t collectors, he starts with a simple question: what will the watch be used for? Sport, city, evening, everyday? He observes the person’s style, their way of carrying themselves, and searches for “the watch that will give pleasure”, like a garment one genuinely loves to wear. He notes that many of his female clients wear a watch as jewellery rather than as a timekeeping tool.

His flagship boutique in rue Madame is unlike any other, a small horological cabinet of curiosities collected during the past 35 years where one comes as much to look as to buy. Watches come in, go out, return, change hands — a second-hand purchase here isn’t a compromise, but a story that continues. And if you feel like transforming a watch you already own, he also crafts handmade straps inspired by 1950s models: supple, durable, built to last. Eugénie Trochu

Books

SO Books, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is an excellent place to shop for second-hand books, but often requires sifting through some bumf to unearth the gems. Down a charming street next to the train lines of Yoyogi-Hachiman station is SO Books, which has done all the work for you. Inside you’ll find a selection of photography and art books that date from modern rarities from the ’60s and ’70s to self-published zines from contemporary artists. Japanese photography fans will find plenty from the likes of Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama and Shoji Ueda, alongside a treasure trove of lesser-known names, plus an impressive selection that at any time might include books on the Bauhaus, Mark Borthwick or Comme des Garçons.

Owner Ikuo-san, a quietly friendly photography fan, worked as a librarian before setting up the shop some 18 years ago. He treats his job like a bespoke tailor, talking with curious customers to find them a book that’s the perfect fit. The shop’s tall shelves are filled with books you won’t easily come across elsewhere, some of them one of a kind, and each one specially chosen by Ikuo, so handle with care. “I don’t generally stock things you’ll find on Amazon,” he says. If you happen to be a serious art book fan visiting Tokyo or are looking for a great coffee table gift for someone who is, then extra suitcase space is recommended. Ashley Ogawa Clarke

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