Vogue’s Vintage Directory
By Ritu
April 22, 2024
Vogue’s guide to the best vintage stores in Milan is part of our directory of the very best vintage around the world, curated by editors from all over. Whether you’re traveling and searching for some superb stores to visit on your trip or are curious about your local vintage treasure chests, Vogue’s directory has you covered.
Vintage lives outside the fashion universe—it exists beyond trends. It can represent a desire for renewal, the conversion of old to new, and, more poetically, adolescent reveries realized. There’s no greater satisfaction than buying the garment or accessory coveted in preteen years spent pouring over magazines. But where does the best vintage really live? Fashion capitals, of course.
Milan is now a hotbed of vintage activity. Tucked away in picturesque urban postcards, behind Piazza Castello, or just a stone’s throw from the Columns of San Lorenzo, Milan’s vintage boutiques are a must-visit destination for those who experience fashion in Milan. To narrow down the city’s vintage highlights, we’ve assembled Vogue’s guide to the best vintage in Milan, curated with the help of our editors at Italian Vogue.
Madame Pauline Vintage
You’ll find treasures in the cavernous wonders of Madame Pauline Vintage, a destination for vintage lovers and collectors of irreverent retro wares. Luring every generation with its offerings, the boutique is a must-visit address for both socialites and It girls and impeccable ladies of Milanese style—you know the types: silver hair, brooch on the chest, and heirloom bag on the wrist. With carefully selected offerings, the store also creates custom collections, including Bandana, a favorite among Madame’s most beloved frequenters.
Address: Foro Buonaparte 74, 20121 Milan
Cavalli e Nastri Vintage
An institution for vintage treats and its archive fabrics, colors, and inspirations, Cavalli e Nastri is one of Milan’s most celebrated vintage stores. The store is like a whirlwind fashion history tour from 1920s hats à la Louise Brooks to 1950s housemaid Corolle skirts to the unabashedly glamorous 1990s Versace. A Mecca for designers and stylists, the boutique has the intimacy you’d expect of a tea room with its soft music, shapes, and colors.
Address: Via Gian Giacomo Mora, 3, 20123 Milan
Franco Jacassi Vintage Delirium
Located in a courtyard in old Milan and furnished with period furniture, Franco Jacassi’s Vintage Delirium opened in 1985 and has since become one of the world’s most extensive collections of vintage clothing. Beyond that, it’s also a trove for fashion researchers with its sizable selection of couture and vintage fabrics; the boutique features a fantastic button collection with more than 50,000 designs, as well as a true archive of magazines, buckles, antique appliqués, and much more.
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Address: Via Giuseppe Sacchi, 3, 20121 Milan
Vincent Vintage Bijoux
Manuel Menini’s personal wunderkammer, Vincent Vintage Bijoux in Porta Venezia, holds an endless collection of vintage jewelry and costume jewelry, with a particular focus on the Georgian period. An ideal stop for jewelry aficionados, the boutique knows how to surprise with its theatrical displays that bring each individual piece to life. For those nostalgic for the Golden Age of jewelry, the store is the place for British and 19th-century styles.
Address: Via Lazzaro Spallanzani, 11, 20129 Milan, tel. 3389743349
Groupies
A destination for all those (of any age!) in their teenage rebellion phase Groupies is a nonconformist’s paradise. The shop focuses on street style, with an emphasis on the 1990s and 2000s. Between printed short-sleeved shirts and PVC bijoux straight out of our childhood manga dreams, it’s the perfect place to indulge in fun-filled shopping.
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Address: Via Gian Giacomo Mora, 7, 20123 Milan
PWC Milano
Tucked away in a side street of Piazza XXIV Maggio, PWC Milano is the location for club kids in Milan and beyond. The boutique’s assortment is consistent but not predictable, offering its coterie of loyal customers both the Cher Horowitz–inspired silk slip dress and the tie-dye prints to wear with black patent leather platform boots. The pièce de résistance is the accessories station, where Regency-style velvet bonnets and cloth brooches are merchandised alongside a total-leather look.
Address: Via Pietro Custodi, 12, 20136 Milan
Lipstick Vintage
Located somewhere between past and present on Corso Garibaldi, Lipstick Vintage has a flamboyant selection of ready-to-wear creations and endless accessories. Their wide assortment caters to everyone from the inconsolable romantic to the minimalists who refuse to wear color. The boutique offers its patrons muses of elegance, from the Mona Lisa to Cate Blanchett, and suggestions to mimic their style.
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Address: Corso Garibaldi, 79, 20121 Milan
Bivio
Much more than a vintage store; at Bivio, you can buy and sell your designer pieces. The store’s buyers buy exclusively from individuals, selecting pieces one by one and offering the seller the double option of receiving cash or a coupon to spend at the boutique—which wouldn’t be difficult to do.
Address: Via Gian Giacomo Mora 4, 20123 Milan
20134Lambrate
Just a stone’s throw from the art and design hub of Via Ventura, 20134Lambrate found its home beneath a 1940s barbershop sign. It’s the address to know if your wardrobe tends to mish-mash era; inside, 20th-century garments are shown on a mannequin adorned with 1980s accessories. And since fashion-lovers tend to love beauty in all its forms, there’s a color-filled selection of furniture and furnishings such as lamps, chairs, vases, and mirrors.
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Address: Via Conte Rosso, 22, 20134 Milan
Lo Specchio Di Alice
Though it opened in the 1990s, stepping into Lo Specchio di Alice is not unlike stepping into Lewis Carroll’s looking glass—only here, you’re in a world where the 1960s never ended. Shoppers will fashion memorabilia from the past, from Cherokee belts to hand-painted bomber jackets, from twist-dancing shoes to biker boots. It’s a space for true explorers—customers could spend hours searching for the perfect purchase among hundreds and hundreds of offerings.
Address: Corso di Porta Ticinese, 64, 20123 Milan
Humana Vintage Milan
Humana (also shoppable online) sees vintage as a way to live sustainably, but the store does much more than offer secondhand clothes—Humana is, in fact, a humanitarian organization founded in 1998 which (through the sale of its secondhand clothes) supports education, sustainable agriculture, health protection, and community development projects in Italy and beyond. The stores are filled with clothing, accessories, jewelry, and Italian fashion items from the ’60s to the present day.
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Address: Via Cappellari, 3, 20123 Milan
Sous Vintage Shop
Opened in 2010 and located in the Navigli district, Sous Vintage takes the concept of second-hand to the next level, offering not only pre-loved clothing and accessories but also hosting collections and events by young indie creatives who upcycle discarded fabrics and materials to create something new. The shop was the brainchild of Eva Fiorucci and Carolina Ferrari.
Address: Alzaia Naviglio Pavese, 52, 20143 Milan
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