3 of my favorite vintage shops (that ship all over the 🌎)
hidden gems in NYC, Paris, and Toronto
Next up on list of questions i get asked all the time - “where do i find good vintage that’s not overrated?”
maybe you are new to vintage shopping and don’t know where to start. maybe you are old to vintage shopping and need some new recs. maybe u went to “front street general” last weekend, almost broke a plate and realized ok i just need a shop with a little more space (oh - was that just me?).
well - I got you with three great recs that ship all over the world.
vintage & i go way back. from a very early age I remember a strong affinity for old clothes - vintage, donated, and hand me downs (not the kind from an older sibling, more like the kind from a cool aunt). I remember my sister and i dragging my parents to Kensington market in Toronto and making them wait as we rummaged thru bins of old men’s coats and slip dresses from the 60s. it was heaven!
needless to say - i have never stopped loving vintage. but because my lower back can no longer tolerate hours spent going thru indiscriminate mounds of clothes - my vintage shopping criteria has changed. Now it looks something like: a shop with a strong POV, a great edit - less is more - and bonus if you can shop online (from your friend bed).
these three stores have that in common:
CHICKEE’S MEN’S, BROOKLYN
This place reminds me of my life in NYC during the mid-nineties - as an art school kid - when helmet and calvin were the rage but so was Canal Jean Co and Antique Boutique.
a new must: an upright rack with nicely steamed clothes. color coordinated - even better! you can’t go wrong with vintage levi like these👌 Chickee’s has a good amount of Barney’s private label - which back in the day i loved but couldn’t afford. Better yet they have the things i could afford but sadly got rid of: this gaultier button-down among them.
But where they really shine - tees. They have the coolest curation. Not the rock show torn up kind - but the special museum gift shop kind. I’m eyeing: henry miller, pamela hanson, chagall for the met.
BRUT CLOTHING, PARIS
If you’ve followed me at alexmill you’ll know how much i love these guys - we even hosted a Brut Clothing pop up at our soho shop two summers ago. i’ve been ordering vintage pieces via their site for years and visit their shop every time i’m in paris. It’s a fantastic edit of americana and french, workwear and army.
the store director Paul Chemhoun has a great eye. i spent one summer evening with him during our nyc pop up and remember thinking i could talk to him about vintage army fatigues for hours. it was their first visit to nyc but they'd already known all the coolest spots. that attention for detail really comes to life at their store - where they don't have a lot of stuff but each piece is interesting and sits together so nicely. It can’t go without mentioning - they also carry vintage inspired + reworked vintage pieces beyond their main vintage line. Buy these for yourself so I can’t buy them for myself: brut guernsey sweater, charcoal bag, and japanese chambray shirt.
COURAGE MY LOVE, TORONTO
Ok best - or at least most wild - for last. Courage my love in toronto, where i grew up. Racks of indian floral gauze tent dresses, wooden beaded necklaces from southeast asian, baby blue 70s tuxedos and denim jackets and jeans. This store swallows you up whole the moment you walk in.
There is nothing like this place. Enter and maybe never return? dim mood lighting to the incense burning in the store so that you too waft through the racks. what can i say - i love it! I started going prob in 6th grade - I even got my prom jacket there- a guatemalan embroidered number -I was 💯 an art kid. If you can visit in person, you must. If not, here you go: 1980’s silk liberty of london scarf, glass eye stud earrings, and 1990’s daisy bead chain.
fun fact - they were doing upcycling way before it became a thing - tie dyed vintage slips hanging next to tie dye cashmere sweaters 
anyone remember watching the Wonder Years in the 80s? You’ll definitely remember Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper - they were cool but my ultimate favorite was Kevin’s mysterious older hippy sister Karen. She wasn’t in too many episodes but the ones she was in she was always the best dressed. Courage My Love in Toronto is where she would have shopped.
There u have it. Three hidden gems that ship all over the world. What questions should i answer next? Comment - i am listening!
x s
More Toronto recs please!!!
The family that runs ‘Courage’ are also incredibly awesome.
Btw love love love your work with Alex Mill. One of my fave clothing brands out there.