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Sydney Vintage Store Guide
While some say its vintage scene pales compared to long-time rival Melbourne, Sydney has come a long way in past decades. Local stylist and sustainable fashion educator Jo Gambale lists her top picks.
Perhaps more than most cities, or at least in my experience, Sydney is divided into very distinct cultural ‘zones’ - the stuff of regular memes and dinner party banter (if any zone’s residents dare enter another).
For the purpose of this guide, I shall mention only the zones with the most vintage stores, and when you visit this city – or even just follow this guide online – you will notice the blatant difference between the east and the (inner) west.
For the purpose of transparency, I have never lived in the east except for a few months as a backpacker when I arrived from England in 2000. Now I am more Inner West than I am English, BUT I know where I’d go for secondhand designer beachwear and ‘lady’s labels’ (Chanel, Hermes, you know the sort). Ultimately, each area has its speciality, and even if Sydneysiders can’t cross the borders, you certainly can.
So our guide lists a selection of my favourite stores within the Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, the City and the North Shore
Check out our Google Maps list for many more options, some further out west and up to the Northern Beaches.
Inner West
Reunion
If they’d allow it, I’d have my ashes scattered in this store. I doubt they would – serious pieces like 2000s Jean Paul Gaultier mesh could do without the dust.
Headed up by the lovely Beth, this swap shop-cum-consignment store has carved out a perfectly formed space in the Sydney circular scene and it’s due largely to the staff’s collective eye and discerning taste. They get a huge influx of clothes but they pick through them patiently, with an incredible understanding of fashion history and current revival trends determining what they accept.
The concept is, we take what we consider sellable items, get a ticket then browse or have coffee up the road until it’s our turn to find out what has and has not been accepted.
Whatever they take, they price on the spot and you get the choice of cash (30-40 %) or store credit (50 %, and always my preference!). Newcomers can get quite perturbed at the rejections but I see it as a guarantee that when I shop here, someone has already done half the work for me. Curated is the word, but it’s overused and few deserve it as well as this store.
Reunion
2/112 Enmore Rd, Newtown
Mon–Sat 10am-6pm
@reunionstore.co
Newtown Vintage 313
Newtown’s King Street is undoubtedly the King of vintage shopping, and one of the best in town is Newtown Vintage 313. Two levels are jam-packed with entire racks of every classic vintage category you can think of, from souvenir jackets, graphic tees and vintage Levis to cowboy boots and enough silk scarves to patchwork the sails of the Opera House. Potential overwhelm is subdued by impeccable merching and very regular updates to the window display. Also found here are re-made and upcycled clothes such as cropped vintage sweatshirts.
Newtown Vintage 313
313 King St, Newtown
Tue–Fri 12–6pm
@newtown.vintage.313
Seamstress for the Band
Run by talented theatre costumier and stylist Renata Beslik, this charmingly named store (Tiny Dancer reference, obvs) is situated in The Merchant’s Warehouse in Annandale, which is definitely worth a visit for both clothes and furniture, as well as the usual delectable bric-à-brac found in these marvellous multi-vendor spaces. (Other multi-vendor warehouses worth visiting in Sydney include Mitchell Road).
Seamstress though, for me, is a highlight. As the name suggests, Renata also repairs and restores vintage, and has collected both women’s and menswear for years during her job in costume. She once helped me source an incredible green 70s suit for an actress client’s red carpet look and that client subsequently had her first ever appearance in Vogue’s best dressed list! Yay us.
Seamstress for the Band
The Merchant’s Warehouse
Corner of Booth and Guihen St, Annandale
Mon–Sun 10–5pm
@seamstressfortheband_vintage
U-Turn
This behemoth vintage/secondhand chain just opened its latest outpost in Marrickville, and it already feels like a flagship, such is the schmick design of the recently built store and apartments above. The stock deserves a chef’s kiss, too, presumably handpicked from U-Turn’s vast storeroom, which supplies stores in Bondi, Surry Hills, Rozelle, and a huge outlet in Punchbowl, further west of the city and certainly worth a visit for die-hard hunters.
This latest addition is confirmation that things are a-changing in the Inner West. Read on to the next in the list to understand why.
U-Turn
265 Illawarra Road, Marrickville
Mon–Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-5pm
@uturnvintage
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Casablanca
Inner West suburb Marrickville is a much loved place among its long-term residents, who vehemently fight against its rapid gentrification. But as we all know, the flip side to hipster takeovers is better cafes and - you guessed it - vintage stores. The opening of Casablanca on busy Illawarra Rd was like the arrival of Ga-linda the Good Witch in Oz.
This family-run delight is all about community and gives the best garage sale vibes (backyard sale? Car-boot sale? It’s ‘garage sale’ here!).
Patiently waiting for council approval so it can open a bar and cafe, the mother-daughter team behind Casablanca are just about the most welcoming, generous people you will ever meet.
Find everything from vintage party dresses to 70s ceramics and coffee tables lined with Simon & Garfunkel album covers.
Casablanca
330 Illawarra Road, Marrickville
Sat-Sun 11-5pm
@casablancamarrickville
Swap Up
A much-needed secondhand addition to the northern Sydney suburb of Crows Nest, Swap Up is a mid-end consignment store that began online and has the encouraging tagline: ‘let’s make secondhand mainstream’. Alifa Putri is the brains behind this rapidly growing new concept, and the store’s opening late last year had me hooked with its combination of vintage with mid-end high street and a few high-end designer labels.
Swap Up
388 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest
Tue–Fri 12–6pm
@swapup.com.au
Venla
Helsinki expats Minna Monaghan and Satu Raunola-Spencer are killing it with their rent-a-rack business, a Finnish concept they introduced in Mosman at the height of the pandemic, but which has now expanded to include five thriving stores, all in wealthy water-side locales.
The stores all share a modern Nordic vibe and despite each rack belonging to a different consignee, there is a consistency in the aesthetic and the staff are trained to give those selling the best chance of success via spot-on merching. Other store locations are Avalon, Balmain, Bondi Junction and Manly.
Venla
658 Military Rd, Mosman
Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat 10-4pm, Sun 11-4pm
@venla_resell_relove
City/Inner East
Qurated
I’ve been following Nick Freeman of Qurated since he ran intermittent multidisciplinary pop-ups with then partner Charles Greene, but I missed the launch of their first permanent store due to a daughter’s urgent head lice treatment.
By the look of the evocative film taken of the event, my selflessness as a parent reached its height that night.
Qurated is a ‘directional archive store’ and the result of Nick’s passion for rare conceptual pieces from such icons as Yohji Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester, John Galliano and Maison Martin Margiela. A conceptual space itself, the studio, set atop the Fovo Studios building in hip Surry Hills, is decked with a Tetris of milk crates and postmodern furniture, between which legends of late 20th and early 21st century fashion reveal their avant garde, pop art or structural excellence.
Qurated
Level 1, Suite 20/151 Foveaux St, Surry Hills
Thu-Sun 11am-5pm
@qurated
Zoo Emporium
This store became a bit of a problem for me when my eldest went to school right next door. It is a fantasy world where 70s/80s funk meets camp glamour and disco balls, the scene embellished with glo-mesh and bright feathers – and it’ll suck you in every time. Right in the heart of the LGBTIQA+ Mardi Gras location, it’s choc-full of festival, fetish and feisty finds.
Zoo Emporium
Unit B/180 Campbell St, Surry Hills
Mon-Sat 11-6pm, Sun 12–5pm
@zooemporiumvintage
Recycology
Linda Connell (who once featured in Gem Stories) has ombré hair, hot pink down to purple, and her heart is for bright colours and large prints from the 60s. Recycology’s doyenne is by no means a one-trick pony though; while she favours labels like Pucci and Leonard, she collects fanciful 70s and 80s too and has an eclectic selection of historical bohemium pieces such as piano shawls and 20s embroidered coats.
While you’re at Mitchell Road – a longtime favourite time-waster of mine – check out the mid-century furniture and collectable vintage toys. You won’t want to leave.
Recycology
Mitchell Road Antiques
17 Bourke Rd, Alexandria
Mon-Sun 10–6pm
@recycology
Dolly Up
High-octane glamour in an unlikely place; the noisy thoroughfare that divides Surry Hills and Redfern. Erin Paige Stevenson has run this much pined for vintage boutique on Cleveland St for what feels like an age, yet she herself has not aged one bit, and has racked up 50K plus followers modelling her wares for good reason. Her prices are on the high side but that’s because Erin knows the true value of the rare vintage and designer pieces she handpicks during trips to France and beyond. I still can’t get over the red and white striped couture gown with giant bow I once saw on her Instagram. What I would do to justify such a big spend is consider the price of a ticket to Paris and the time it would take to find the gown. Then I’m practically making money.
Dolly Up
382 Cleveland St, Surry Hills
Tue, Wed, Fri 2–5pm, Sat 11.30-3.30pm
@dollyupvintage
Eastern Suburbs
Grand Days
It’s a dream combo for many; curated vintage clothing and secondhand books! Situated near the infamous giant Coca-Cola sign at King’s Cross, it is a haven of whimsical vintage with a pop of secondhand modern, and is the right choice if you’re planning a night out in the city. Thanks to owner Tamara Kennedy it has garnered a lovely community and hosts regular evening events, including a recording of the podcast I co-host, where we interviewed the dynamic author Clare Press.
With the shop’s long history as a book (and record) store, it’s only right that its name should pay homage to the Australian heroine of Frank Moorehouse’s novel. I have no doubt Edith herself would have shopped at this place.
Grand Days
220 William St, Woolloomooloo
Mon, Wed, Fri 12-6pm, Thu 12-7pm, Sat 10-5pm, Sun 11-3pm
@grand_days
Potts Point Vintage
Owner Arnold ‘Arnie’ Kieldgaard is a bit of a legend on Sydney’s vintage scene. Find here an insane array of rare vintage jackets, coats, shoes and hats plus names like Escada, Moschino, Dior and Prada.
He’s been the go-to for many a stylist over the years and he’s had his photo taken with a string of visiting celebs. If you want it, he knows where to find it, and if you don’t know you want it, you will soon, whether it’s a 1930s bakelite phone or an antique steamer trunk (which you will need, trust me, once you’re done with Sydney).
Potts Point Vintage
2/8a Hughes St, Potts Point
Tues, Thu, Fri 11-4pm, Sat 11-3pm
@pottspointvintage
Di Nuovo
There’s a heavenly corner of well-to-do suburb Paddington where you can find the unwanted designer threads of presumably local wealth, so if you’re up for parting with extra cash for ‘investment’ into your wardrobe, this consignment store and its neighbour Pelle Shoes are for you. BTW, there is more Hermes and Chanel in Di Nuovo than you could shake a stick at. Currently eyeing off a Chanel blue tweed beret and Klein’s blue glass necklace by Dries Van Noten, which I would wear together of course, while dining on the last can of baked beans in the pantry.
Di Nuovo
92 William St, Paddington
Mon-Sat 10-5pm, Sun 12-4pm
@di_nuovo_paddington
Jo Gambale spreads the word of circular fashion in Sydney through workshops, school incursions, team-building events, and a podcast she co-hosts with Ali Dibley. She has also built a directory of more than 400 Australian slow and circular fashion businesses.
Find with Gem
Dr Martens- green trench coat
- Devils snapback
- 80s colorful windbreaker
- 50s yellow daydress
- y2k windbreakers
- Fendi pumps
- Adidas sneakers
- hippie patchwork skirt
- rust brown dress
- floral summer blouse
- long sleeve jumpsuit
- brown leather shoulder bag
- light blue long sleeve t-shirt
- beige linen pants
- yellow and floral maxi dress
- blue orange floral pants
- Issey Miyake dress
- pleated angel sleeve
- African print
- floppy sun hat
- cat eye sunglasses
- white lace shirt
- blue cupcake dress
- Mexican wedding dress
- 70s folk dress
- Armani men's blazer
- vintage Italian suede jacket
- handmade vintage maxi dress
- Bruno Magli shoes
- 70s mink fur trim jacket
- Isabel Marant denim dress
- Celine orange edge bag