Quick answer: Nikol builds her designer wardrobe almost entirely through consignment — she has bought secondhand since 2015, and roughly 95% of her closet is pre-owned. In this haul she walks through recent finds including 1990s Chanel skirt suits, a structured Fendi dress, a red Fendi vanity bag, an Oscar de la Renta 50th-birthday outfit, and the story of why she passed on a vintage Hermès Kelly in favor of a Saks Fifth Avenue bag with more history.
Key takeaways
- Consignment is the whole strategy. Nikol calls herself "the Wall Street trader of clothes" — she buys low, wears pieces, then reconsigns them, sometimes making money back.
- The hunt takes patience. She uses Google Lens on old magazine images, keeps a wish list, and can spend years tracking down one specific piece.
- She buys heritage, not hype. 1990s Chanel and other older production win her over on construction, fabric, and how a piece feels — not on the logo.
- She skipped the Hermès Kelly. After seeing a 1992 box-leather Kelly at an on-yacht Hermès event, she passed on the price (plus a 22% VAT) and chose a vintage Saks bag she loved more.
- Vintage carries a story. For her 50th on the Ritz-Carlton yacht in Sicily she wore vintage Oscar de la Renta — pieces she loves precisely because of the history in them.
Hey ladies — grab a coffee and come into the closet with me. This one is a little different from a makeup chat: it is a walk through some of the vintage designer pieces I have hunted down on consignment lately, and the mindset that makes it work. I have been buying secondhand since 2015, and honestly it is a passion more than a shopping trip. Here is what came in, and the stories behind each piece.
How does Nikol actually shop vintage designer?
There is no magic formula — it comes down to time, scrolling, and knowing what you are looking for. Nikol keeps a running wish list; when she spots something in an old magazine she screenshots it and uses Google Lens to identify the designer, then goes on the hunt. She shops consignment online and in store, and treats her wardrobe almost like a portfolio: buy low, wear it, reconsign it, and sometimes come out ahead. She points out she often pays less than she would for a J.Crew or Banana Republic cashmere sweater — for better quality, in her opinion. It is not for everyone, and she is the first to say so, but for her the patience is the whole point.
What Chanel did she find in this haul?
Chanel is the anchor of the collection. She shows a 1994 tweed skirt suit that fit her perfectly straight out of the box — a rare thing — but arrived missing two buttons. Genuine Chanel buttons are notoriously hard to source, so she reached out to a woman in the Netherlands who restores Chanel, got referred to a contact in Hong Kong, then to another Dutch seller, even writing in Dutch via Google Translate to track them down. She also revisits a pristine, tagged Chanel jacket from the 1994 spring collection — 100% silk with linen sleeves and a matching linen skirt — and a linen Chanel set she has been reuniting piece by piece. A note she loves: Coco Chanel built extra fabric into the jackets so they could be sized up, which is why she never rules out a piece just because of the tag size.
Why did she pass on the Hermès Kelly?
This is the honest heart of the video. Nikol wanted a vintage Hermès Kelly 28 in black box leather with gold hardware, and made a point of saying she does not "play the Hermès game" of spending to be offered a bag — she would rather buy secondhand and get exactly what she wants. On the Ritz-Carlton yacht she talked her way into an on-board Hermès event and found a 1992 box-leather Kelly (sourced through the consignment house What Goes Around Comes Around). But between the price and a 22% VAT — and some uncertainty about whether the box leather had been repainted — she passed. She also had a 2024 Kelly transferred to Palm Beach through The RealReal to see in person, and decided it just did not feel right (the Kelly is also famously hard to get in and out of). Instead she found a vintage Saks Fifth Avenue bag, made in Italy in embossed leather, originally $250, in "fair" condition with a little peeling she actually loved. To her, its history made it more meaningful than the Hermès.
What else came in — Fendi, Oscar de la Renta and more?
There is a structured, almost futuristic Fendi dress she describes as having a subtle snake-like feel — non-returnable, so she was relieved it fit. There is also a red Fendi vanity bag with a hidden mirrored compartment (perfect, she jokes, for stashing her beauty products instead of letting them float around loose). She shares a pair of vintage Oscar de la Renta heels she picked up for around $45, tied to a sweet memory of trying on bridal dresses back in 2011. And she closes with her 50th-birthday outfit: a silver-and-gold, blush-toned vintage Oscar de la Renta set from the 1980s — a mesh crop jacket she first wore for her 45th and a matching dress she later discovered went with it — which she wore for her 50th on the Ritz-Carlton yacht in Sicily. For her, "vintage year, vintage clothes" was the whole theme.
The bottom line
Nikol's vintage philosophy is really about confidence, patience, and buying pieces that feel like you — a mindset that ages beautifully and never chases trends. That same spirit runs through her cosmetics line, made for mature skin that wants to look like itself, only better. Explore the makeup collection, browse the best-sellers, or discover the classics Nikol reaches for again and again.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Nikol find vintage designer pieces?
She keeps a wish list and hunts patiently across consignment sites and stores. When she spots something in an old magazine she screenshots it and uses Google Lens to identify the designer, then searches for it — a process that can take months or even years for one specific piece.
Is buying vintage designer cheaper than buying new?
Often, yes. Nikol says she frequently pays less on consignment than she would for mid-tier new pieces, and heritage designer items from the 1980s and 90s can hold or even grow in value. Because she reconsigns pieces later, she sometimes recovers most of what she spent.
How does she avoid fakes when shopping secondhand?
Her main safeguard is buying from reputable, established resellers and consignment houses that specialize in authentication, rather than unknown sellers. She is wary of some marketplaces where counterfeits circulate, and does her own research on construction, tags, and details before committing to a piece.
Why did she choose a Saks bag over the Hermès Kelly?
The vintage Kelly she saw carried a very high price plus a 22% VAT, and she had questions about the box leather's condition. She also finds the Kelly hard to open and dislikes the exclusivity game. A vintage Saks Fifth Avenue bag felt easier to use and, to her, richer in history.
Can vintage clothing really fit if the size looks wrong?
Sometimes. Nikol never rules a piece out by its tag size — vintage sizing varies wildly, and classic Chanel jackets were designed with extra seam fabric so they could be let out and sized up. She judges fit and construction in person rather than trusting the label.
How does she care for vintage leather bags?
For her Saks bag she used a leather cleaner and a conditioning moisturizer to gently revive the embossed finish. Light wear like minor edge peeling does not bother her — she sees it as part of a piece's story — but she cleans and moisturizes older leather to keep it supple.
