Vintage Fashion

The trendiest sector of the antiques market? With dedicated fairs and specialist auctions, this area draws both collectors looking for pieces of fashion history as well as buyers looking simply for something to wear.

Clothes worn by celebrities often make the headline prices but even more affordable pieces of costume by now-forgotten designers have their place in the market. 


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Egyptian sculptural fragments are big hitters in a wide-ranging worldwide selection of lots

25 August 2025

Biannual sale at Gloucestershire firm once again provides eclectic range of lots from across the globe

Harlequin Mini Crini

Vivienne Westwood collection brings punk spirit of the 1970s to the Yorkshire Dales

20 August 2025

What was thought to be the largest private collection of Vivienne Westwood (1941-2022) garments to be sold outside London went under the hammer at Tennants (24% buyer’s premium) in North Yorkshire on August 15.

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Items of dress fit for an emperor adorn Vienna saleroom

11 August 2025

Even though the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was abolished in 1918, there is still no shortage of nostalgic buyers for memorabilia and relics from the House of Habsburg.

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German tropical grandeur embodied in an elaborate pith helmet

11 August 2025

When the situation demanded it, German consular officials in the tropics were required to wear a ceremonial helmet.

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Chalençon collection: More than 100 Napoleon lots ride into auction action

04 August 2025

Pierre-Jean Chalençon is well known as an enthusiast for Napoleonic memorabilia and this summer Sotheby’s Paris (27/22/15% buyer’s premium) offered just over 100 lots from his collection.

A zinc covered Louis Vuitton trunk

Second Louis Vuitton trunk steams into Surrey saleroom

30 July 2025

Following the sale of a rare 1920s Louis Vuitton Explorer trunk for a hammer price of £130,000 at John Nicholson’s on June 11, a second example emerged at the Surrey auction house this month.

2705AR Tennants Tommy Cooper Robe

Magic robe worn by Tommy Cooper during his last performance now bought at auction by David Copperfield

25 July 2025

A robe worn by magician and comedian Tommy Cooper (1921-84) during the performance in which he which he suffered a heart attack and collapsed on stage has been sold at a North Yorkshire auction.

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Record-breaking Birkin points to bags of potential in vintage accessories market

21 July 2025

Sotheby’s €7m sale of the original Hermès Birkin handbag, custom made for late actress and singer Jane Birkin in 1985, has given some welcome exposure to the market for preloved luxury accessories. And for many of today’s collectors, vintage is best.

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Dior brooch chimes again, this time at Birmingham auction

21 July 2025

Just a month after a rare Christian Dior (1905-57) musical brooch was sold Tajan in Paris, two more examples appeared for sale at Fellows’ (30% buyer’s premium inc VAT) Handbags & Accessories auction in Birmingham on June 24.

Original Birkin Bag

Original Jane Birkin Hermès handbag takes €7m at Paris auction

11 July 2025

A new record has been set for a luxury handbag as the 'original' Hermès Birkin bag was hammered down at €7m at Sotheby's in Paris.

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Bank vault opens to reveal treasures ‘from Scandinavian aristocracy’

23 June 2025

Oxfordshire sale includes minaudière designed as an alternative to traditional handbags - plus a more conventional ‘French Jazz Age’ evening bag

2699NE Kerry Taylor Ruffler

Rare survivor: 17th century ruffler ruffles feathers at auction

20 June 2025

An early 17th-century shaped linen ruffler, believed to be the only known example to ever appear at auction, was hammered down at £230,000 – 30-times its estimate – in south London.

2698NE Vuitton Nicholsons 1

Louis Vuitton trunk steams in to the saleroom and takes £130,000

12 June 2025

A scarce Louis Vuitton wardrobe steamer trunk dating from the 1920s or earlier sold for £130,000 hammer (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at John Nicholson’s on June 11.

Rudi Gernreich 1964 monokini

Kerry Taylor Auctions hosts first US sale with Peggy Moffitt collection

27 May 2025

Kerry Taylor Auctions hosted its first US auction on May 21, offering the collection of Peggy Moffitt – the American model who died last year.

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Fashion expert Kerry Taylor expands offerings stateside

28 April 2025

Kerry Taylor Auctions is expanding with new premises in Jersey City, US.

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My word, what a Louis Vuitton trunk...

14 April 2025

Trunks for books which could be placed on a table, showcasing the volumes inside, are among Louis Vuitton’s most popular and collectable early models.

Embroidered gauntlet gloves

A gift of the king: Civil War gauntlet gloves quadruple estimate at Bonhams

20 March 2025

The timed online sale of Books & Manuscripts at Bonhams Knightsbridge that closed on March 20 included a pair of 17th century embroidered gauntlet gloves that reference one of the most famous – and most romanticised – moments of the Civil War.

Tommy Cooper’s fez

Just like that, Tommy Cooper’s ‘last fez’ sells at auction

19 March 2025

Tommy Cooper’s (1921-1984) ‘last fez’ appeared at Hansons in Woburn, Bedfordshire, doubling its estimate to fetch £7000 (plus 26.5% buyer’s premium).

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Westwood and McClaren shirt suits parachuting punks

03 March 2025

A piece of British punk fashion history drew stiff competition at Newcastle saleroom Anderson & Garland (25% buyer’s premium).

Howard Carter's suitcase

Famed archaeologist Howard Carter’s suitcase emerges at Elstob

21 February 2025

The archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 gifted his suitcase to his colleague and friend John Healey in 1939 and will now be auctioned at Elstob

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