Premium Aged

If the women of New York City’s Madison Avenue or Paris’ avenue Montaigne ever create a temple to their fashion gods, they might stock it with clothing from e-commerce site Byronesque. Founder Gill Linton’s inventory includes a 1987 Yohji Yamamoto deconstructed top ($1,005) and a 1981 Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren pirate scarf ($2,235). According to Linton, who launched Byronesque in October, sites like Net-a-Porter have conditioned vintage shoppers to expect great things without unnecessary legwork. “Consumers are used to a sophisticated online-shopping environment,” she says. “Smelly thrift stores won’t do anymore.”

Neither will eBay, which works fine for shoppers who know exactly what they want but less well for vintage enthusiasts keen to browse a curated selection. Byronesque is one of several sites with vintage stock that have debuted in the past few months. The team at Brooklyn-based NiftyThrifty scours vintage specialists across the U.S. Vaunte, also based in New York City, sources items from the closets of hundreds of fashion editors, celebrities and socialites. Shop Hers, an online marketplace for contemporary clothes that’s based in Los Angeles, is adding a vintage section to its site, including ball gowns by Chanel and Valentino.

Shop Hers privileges anonymity, as founder Jaclyn Shanfeld buys much of her stock from Hollywood actresses and the wives of CEOs, who wouldn’t want backlash for not donating their clothes to charity. By contrast, Vaunte is more personality-driven, sorting its wares into “closets” of the women selling them: Kingsley and Elizabeth Woolworth, heiresses to the Woolworth fortune, are parting with vintage dresses and skirts worn by their grandmother Pauline, while Ranjana Khan, who has designed jewelry and accessories for Alexander McQueen and Lanvin, listed vintage faux-pearl necklaces and Halston dresses. “These are items that stylish, fashionable women have purchased throughout their lives, so it’s true curation,” says co-founder Christian Leone. “Sellers have the ability to tell a story for every piece they sell. Buyers won’t have to say they went to Neiman Marcus.” Or they could say nothing: their one-of-a-kind finds will speak for themselves.

FOR MORE FASHION COVERAGE, GO TO time.com/style