Have you ever noticed that many of the hot vintage designer bags being sold online come from Japan? It is common for prominent resellers to source inventory from individuals and stores in the country for good reason.

 

One PurseBop community member decided to check out the vintage shops in Tokyo herself. Here’s what @queen_isabelle8 found and learned.

Some of you may be experienced secondhand/vintage shoppers. Personally, my experience is limited to a few vintage purchases but I have become more open to it lately. It takes a lot for me to be convinced to buy something when it is not straight out of a boutique. Nonetheless, I also want to say that I have a particular taste and that not every collection offers me the options I like. When also looking at the recent price increases of houses like Chanel – it definitely opened me up to consider the secondhand market as well as long as I know the source is trustworthy. My biggest fear is to buy counterfeit or to purchase something that was acquired via criminal activities. After being robbed myself, you think a lot about these things and they shape your behavior (not just purchasing but also what you share with your community).

So – let’s get started and talk about the shops, their collections and prices before you get bored! There are pictures of each store for reference, where you see what they have in stock with some insights on what to expect to pay. This will help you compare the resale market and assess whether or not it is worth it for you to acquire a bag/accessories/RTW in Japan or not when offered the opportunity. Important Information: Always take your passport with you as generally most shops will charge you the duty free price at checkout! This is generally applicable when shopping in Japan.

 

Qoo Vintage

With my research at hand, I began my hunt for the best vintage shop with Qoo Vintage located in Shibuya right off the Omote-Sando metro station.

Qoo is a beautiful, two story store that offers a vast collection of Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and more. It offers beautiful RTW pieces from YSL to Fendi from the 90s, with a particular strong suit when it comes to Chanel vintage jewelry and bags. 

Since this was the first vintage shop on my list, I didn’t know how to feel about the prices and whether they are comparable to other vintage shops. Prices seemed to be on the higher end and, after visiting the other stores, I can confirm that Qoo was the most expensive shop. It is nonetheless a stunning boutique with an incredible collection of bags. The store is done very tastefully and the staff is friendly and helpful.

Casanova

After exploring Qoo, I made my way to Casanova which is only a couple of walking minutes away from Qoo. One thing that I learned was that Casanova Vintage has two separate stores near each other. One has a strong focus on ready-to -wear whereas the other focuses on accessories. I first went to the ready-to-wear shop, which has a very hip vibe and style. Fun fact, you must wear slippers over your shoes when entering the store. The shop offers clothing for both men and women and has a small but noticeable selection of Hermes and Louis Vuitton. It was a fun store and the collection was very nice. Prices seemed fair to me as well. If I were looking for stylish and flashy clothing, this would be my go to place. 

Next, I walked straight down the street and saw the storefront with a big “Goyard” sign and shelves in the window, and a fun vibe. I entered and started looking at the selection of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Hermes bags, and I must say it was very cool. There was a wide range of options including some smaller leather goods and a lot of Louis Vuitton pieces. 

This is the place for fans of Goyard, as the store had a big inventory from the brand.

After inspecting the Goyard goods, I felt more confident examining the bags and set my sights on the Chanel pieces. The store had some really good vintage bags, well as pieces from newer sold out collections. Still, I focused on the older styles. The vintage Dior pieces were also special.

 The Casanova staff is very friendly and I had a nice chat. The items are fairly priced. You can also attempt to negotiate a little but, generally, the prices are fixed. This store was definitely one of my favorite ones and I would return to Casanova when back in Tokyo!

Brand Collect

After a little snack filled with Matcha inspired ingredients, I made my way to the next vintage shop called “Brand Collect”, also located in Shibuya. This re-seller apparently has multiple stores in Tokyo, and this location had just recently opened so they had special prices as well. It was a gorgeous store with RTW, shoes, bags, some fashion jewelry, and hats of various brands.

Additionally, a selection of beautiful Kelly and Birkin bags caught my attention. After checking the prices and the overall condition of their goods, I have to say it was quite good despite the age of the bags.

For example I examined a Kelly 32 in black box leather with gold hardware from 1972 and you could barely see any signs of use. The dust bag was included and the price of this bag was slightly under US$8,000. You can see details of the bags in the pictures. At this point I was very much considering buying this Kelly bag since it was so special. However, I ended up not buying it – and likely will regret it.

 

Camellia Vintage

Lastly, I went to a store called “Camellia Vintage” located conveniently close to Casanova in a nice shopping area. Camellia Vintage has a focus on mostly leather goods and less on RTW.

They offered a wide selection of Chanel and Hermes with some great limited edition items. Some of them were from older collections and some bags were almost brand new – such as a Kelly 25 in Beton Togo with GHW. Of course the brand new, full set bags have a much higher price tag, comparable to reseller prices in the US and Europe. This particular Kelly was listed for US$22,000. The older Birkins were around US$10,000 to US$13,000. Personally speaking, I thought these are good prices for them, considering that we are talking about classic B30 and 35s with leather/hardware combinations such as Black Togo with GHW or Gold Togo in PHW!

My focus, however, was the Chanel  flap bags since that is one of my favorite styles to wear daily. Classic flaps from the 90’s were sold for under or around US$4,000. The bags were beautiful and in very good condition. There were also lower priced options, especially for brands like Louis Vuitton.

After my visits to the above-mentioned stores I can share my verdict: Shopping for luxury in Japan is fun and exciting. If you have an upcoming trip to Japan, make time to visit vintage shops. Maybe you will end up buying something special that will remind you of this beautiful country or you manage to track down an item that has been on your wishlist for years. You never know 🙂

 

Walking into boutiques, you cannot anticipate what is in stock and you likely will walk out pleasantly surprised. My experience felt very safe. I had discussions with sales staff from multiple stores regarding the authentication process and it was very clear that Japan has a very strict anti-counterfeit policy which is heavily enforced. All of the stores must work with experts to authenticate each item individually, and they also work closely with the police. 

 

Casanova and Camellia vintage were my top choices. Not only do they have a great stock, but also the prices tended to provide a great deal! They are located close to one another so if you go to either of them, it is a must to stop by the other too.

 

Find Hanna on Instagram at @queen_isabelle8