I Found Affordable Vintage Versions of This Season's Expensive It Items

For most of us, buying a pricey designer item each season isn't all that financially realistic. New handbag silhouettes, shoe shapes, clothing trends, and the like are simply too much to keep up with without blowing your budget. Thankfully, there are other options, and perhaps one of the best alternatives is vintage. Anyone who's been turned on to the world of vintage already knows that it's a treasure trove of, well, treasures. One-of-a-kind pieces from the past are not only the more affordable way to develop your personal style, but this is also an environmentally minded approach.

Keeping this in mind, I rounded up some of the season's more expensive It items and scoured Etsy to procure similar pieces. From prairie dresses to square-toe mules, the shopping list below should help reinvigorate your wardrobe for the months to come.

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(Image credit: @bettinalloney)

This year, Staud handbags (and shoes, for that matter) really began to pick up speed. The cult-favorite label churned out multiple styles and silhouettes that the fashion circuit embraced with open arms, including this mini bag dubbed Kenny.

The It Item

The Vintage Version

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(Image credit: @camillecharriere)

Chanel, land of beautiful boots, handbags, jewelry, clothing, and haute couture. It's unsurprising the legendary Parisian house's white go-go boots are an instant classic.

The It Item

The Vintage Version

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(Image credit: @chrissyford)

Similar to Cecilie Bahnsen and Batsheva, Dôen has become the kind of brand that's instantly distinguishable. Thanks to its prairie-like designs and micro-floral patterns, wearing a Dôen dress is the easiest way to feel polished in a flash.

The It Item

The Vintage Version

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(Image credit: @double3xposure)

Speaking of Cecilie Bahnsen, the label's ethereal puff-sleeve creations are the coolest way to embrace the modest dressing trend right now.

The It Item

The Vintage Version

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(Image credit: Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images)

It was a good year for Bottega Veneta. The brand's new creative director, Daniel Lee, breathed new life into the label's iconic woven motif, including these square-toe sandals that almost every fashion editor was spotted wearing during fashion week. 

The It Item

The Vintage Version

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(Image credit: Christian Vierig/Getty Images)

Loewe made square sunglasses decidedly cool again, with playful colorways to choose from and an overall modern-meets-retro aesthetic.

The It Item

The Vintage Version

Next up: the ultimate guide to shopping on Etsy, including helpful hacks.

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Nicole Kliest
Freelance Contributor

Nicole Kliest is a freelance writer and editor based in New York City who focuses on fashion, travel, food, wine, and pretty much anything else that's amusing to write about. After graduating from Pepperdine University with a bachelor's in journalism and creative writing, she started her career back in 2010 asBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing 's photo editor and throughout the last decade has contributed to publications including Fashionista, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, The Zoe Report, PopSugar, Fodor's Travel, and several others. She also copywrites and has worked with clients such as Frame, Sea, 3x1, Intelligentsia, and others to develop brand voices through storytelling and creative marketing. She's very passionate about the ways we can improve our sustainability efforts in the fashion industry as well as cultivating content that's diverse and inclusive of all people. When she's not checking out Wholesale Replica Bag restaurant opening in her West Village neighborhood or riding her bicycle along the West Side Highway, she can be found scheming her next trip somewhere around the world. (Up next is Vienna.)