The Blacklist: Secondhand favorites

The fashion industry produces a staggering amount of waste, and most of it ends up in landfills long before it’s truly worn out. One reason I started Morbid Aristocracy was to give beautiful, well-made garments a second life rather than a premature burial.

I’m not alone in that - in fact, I’m the new kid on the block. There’s a small but devoted community of sellers who curate gothic, dark romantic and avant-garde clothing from the racks of the past, and I want to celebrate them. These shops choose secondhand over new. They restore, repair and rehome pieces that deserve to be worn again. Sure, there are the behemoths that sell secondhand lux and resale, and they are great, but nothing beats the small shops that do big things (like hunt for those amazing dark alternative pieces. There’s nothing like trying to look cool while hanging back at the thrift store while someone decides whether they will buy the dress you think your virtual peeps will love. I’m ready to pounce and it’s not pretty). Supporting them means supporting a slower, kinder way of dressing in black.

Here are a few of my favorites, starting with the small, independently run shops that are true labors of love:

• The Plain Circle Vintage: https://theplaincircle-vintage.com (Europe)

• Last Rites Vintage: https://www.shoplastrites.com (North America)

• Saturn Return: https://www.shopsaturnreturn.com (North America)

• Archive Vintage: https://archivevintage.com/collections/getwitchy (North America)

• L’OBSCUR: https://lobscur.com (Europe)

• VANIITAS: https://www.vaniitas.com (Europe)

• Vintendo Archive: https://vintendoarchive.com (Europe)

• One of a Kind Archive: http://www.oneofakindarchive.net (Europe)

This list is far from finished. I’ll keep adding to it as I remember other favorites, so check back now and then. If you know a secondhand shop that deserves some love, I’d be glad to hear about it.

Wear the past. Waste less. Stay dark.

— M

Morbid Aristocracy