Unlike New York, where it can seem like stores filled with throwback treasures are in every borough and on every corner, in Moscow, the overwhelming answer to "Where are all the vintage shops?" usually comes in two forms, ranging from "I don’t shop secondhand" or "Go to Saint Petersburg!" But pry hard enough, and you are bound to discover some stellar, under-the-radar gems that Slavic fashion die-hards love. Stores like Freak Frak have a Soviet kitsch flair with racks filled with pieces from Nikita Khrushchev’s USSR, while places like Peremotka have a collectsion of frocks from almost every era. Here, we spoke with three Muscovite It girls, from designers to DJs, about where to head in Moscow for a chic blast from the past.
Photo: Courtesy of Freak Frak Vintage / @freakfrak_vintage1/4Freak Frak Vintage
Instagram: @freakfrak_vintage
Though most vintage stores in Moscow sell Western designer pieces, Freak Frak specializes in Soviet fashion. It’s filled with plenty of high-waisted A-line pleated skirts, straight-from-the-village shirt dresses, and scenic school teacher–type vests. "I love graphics of the Soviet time, so going to Freak Frak Vintage is more like research more than shopping," says ZDDZ designer Dasha Selyanova. "But then I just browse and always find cool stuff accidentally!"
Photo: Courtesy of Peremotka / @peremotka2/4Peremotka
Instagram: @peremotka
"The owner is obsessed with vintage clothes," says INDEXflat owner Anka Tsitsishvili. "I found a beautiful kimono there from the sixties, which was hand-painted." And from trippy sixties style frocks with pom-pom–fringed sleeves to diaphanous lace slips, Peremotka has all of the dresses a well-heeled Muscovite could want.
Photo: Courtesy of B'noir / @bnoir_store3/4B’Noir
Instagram: @bnoir_store
"At B’Noir, a buyer chooses clothes not because the label is well-known, but because every piece is worth it," says Tsitsishvili. "They carry everything from Anne-Marie Beretta, Escada, Claude Montana, and Chanel. Also, you can find vintage denim there, which usually fits perfectly. I have a few jeans!" Here, you’ll cover all of your eras. Finds include everything from a seafoam green pleated dress from the sixties, a frock coat with a massive fur collar from the fifties, to a long suede A-line skirt from the seventies. Plus, their #dailyINSPIRATION photos on Instagram reflect the aesthetic in stock, which is anything from the bedazzled cast of Dynasty to Jane Birkin in a pearl-embellished minidress.
Photo: Courtesy of Vintage Voyage / @vintage_voyage4/4Vintage Voyage
Instagram: @vintage_voyage
Whether you’re looking for an accessories fix (there’s a Chanel Bakelite brooch or a pair of Ted Lapidus geometric shades for that) or to wrap yourself up in a Balenciaga shirtdress from the sixties or a Givenchy frock full of flowers, you should drop anchor at Vintage Voyage, a curated trove of all things rare. "They’ve got dream labels!" says DJ Natalia Turovnikova. "I still remember my first time when I tried on the Le Smoking [tuxedo suit] by Yves Saint Laurent there."
