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It's easy to get bored with the same old chain stores. But finally Shanghai seems to be getting its head around vintage clothing. Here are a bunch of specialist stores stocking pre-loved clothing, accessories and knick-knacks. Happy rummaging, Shanghai...

Moving is a pain. For Shanghai stalwart, , though, this third relocation in as many years may just be the brand’s most charming premises yet, hidden behind an unassuming blue door in the Former French Concession. More readily associated with boozing, boogieing and pushy beggars, Yongfu Lu’s newest neighbor sets a pace that’s altogether more languid, more effortless and a lot more feminine. Setting up shop right on the corner of Wuyuan, the indomitable Lolo has once again created an oasis of charm, strewn with lace bunting, knick-knacks galore and a plentitude of prettiness. Rounding out the quality clothing we’ve come to expect from Lolo, the new shop ups the ante on crockery, homeware and ornaments – not to mention a darling line of children’s ware (300rmb – 600rmb). For anyone preparing to tie the knot in coming months, there’s also a decent selection of wedding dresses, capped off by a couple of devastatingly romantic veils (788rmb). Whilst men are just about catered for with a reasonable selection of shirts and ties, Lolo Love Vintage is still pleasingly and unashamedly girly, with simple summer dresses starting from 350rmb and evening gown stunners from 3,000rmb or so. A floor-length, cream lace overlay number caught our eye, its plunging back leading to an oh-so-pretty sky blue bow (4,280rmb) – although we’d likely get more use out of a simple hot pink linen shift at a more affordable 528rmb.

Concealed just inside a HuaiHai Lu lane, opened up two months ago, and, true to its name, is a veritable treasure trove of vintage gems, surprising finds and wearable threads from yesteryear. The store marks founder Ting Ting's first off-line foray, having long flogged her secondhand wares on with the help of boyfriend and main sourcer, Philip Fust. His hand in proceedings is palpable, and where other secondhand shops cater largely to the ladies, this one stocks various and covetable paraphernalia to appeal to Shanghai dandies. Thus, alongside dresses, skirts and shoes, you'll find shaving kits, pipes and cameras, all perfectly usable and really rather unusual – cigar cutters crafted from wood, leather and bone, for example, will set you back between 200 and 380rmb. Most of the gems instore are sourced direct from Fust's native Germany (our trip yielded leather lederhosen, no less), and date predominantly from the 70s and 80s. Favorite piece? A multicolored, scalloped-patterned floor length dress for 380rmb, perfect for al fresco evenings; and for cooler climes, a chic bonnet-shaped hat in dark green felt (480rmb). Chock full of all kinds of special stuff, new stock is brought in every month making it a perfect spot to regularly wile away an hour or two.

Long a champion of vintage in Shanghai, has just branched out, opening its second store inside XinleLe.com's . That's housed inside Lolo's former space on Wuyuan and is fast establishing itself as one of the city's top destinations for feminine fashions across a range of established and emerging brands. We checked out both WTB's newest incarnation as well as its original on and whilst both are worthwhile stops on any vintage quests, it's the latter that really won us over. Hung alongside new lines from the likes of Snoozer Loser, Kaileeni and Finch, secondhand delights hail mostly from America and Japan, comfortably covering the 70s and venturing into the 1980s. We love a tie-neck printed frock in lovely ochers, yellows and cream – yours for 800rmb. Also worthy of a mention was a lovely cotton shirt dress, all crisp and white with a cute blue trim, which at 599rmb is perhaps pricier than similar dresses found elsewhere, but very pretty nonetheless. The store itself is a delight: all wooden furniture and natural accents, this is also the place to pick up the brand's signature home-farmed organic honey, and, new in store, chunky bars of scented soap, on sale for 97rmb.

A sprawling underground music store may not seem the most obvious location for a vintage clothing shop, but that's exactly what Shanghai-based DJ Sacco has gone and done at his Pingwu Lu basement, , inviting the DiscoKitty label to flaunt their wares alongside his extensive selection of vinyl. The brains behind the vintage frocks, tops and skirts is the multitalented Sophia Wong – one third of local band Next Year's Love, her cool credentials extend to working at live music venue extraordinaire, . When she's not busy doing all that, Sophia travels regularly to Japan and Korea, sourcing quality vintage fashions from the 70s and 80s, resold through UpTown at eminently reasonable prices. Dresses go from around the 200rmb mark, with tops starting from just 150rmb. Come winter time we'll check back for knitted woolen skirts (150rmb), as well as chunky knits galore, ranging from 100 – 150rmb. To indulge your inner DiscoKitty, either head to UpTown records whenever, or check out their monthly market, hosting all kinds of local designers flogging accessories, secondhand clothing and more. That takes place on the last Sunday of the month, and for details click .

If there's one thing this city does best it's , and Anxi Secondhand is no exception. Not for the faint hearted, vintage hunters should prepare for some serious rummaging in this bargain basement emporium. Not everything is secondhand, and there's lots to discourage – satin, flowery shirts; pastel coloured trousers with elasticated waistbands; and of course, a neat haul of knock-off bags. Split across both sides of Anshun Lu, we fared better on the north side of the street in the outdoor alleyway running the length of the space. It's not necessarily a pleasant experience – a corrugated plastic roof only intensifies summer's heat, all the while trains thundering along the overhead track – but it's one that might just throw up some genuine vintage gems. Stand K07 is crammed full of t-shirts, some passably ironic, some just funny (a Stone Cold Steve Austin tee for 25kwai, anyone?), as well as some ex-army padded camouflage jackets (200rmb). A few stands down at K05 you'll find a baffling array of leather waistcoats and ski salopettes – not sure what they're doing there but still. Indoor finds included a pair of possibly real, well worn Versace jeans (40rmb), pretty summer dresses for around 50rmb, and across the street, a red zip-up leather jacket, beautifully soft, clearly pre-loved and yours for 200rmb. Word to the wise: for every gem, Anxi Secondhand Market has about ten pieces of utter crap. As with so many things, perseverance is key.



Mastered Taobao? Good for you – there's a whole host of stores selling vintage threads like one, one and one. Our favorite, though, is , a regular at the Dada and online purveyors of such gems as cropped Hawaiian print shirts for 39rmb, studded snakeskin jackets for 750rmb and floral tea dresses for 99rmb.

Only interested in designer names? Then might be for you – they specialize in secondhand handbags, shoes and accessories. We spotted a pair of well-worn Miu Miu turquoise slingbacks for an overpriced 2,880rmb and allegedly vintage Hermés scarf for 3580rmb. Worth a look, but approach with caution.

If you're after something really specialist, we like quaint Japanese store who stock a small selection of vintage kimono and accessories – expect to pay around 4,000rmb for one of those, or between 500 – 1000rmb for antique kanzashi hair ornaments.