5 brands to look for on Vinted if you love Gucci by Tom Ford Same hot girl vibes, more honest prices

The era of Tom Ford's Gucci is universally regarded as a small golden age of (more or less) recent fashion. Today's Gucci keeps referencing it, countless other brands strive to imitate it, and many archive fashion enthusiasts are still buying it. There's just one problem: whereas until a few years ago you could still find unsuspecting users on Vinted selling an old Gucci jacket for next to nothing, nowadays even a vague "archive" label, with no collection specified and no proof the piece ever appeared on a runway, is enough to send the price of the most ordinary blouse soaring.

Enter the "vintage dupes": brands worth hunting down that aren't Tom Ford's Gucci but carry the same vibe, at obviously bargain prices. When searching Vinted for this aesthetic, look for low waists, hourglass tops, vaguely flared trousers in leather or velvet, asymmetry and necklines, dark or hyper-saturated colours and, of course, prints and patterns that could have come straight from the wallpaper of a 1970s porn set. Everything is tight, draped, sexy. You can't replicate the original, but you can imitate it, you can channel the vibe.

Here, then, are the 5 brands to look for on Vinted if you love Tom Ford's Gucci.

1. Donna Karan

The first and most famous brand on our list, Donna Karan, isn't an obvious analogue of Tom Ford's style — and yet today several pieces work as perfect dupes. Founded in 1985 in New York, Donna Karan revolutionised the female wardrobe throughout the 1990s with the concept of the "Seven Easy Pieces": essential, versatile but never prudish garments. The founder later left the brand, which was sold first to LVMH and then to G-III Apparel, who relaunched it. If you want the real juice, though, you need pieces produced before 2002, give or take a year. Her items from the golden years were simply extraordinary, both in quality and in vibes. On Vinted today you can find blazers and trousers in stretch velvet or cashmere, deep-cut bodysuits, bias-cut dresses in silk or jersey, faux-fur gilets and very "New York in the '90s" coats.

2. Bebe

Let's venture into the valley of forgotten brands. Bebe was founded in 1976 in San Francisco by Manny Mashouf and was initially a standard mall brand. Its footprint kept growing, however — at one point it owned over 300 stores across the US and the rest of the world, launched a sportswear line in 2003, and in 2006 its ambassador was Mischa Barton, which says a great deal about its success among American teenagers. A disclaimer is necessary here: if you want that Gucci by Tom Ford vibe, you must avoid any piece bearing the logo. They're a bit tacky. But beyond that, sifting through the piles of the brand's archive, you'll find mountains of fitted knit tops, animal prints, and low-rise trousers in velvet or denim, satin or sequinned mini-dresses with side cut-outs, and cropped jackets.

3. Marlboro Classics pre-2009

Here we arrive at the unexpected name. The brand born in the 1970s as Marlboro Country Store with an American Western inspiration became Marlboro Classics in 1987 and then MCS in 2009. For vintage hunters, the sweet spot falls precisely in the near-two-decade stretch between the two name changes. It is still active internationally. But the brand's pieces found second-hand on Vinted — especially womenswear — remix certain Texan vibes typical of Tom Ford in an incredible way, blending a slightly '90s, slightly Y2K sensibility. Think Western shirts with tailored details, short leather or suede jackets, cowboy belts, and tight, figure-hugging tops with plunging necklines. A surprising brand to search for, but trust the process.

4. Plein Sud

Founded in 1984 by Fayçal Amor, Plein Sud exploded in the 1990s with a design language built on bold asymmetry, fluid draping, buttery leathers and an utterly commanding vibe. To understand just how important Fayçal Amor was, it's worth knowing that he was the one who provided John Galliano with the physical space and financial backing to found the brand bearing his name in 1989. Plein Sud's garments have always been very, very sexy. On Vinted, look for the cropped draped tops, the long dresses, the jackets and T-shirts with surgically fitted hips — though skirts and sequin-covered pieces are plentiful too. All feature romantic-bohemian details that perfectly evoke the exotic sensuality and volumes of Gucci by Tom Ford.

5. Roberto Cavalli and his various sub-labels

Roberto Cavalli and his two sub-labels, Just Cavalli and Cavalli Class, need no introduction. Cavalli is the king of Italian maximalism, and both the brand's founding and its absolute peak of popularity coincided with a golden era in Italian fashion manufacturing — one that came to an end with the collapse of Ittierre, when even the most trivial T-shirt from the most trivial diffusion line boasted a quality that today can only be found at the most expensive brands. All vintage Cavalli is therefore not only endowed with an aesthetic somewhere between lolita and femme fatale (think Cameron Diaz in The Counselor), but also sails very close to the aesthetic of summer Gucci by Tom Ford — especially the flared trousers and certain long draped or low-cut dresses.