Amarcord   (Photo: Courtesy of the vendor)

• Clothes

• Amarcord

  252 Lafayette St., nr. Prince St.; 212-431-4161

  New York Vintage has the biggest selection and Resurrection the celebrity-fan buzz, but Amarcord’s Italian-born owners get their stock abroad, meaning a good selection of Valentino, Missoni, Gucci, and Dior. This location is particularly good for party dresses. Recently seen: an eighties couture-finished plaid Yves Saint Laurent dress for $225 and a fuchsia Ungaro silk-and-velvet coat for $195. For men, eighties-era Thierry Mugler pants with a tuxedo stripe for $125, and a Pierre Cardin blazer from the seventies for $145.

• Jewelry

• Pippin

  112 W. 17th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-505-5159

  Wooden cabinets brim with sparkling rhinestone necklaces, cameo earrings, long glass-bead necklaces, and Bakelite bracelets. The emphasis is on value, with hundreds of pieces priced under $50, and drawers filled with $5 pins, earrings, and cuff links.

• Shoes

• Edith Machinist

  104 Rivington St., nr. Ludlow St.; 212-979-9992

  Formerly Edith & Daha (Sarah Daha now runs a shop nearby specializing in secondhand boots), this store has the city’s most extensive collection of well-maintained leather designer heels and flats from the sixties through the nineties. Recent finds: Yves Saint Laurent red pumps from the sixties for $125, chunky brown Valentino heels for $125, silver Fendi flats for $74, and Givenchy navy-and-white square-toed pumps for $75.

From the 2010 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine