All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Designwise, mirrors are often one of the easiest ways to open up a space. But a vintage mirror can help accomplish that little bit of magic, while adding its own distinct style.
Picture this: It’s a bright, sunny morning, and beams are streaming through the window as you wake up to get ready for a blissful Sunday. You put on your favorite jeans and comfiest sandals, and as you’re shouldering your tote, you catch a glimpse of yourself in your one of a kind mirror and decide to snap an effortless selfie. Life is good.
While selfies can be effortless, as we all know, vintage shopping isn’t. It’s even more difficult if you’re doing it online. It’s not just a matter of clicking “buy.” You need to make sure you’re asking the right questions and getting the right information to ensure you’re purchasing the best quality item. We spoke with some experts to help you find a great vintage mirror.
No clouds here
You don’t want to spend your time and money purchasing a mirror that reflects a grainy version of yourself. This can often be the case with older mirrors, since many of them were made with mercury, which sometimes causes the glass to look spotty or cloudy. Lifestyle differences can also account for less than clear glass. “There was an era where everyone just smoked in their homes,” Taylor Fimbrez, owner and operator of Odd Eye NYC, says. “So there’s a whole era of stuff that’s ’70s and ’80s that you’ll find just [has] lots of smoke damage. A lot of that does apply to mirrors and they’ll be really cloudy.” So a word to the wise: Ask about the clarity of a mirror before you buy.
If you don’t want to part with your cloudy mirror, in most cases you can replace the glass as long as the frame allows for it, Taylor says. He adds that depending on factors such as size, cut, and thickness, this could cost anywhere from $20 to $200.
Know your specs
Most online retailers will provide a mirror’s specifications, including measurements like the height, length, and width for you to check how it will fit in your home. But Jessica Li, cofounder and curator of Renewfinds, in New York City, urges buyers to pay attention to more than just the measurements—a mirror’s weight and knowing which material it is made of are also important factors.
“If it’s really light, it just means it’s [maybe] not made in the best quality,” she explains, also noting that some wooden mirrors can be hollow, which can have impact on their price. Weight and material can also help inform important factors such as how much you will pay for the mirror itself, as well as how much you will ultimately spend on transportation and hanging it up in your space.
Set a realistic budget
One word of caution from Taylor when it comes to shopping for mirrors online: Be cautious of shipping.
“A lot of people don’t understand the process of something getting from L.A. to New York in one piece,” he explains. “A lot of people pack things in the weirdest ways.” One way to cover all the bases? Taylor suggests seeing if you can pay a bit extra to ensure it is shipped as carefully as possible, so you don’t receive a package full of mirror shards instead of the dreamy piece you wanted to hang in your living room.
Know the landscape
First things first: If you’re saying “antique” instead of “vintage,” you’re doing it wrong. Something’s “antique” if it’s 100 years old, and “vintage” if it’s less than 100. If something’s antique versus vintage, that might also impact the price.
In terms of the styles and kinds of mirrors you can buy, the world’s your oyster! There’s a wide variety, ranging from grand, gilded, and golden, to ultramodern, throwback IKEA mirrors, and even some novelty options, as Taylor points out. “[Mirrors are] universal,” he adds. “It’s really just a matter of taste.”
Lifestyle and fashion influencer Tania Sarin’s Deco-inspired mirror was sourced via Pop Up Home.
Ye Rin Mok
So where can I find a vintage mirror?
There’s no shortage of retailers well stocked with vintage mirrors. You can rely on millions of Etsy, 1stDibs, and Chairish merchants. Jessica says it is important to note that items sold on 1stDibs or Chairish are typically priced 30% higher than what you might find directly from a store, due to the additional fees incurred by sellers on those platforms. Because of the fees, sellers will often mark up the price to ensure they’re making a profit.
If you’re looking for something a bit more small-scale and personal, you might want to investigate resale marketplaces or independent vintage sellers like Jessica or Taylor. Here are a few of our favorite sources to get you started.
Jessica’s Renew Finds has plenty of vintage items and reproductions to choose from, including some modern mirrors. Among the popular items she sells are reproductions of the tall lipstick mirrors originally designed by Roger Lecal in the ’70s. Jessica describes these mirrors as fantastic “conversation starters” that are perfect for nestling in the corner of a room.
If you’re looking for a wide variety of classic styles and materials for your mirror, then Etsy’s a tried-and-true way to find something special. While things can get snatched up pretty quickly, the site hosts millions of options to choose from—from a deep stock of vintage IKEA to completely one of a kind treasures—and sellers add to their inventories daily. So just sit back and bide your time until you find something that is the right fit for you.
“Personally, I invest money in things I know that are the classics, or [that’s] so-weird-that-it’s-never-going-to-go-out-of-style,” Taylor says when explaining his approach to sourcing vintage items. And that outlook certainly shines through in some of the stock his store has, like this Lucio Del Pezzo graphic mirror. So if you fall into either the “classic camp” or “so-unique-it’s-borderline-weird” group, Odd Eye might just be for you.
1stDibs curates scores of luxury, brand-recognizable items to populate your home. So if you’re well versed on bold, high-style designs that redefine what to expect from a mirror and have a bigger budget to work with, have a fun time perusing the virtual aisles of 1stDibs the same way you would any other vintage shop.
For those with a love of metallics and metalwork, Pop Up Home is a good place to look. Pop Up Home, based in Los Angeles, is another independently owned, vintage furniture store, that specializes in midcentury-modern pieces and is the perfect place to find something with sleek and defined lines or grooves.
Shopping on Chairish, which is similar to 1stDibs, is also like an online version of rifling through a vintage furniture store or gallery. Their stock and what they curate is also very similar to 1stDibs, meaning you have a good chance of finding original, designer, vintage items—like the ultragroovy and superpopular Ultrafragola mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass in the ’70s.
Ultrafragola Mirror with Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, 1970s
This one’s for the West Coast, and the stock at Urban Americana absolutely screams ’70s, West Coast Americana. Frames are the name of the game at this store, with many of the mirrors framed with sturdy wood, while some even feature designs and prints on the glass itself, and others feature intricate metalwork.
Facebook Marketplace is the perfect online hunting ground for finding unique secondhand and vintage items if you’re working with a budget and aren’t married to any specific type of mirror—especially if you live in a big city. Just note that you’ll likely be responsible for picking up whatever item you buy and might have to get creative about how you get it home.
Vintage 1970’s Op Art Mirrors (2) in the style of Greg Copeland mid Century Mirrors
Portmanteau, based in Long Island City and founded by Trévon Warren and Zachary William Allen, doesn’t shy away from any style when it comes to their stock, which can be reflected (sorry but not sorry) in their array of mirrors. From screen print novelty mirrors to funky-shaped pocket mirrors to abstract and classic frames, you can find something for any home setup.
Vintage purveyors will appreciate Dendwell, founded by Tenlie Mourning, for their editorial content as well as the highly curated marketplace of vintage items. The stock, which is supplied by top-quality vintage sellers across North America, is full of effortless pieces all with individual bits of flair—like this understated glass-mirror-and-wrought-iron-frame that smoothly curls into a candleholder.
In The Comfort Of, a vintage furniture store based in Seattle, is another independent retailer that sells modern and relatively minimal items. Their pieces are simple and classic, but can still make a statement in any home. Check out their store if you’re looking for a classy, round mirror with a wooden frame or a more contemporary, overlaid one.
Lots of retailers take cues from vintage styles in their product designs. So if you still want the vintage look without all the hunting, try some of these vintage-inspired floor mirrors and more.
