5 Fashion Archive Instagrams That Are Actually Worth Following

The most colorful and inspiring rabbit holes around.

January 22, 2016

Fashion archiving—which sounds like the most unbelievably banal job description—is a proclivity perfectly matched to the Instagram platform. But reviving decades-old fashion gems isn't purely an aesthetic, social exercise. Done right, it's borderline scholarly. The best, rarest finds contextualize and bind today's trends into a cohesive dialogue with the past. They decode homages, pay tribute to fearless originators, and feed your brain with an endless stream of sartorial candy. In the simplest terms, they explore why style matters. Here are five of our favorites.

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1. The modernist: @c__l__o

While London-based Lauren Faye's account does throw it back from time to time, its most magical quality is in its ability to find timeless moments that are happening in style right now. She has an unusually consistent eye for subtle luxury, elegant monochrome, and really fucking fantastic shoes. Her Instagram is the best place I've found to drool over all three.

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@calvinklein Spring Summer 2016 details 💫

A photo posted by Clo (@c__l__o) on

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2. The streetwear fetishist: @tagsandthreads

Tags and Threads is pretty new to the Instagram archive game, with less than 300 posts and 2,000 followers. But they've come in extremely strong. Their account specializes in late-'80s, early-'90s streetwear and sport ephemera, everything from old Calvin Klein ads to rare Mariah Carey merch. It's not shoppable, but it's a solid crash course for anyone trying to understand the DNA of streetwear today.

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Winter 1986 Nike blue tag collection #vintagenike #nike # bluetag

A photo posted by Tags & Threads (@tagsandthreads) on

3. The found artist: @alanamayjohnson

Alana May Johnson's Instagram bio reads simply, "librarian," which makes sense, as long as you keep in mind that she works at the digital, sartorial equivalent of Borges' "Library of Babel." Her Instagram extends into all directions. It's decontextualized, caption-less, and utterly delightful. There are no lines drawn between past and present, commercial and editorial. For fans of color, design, and style oddities, it's a Willy Wonka-level world of imagination.

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halloween option

A photo posted by Alana Johnson (@alanamayjohnson) on

4. The pop culture academic: @gabriel_held

I know, I know, we've written about Gabriel Held's Instagram account many times before, but for fans of the bizarre world of kitschy celebrity fashion, there's really no better resource. Held cherishes and sanctifies everything over-the-top. If his account is a temple, we're praying at the altar of Y2K-era Lil' Kim. It's truly bewildering how he continues to find hundreds of images we've never seen before, but he manages to do it—every. damn. day.

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Momy omi

A photo posted by GABRIEL HELD (@gabriel_held) on

A photo posted by GABRIEL HELD (@gabriel_held) on

A photo posted by GABRIEL HELD (@gabriel_held) on

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5. The brick-and-mortar: @maryam_nassir_zadeh

In addition to designing objectively perfect shoes and running an inviting little storefront on the Lower East Side, Maryam Nassir Zadeh also happens to have one of the most popping fashion archive Instagrams around. If you love throwback glamour (think: white crepe against skin tanned by the sun in Capri), shades of pastel, and don't mind scrolling through photos of Zadeh's adorable children and ultra-covetable lifestyle, then this is your new home. It's always worth a look, especially when your own life is feeling devoid of magic.

Kate 〰 Naomi

A photo posted by Maryam Nassirzadeh (@maryam_nassir_zadeh) on

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Deborah Colker 4x4

A photo posted by Maryam Nassirzadeh (@maryam_nassir_zadeh) on

MNZ Maryam pumps + @martinianoshoes gloves in @baddaymag shot by @jasonnocito666 styles by 🌸 #avenagallagher @malcolmraeradboy

A photo posted by Maryam Nassirzadeh (@maryam_nassir_zadeh) on

5 Fashion Archive Instagrams That Are Actually Worth Following