how to find vintage that looks like dôen
how to find vintage that looks like dôen
five keywords to know
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Has anyone else been noticing the Dôen vibe shift?
(I enjoy adding the ô cause it feels like I’m conjugating the verb doing in another language lol). The coastal California brand came on my radar about two years ago, selling rustic feminine pieces like peasant blouses and long cotton dresses. I think it really took off because of the post-pandemic preference for “easy” clothes that evoked luxurious domesticity, like Hill House’s Nap Dress and Christy Dawn’s rust-colored frocks. I actually didn’t *love* their clothes before, to be honest.
But lately, I find myself more drawn to their new collections. The design has stepped up. These are things I would wear: silk body-grazing dresses, limoncello-twinged midi skirts, knit pointelle cardigans. The current vibe is Reformation girl quits her job in the city, donates all her going-out dresses and moves to a quaint town where she spends her days working at the local inn and hand-washing her gingham knickers. Dare I say, Dôen makes tradwife-y clothes for the girl who writes cultural criticism essays about tradwives?
It’s also gotten more expensive. Their prices have gone up so I mostly look for items secondhand, but even then—they have wildly high resale value for some reason. Last summer, I bought two cotton pieces from Poshmark—a cropped tank top blouse and long dress. I love the versatility and they’ve held up through sweaty wears and laundry cycles.
This week I felt a renewed determination find vintage clothes that look like Dôen, mainly because I want more affordable options.
Because I was majorly procrastinating on writing assignments, I ended up spending 20+ hours researching what keywords to search to find the best clothes (silk + cotton fabrications, cute designs, reasonable prices). It was a lot of work, but I also wasn’t starting from scratch! Last year I found this wonderful silk Edwardian skirt with little blue bows on the hem for $68 on eBay, and it fit like a glove. It’s one of my most treasured items. So I had some recall of keywords from that skirt hunt, but this time I approach it with more diligence.
Here are the five keywords to know. Also, everything I found is under $100.
#1: Petticoat Skirt
The Sebastiane Skirt is Dôen’s best-selling item. And you know what, I GET IT. It’s a really cute cotton skirt that is simple, but the right amount of construction details that make it look vintage. It’s $228, which may be a lot or not that much depending on your budget. I know a lot of girls who have bought it and love it. Maybe one day I’ll bite, but it is very possible to find this style of skirt secondhand! Search “petticoat skirt.” This will send you in the right direction of skirts: tiered, ankle-grazing, white, cotton.
This made-to-order cotton petticoat skirt on Etsy starts at $35, and has little black bows on the hem.
No material listed, but this $14 sheer prairie skirt with swiss dots is really pretty. I would layer a pale pink slip skirt underneath, one with a lace trim, to work around the sheer situation.
A $50 dead ringer for the Dôen skirt on eBay. Very impressed with the construction and handiwork. There’s loads of these on eBay if you start digging around.