Can you imagine a time where you didn’t obsess over owning that perfect pair of vintage jeans? Long before we were reconsidering fanny packs, bike shorts, or even “dad” sneakers, finding that perfect pre-loved, high-waisted denim was a top shopping priority for fashion and vintage enthusiasts alike. Though you would think that it would be easier to track down secondhand jeans in the age of two-day shipping, those true gems—the ones that fit just right at the waist, butt, and thighs, with no awkward pouches in sight—remain elusive. Unless, of course, you know exactly where to shop.

It’s an open secret that some of the most stylish people you know turn to Instagram to find those extra-special fashion items everyone asks about. Same goes for vintage denim. There’s one account in particular that’s become a destination for the fashion flock: Passport Vintage, an Etsy shop that was once a part-time side-hustle and is now a proper brick-and-mortar store in Austin, Texas (with its own shoe line!). Since its inception in 2014, Passport Vintage has sold 4,300 pairs of jeans online (its in-store count: 4,200), according to co-founder Maria Oliveira.

“For the first two years, [we] were online-only, running the business out of our apartment in Humboldt Park [in Chicago],” Oliveira says. “We moved to Austin because we felt it was a better environment to grow the business. After three months, we opened our brick-and-mortar—that’s what sparked the evolution of our customer.”

So, what’s Passport Vintage’s secret? As with any second hand store, there’s exclusivity and consistency—but it’s also the edit: Passport Vintage does a lot of the heavy lifting for you, sifting through loads of vintage to identify those truly special (and Instagrammable) denim pieces worth the online bid war for. (Plus, Oliviera says the boutique curates its collection to match current fashion trends.) It also makes sure to provide as much information as possible—measurements, fabric make-up, and so on—so that online shoppers feel more at ease (and have more success) thrifting online.

Though the experience of shopping vintage online versus in-store is markedly different, Oliviera notes that the most sought-after brand is the same for both: “We sell vintage Levi’s over any other brand,” she says. “It’s what people come to our shop for. We still carry a variety of other vintage denim brands because there are so many amazing vintage pieces that we cannot pass up, but our focus is definitely on Levi’s.”

So, if you’re on your own hunt to scoring the perfect pair of vintage Levi’s—or any other type of thrifted denim—Oliveira has shared four key tips for acing the online vintage hunt.

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