10 July 2026 |
The Vintage Project in Beverly Hills dresses the likes of Hailey Bieber, Nina Dobrev, and Lori Harvey.
Glance at any red carpet these days and you’ll notice that archival, runway pieces have become the norm. From Zendaya’s Givenchy spring 1997 couture dress and matching headpiece for the Odyssey premiere to Margot Robbie’s John Galliano spring 1992 coat for Wuthering Heights, stylists are in a race to source the rarest vintage designs for their clients. That’s where Sarah Jordan Buss comes in. The stylist and founder of The Vintage Project in Beverly Hills, which opened its doors back in October 2025, Buss is more than a shop owner — she’s an encyclopedia of designers and fashion history. That’s reflected in the curation which spans 1920s wedding gowns to rare shoes by John Galliano for Dior. And that sharp eye is reflected in her clientele, dressing everyone from Hailey Bieber to Nina Dobrev to Lori Harvey to stylish non-famous women seeking a special find.
Tucked away in an inconspicuous 1930s Art Deco building, The Vintage Project feels like the ultimate IYKYK experience. In order to shop, clients must make a 90-minute appointment and fill out a short questionnaire that includes relevant info like sizing, taste preferences, and if this visit is for a special event. From there Buss pulls together an offering in the space, offering a truly personalized experience that still allows the customer to shop and explore. Everything is meant to be seen in real life — there are no plans to bring the showroom online.
We sat down with Buss and discussed everything from her devotion to international vintage hunting to holy grails to advice on taking care of what we already own.
Photography Courtesy of Austin Leis
When did you start collecting vintage?
I was very young. It was out of necessity. My mom always took me thrifting and she was sheltering me from thinking that it was worth less than going to the stores to buy new clothes. She made it really fun, like a game. We would compete on who would find the prettiest or the more glamorous things.
When did you decide to make a business out of this passion?
Vintage wasn’t really my focus at first, even if it made an impression on me at such a young age. When I was styling I could go and pull from stores but I gravitated towards the vintage pieces that I source at the last minute.
Your collection already feels so established. Walking in, it feels like this has been here forever, in the best way.
That was the intention. The space was a blank canvas and I knew I wanted to respect all of these designers by creating something nice. It had to feel old so I hired someone to come and install crown molding. Everything is custom made.
What was the first designer piece that you bought for yourself, and what was the first piece that you sold?
As a kid I found a Betsey Johnson dress, at the height of her hot pink stores that were in all the malls — it was the cool place to shop.
I don’t remember the first piece I sold. Within my friend group, I got the reputation for: “We’re gonna go hit Sarah’s closet” and it was always my vintage pieces. I always gravitated towards Galliano, and once I started building that collection that’s where everyone would go.
At my opening event, I had zero intention to sell anything. But people were pushing each other out of the way to try on pieces. So I sold a ton of stuff, even though it was chaotic. That was sweet and cool.
Sarah Jordan Buss, Owner of The Vintage Project
Has your taste evolved? And since you opened, do clients have an influence on what you sell?
The only thing that evolved was my nitpicking of fabrics. I have a very ’90s and 2000s eye, and I need to male sure that this isn’t a polyester-filled room. With the client, I ask a questionnaire before they come in for their appointment. It’s about sizing and if there’s an event or a special occasion. And I change the floor for every client.
Do you place those pieces all on one rack or do you let the client find the pieces?
I leave them alone. My nightmare would be someone coming in and seeing that there’s only size 0 and 2 on the floor, and maybe they’re not that.I make sure that I can switch pieces out and I have a little bit of education of them coming in and what I can pull from them in the back, too.
Do clients come to you with a very specific request and ask you to source it?
I don’t really source for individuals mainly because sizing is so hard and changes by the decade. It depends on what the sample size for that designer was that year. Maybe it was tailored or altered for the person that wore it. Instead, I keep my eye out for certain things. If someone’s like, “I want to wear Dior to my wedding,” I’ll look for that and let them know when I find something.
How do you approach a client who comes in saying: “I don’t know what I want”?
I give no advice at first: I don’t know this person or their taste. So I actually step aside.
What I do like to do is tell no one to look at the sizing, ever. I don’t even have that information on my retail tags. There’s no point since depending on the decade and period, it changes. I always just say, “It looks a little small — whatever. Just try it.”
And while they’re trying things on, I’m actively pulling from the back. I’ll say, “I saw that you liked this. What about this or this?” And I really will throw pieces at them in the dressing room. That gets them a little bit more comfortable.
Photography Courtesy of Austin Leis
What are the three holy grails that you’re always looking out for?
Tom Ford at Gucci, Fendi, Saint Laurent. Gianfranco Ferré for Dior. I love a Cavalli gown. I think that no one has ever done gowns like Cavalli did at the height of his career — the sizing is so suggestive. I could wear a size 36, 42 or 44 depending on how I want it to fit. I love how inclusive they are.
What’s your biggest challenge?
I’m a clean freak. Every time someone puts something on, it gets sanitized. Each piece needs to be 100% perfect to be on the floor, which is really hard since they can date back to the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s.
Where does your buyer mostly source items?
She’s all over: auctions, estates, or private individuals. I just did a sourcing trip in Japan and I love it there, especially for bags. Japan has such a collector’s mindset.
Do you shop for yourself, and where do you go?
I love vintage shopping in Paris. It’s like, “Go down this alley, and then it’s the third door on the left.” I love the hunt, and the mystery. That’s why I have this store on the third floor. It’s private and small. This is the kind of shopping that I enjoy, and I don’t find a lot of that in Los Angeles.
Whose closet would you raid, dead or alive?
Sophia Loren, Jane Birkin, or Carrie Bradshaw — an easy answer.
Who is your contemporary muse?
I love Olivia Rodrigo. She does what she wants and she loves vintage. Sarah Jessica Parker — I think she’s an icon.
Do you have any exciting projects coming up?
I’m in the middle of working on a consumer-based product that helps take care of our stuff in a non-toxic way. And that’s the whole thing: How do we care for our vintage clothing without dry cleaning? Dry cleaning is not healthy.
Photography Courtesy of Austin Leis
