This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.Nicole Richie Is a Serious Vintage Collector, But She's Not Afraid to Let a Piece Go

Sophie WangFri, April 17, 2026 at 2:56 PM UTC

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The Good Buy is a podcast from Harper’s Bazaar in which editors Leah Chernikoff and Lynette Nylander invite celebrities, designers, models, and tastemakers to talk shop: what they buy, where they got it, and why it matters. Come down the fashion rabbit hole and take a peek inside the closets and shopping carts of the world’s most stylish people. Learn how they use style to tell their stories.

Nicole Richie needs no introduction. A media personality, creative director, actor, and producer, the star has touched just about every side of the fashion and entertainment industries you could think of—and done it all in style. An avid vintage collector, Richie has amassed a curated collection of Saint Laurent, Etro, and Dries Van Noten over the years, favoring bold prints, colors, and embellishments that fit in with her self-described “snazzy witch” style.

Richie’s never been far from the glamorous life. After growing up in California with adoptive dad Lionel Richie, she rose to fame in the early aughts on the reality television show The Simple Life with Paris Hilton, then founded her brand House of Harlow in 2008. Initially launched as a costume jewelry line, House of Harlow quickly expanded into a full lifestyle brand, offering 1960s and ’70s-inspired bohemian collections of clothing, glasses, and accessories by the mid-2010s. In 2024, she brought it back to its roots, reimagining it into a luxury jewelry house.

And when you have your own line, why not wear it? Showing up to film The Good Buy, Richie sparkled in a House of Harlow brooch, earrings, and a cat ring, wearing the collection of jewels with a vintage dress and Louboutin heels she’s had since the early 2000s, her friend’s vintage Saint Laurent jacket, and a neck piece from a shop in New Orleans.

In the episode, she discusses everything from her favorite vintage stores to the latest chapter of her jewelry line. Read on for highlights and watch the show in full above.

On finding vintage pieces:

“First of all, I do it all on foot. I don’t do any of it online. There are things that I will order online and that’s great, but I enjoy the hunt. It’s not for everyone—not everyone likes to do that. I have two girl friends who love to do it also, and we just roll up our sleeves and we go. There’s something just about the journey… I wear little latex gloves and I just get in there.

“Decades [is a vintage shop that] I love. Resurrection is one that I love. I have this friend Rachel and I call her and she sells really great vintage out of her house. I love a little cute scout trip.”

On her style inspirations:

“Bianca Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Richards, Colman Domingo, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Disney villains. All of them. Have you ever noticed they have the sickest jewelry? And really good clothes. They have great nails. Every time I see a Disney villain, I’m like, ‘I want to be you.’”

On growing up in a fashion family:

“I grew up in the ’80s, so my dad was on tour all the time and he had an amazing costume designer—his name was Bill Whitten—and he was like a second dad to me. They would always make me a matching outfit out of the excess fabric. I think just naturally, my style inspirations are always musicians, because that is what I was used to growing up.”

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On discovering she wanted to be a designer:

“I was a figure skater growing up, and Bill and [co-worker] Edna would make me all of my competition costumes. Then Nancy Kerrigan comes and she’s wearing this [Vera Wang] costume and I was obsessed and I was like, ‘Okay, for my next competition I want an outfit that looks like Nancy Kerrigan’s except I want the sleeves to be different and the neck to be higher…’ I just had all these little notes, and Edna said to me, ‘if you have all these ideas, you should just come downtown with me and sketch and design it yourself.’”

“The first time that I imagined something in my head and then it was a physical garment in my hands, I was like, ‘I am the most powerful woman on the planet.’ And that’s where the idea of designing started with me.”

On running her brand for 18 years:

“I love it. I love making things. It’s just how my brain works. I like walking into a hotel and being like, ‘Oh, I like this print of this curtain and I like this lamp shade—what could I do with that?’ And exploring different stones and different crystals. It’s not something that I feel like I have to turn on. I tell everyone who ever has asked me, if you want to be in this business, do it because you love it. Do not do it for a quick buck, because that is not going to happen. It does take time. And I think time is one of the biggest gifts that you can have, because there’s so much to learn.

“The landscape changes all the time. For example, an obvious one for me is House of Harlow started before DTC. It was all about being in the department stores and being everything to everyone. And your style changes, and what you want to make and what you have access to. My customer was 18/19 when I started, it was a different financial situation than my customers now, who are in their 30s and 40s, and they do work and so I’m able to have different conversations about what we’re putting on our bodies.”

Shop Nicole’s Good BuysHER FIRST BUY:

“Do you remember the Prada wedges with the leaves on them? I really wanted those shoes, but I have narrow feet and they wouldn’t fit. I think my mom ended up getting them taken in for me for my birthday. That is being a mom.”

HER REGRET BUY:

“I don’t like buying something that I can only buy once. It’s why I don’t really buy a lot of new designer dresses. I’ll more buy a top or the jeans or something that I can play around with it. There are things that I’ve bought that I’m like, ‘I’m only going to wear this one time,’ and that’s a little bit of a bummer. But other than that, I don’t know if I regret buying anything.”

HER REPEAT BUY:

“I have this T-shirt that I’m obsessed with—the La Linge Molly T-shirt. I love them, I have them in black and white. It’s a good solid T-shirt. Those basics are really important. I bought one of each color, wore them, decided I love them, and just yesterday ordered three more white, three more black.”

HER DREAM BUY:

“Any time I can see a Zandra Rhodes dress or an Ossie Clark dress, I want to take the opportunity to see it. As far as Ossie Clark, it’s really hard to come by right now. I used to be able to get them no problem. Also Thea Porter—if I would come across a great one, I would get it.”

HER MOST RECENT GOOD BUY:

“I brought a show and tell because my last buy was last week. [Puts on a headpiece.] This I got at a corset shop in New Orleans, I was drunk, and it’s just beautiful. I also couldn’t fit one more thing in my suitcase so I wore it on the plane. I would wear this to school drop off. I’d wear it to the grocery store.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”