diff --git a/src/app/WardrobePage/OutfitControls.js b/src/app/WardrobePage/OutfitControls.js
index 814d77b..8265192 100644
--- a/src/app/WardrobePage/OutfitControls.js
+++ b/src/app/WardrobePage/OutfitControls.js
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ import { loadImage, useLocalStorage } from "../util";
 import useCurrentUser from "../components/useCurrentUser";
 import useOutfitAppearance from "../components/useOutfitAppearance";
 import OutfitKnownGlitchesBadge from "./OutfitKnownGlitchesBadge";
+import usePreferArchive from "../components/usePreferArchive";
 
 /**
  * OutfitControls is the set of controls layered over the outfit preview, to
@@ -500,28 +501,56 @@ function SettingsButton({ onLockFocus, onUnlockFocus }) {
 
 function HiResModeSetting() {
   const [hiResMode, setHiResMode] = useLocalStorage("DTIHiResMode", false);
+  const [preferArchive, setPreferArchive] = usePreferArchive();
 
   return (
-    <FormControl>
-      <Flex>
-        <Box>
-          <FormLabel htmlFor="hi-res-mode-setting" fontSize="sm" margin="0">
-            Hi-res mode (SVG)
-          </FormLabel>
-          <FormHelperText marginTop="0" fontSize="xs">
-            Crisper at higher resolutions, but not always accurate
-          </FormHelperText>
-        </Box>
-        <Box width="2" />
-        <Switch
-          id="hi-res-mode-setting"
-          size="sm"
-          marginTop="0.1rem"
-          isChecked={hiResMode}
-          onChange={(e) => setHiResMode(e.target.checked)}
-        />
-      </Flex>
-    </FormControl>
+    <Box>
+      <FormControl>
+        <Flex>
+          <Box>
+            <FormLabel htmlFor="hi-res-mode-setting" fontSize="sm" margin="0">
+              Hi-res mode (SVG)
+            </FormLabel>
+            <FormHelperText marginTop="0" fontSize="xs">
+              Crisper at higher resolutions, but not always accurate
+            </FormHelperText>
+          </Box>
+          <Box width="2" />
+          <Switch
+            id="hi-res-mode-setting"
+            size="sm"
+            marginTop="0.1rem"
+            isChecked={hiResMode}
+            onChange={(e) => setHiResMode(e.target.checked)}
+          />
+        </Flex>
+      </FormControl>
+      <Box height="2" />
+      <FormControl>
+        <Flex>
+          <Box>
+            <FormLabel
+              htmlFor="prefer-archive-setting"
+              fontSize="sm"
+              margin="0"
+            >
+              Use DTI's image archive
+            </FormLabel>
+            <FormHelperText marginTop="0" fontSize="xs">
+              Turn this on when images.neopets.com is slow!
+            </FormHelperText>
+          </Box>
+          <Box width="2" />
+          <Switch
+            id="prefer-archive-setting"
+            size="sm"
+            marginTop="0.1rem"
+            isChecked={preferArchive ?? false}
+            onChange={(e) => setPreferArchive(e.target.checked)}
+          />
+        </Flex>
+      </FormControl>
+    </Box>
   );
 }
 
@@ -585,6 +614,7 @@ function ControlButton({ icon, "aria-label": ariaLabel, ...props }) {
  */
 function useDownloadableImage(visibleLayers) {
   const [hiResMode] = useLocalStorage("DTIHiResMode", false);
+  const [preferArchive] = usePreferArchive();
 
   const [downloadImageUrl, setDownloadImageUrl] = React.useState(null);
   const [preparedForLayerIds, setPreparedForLayerIds] = React.useState([]);
@@ -611,6 +641,7 @@ function useDownloadableImage(visibleLayers) {
     const imagePromises = visibleLayers.map((layer) =>
       loadImage(getBestImageUrlForLayer(layer, { hiResMode }), {
         crossOrigin: "anonymous",
+        preferArchive,
       })
     );
 
@@ -644,7 +675,7 @@ function useDownloadableImage(visibleLayers) {
     );
     setDownloadImageUrl(canvas.toDataURL("image/png"));
     setPreparedForLayerIds(layerIds);
-  }, [preparedForLayerIds, visibleLayers, toast, hiResMode]);
+  }, [preparedForLayerIds, visibleLayers, toast, hiResMode, preferArchive]);
 
   return [downloadImageUrl, prepareDownload];
 }
diff --git a/src/app/components/ItemCard.js b/src/app/components/ItemCard.js
index faa0461..b87237e 100644
--- a/src/app/components/ItemCard.js
+++ b/src/app/components/ItemCard.js
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import Link from "next/link";
 
 import SquareItemCard from "./SquareItemCard";
 import { safeImageUrl, useCommonStyles } from "../util";
+import usePreferArchive from "./usePreferArchive";
 
 function ItemCard({ item, badges, variant = "list", ...props }) {
   const { brightBackground } = useCommonStyles();
@@ -105,6 +106,7 @@ export function ItemThumbnail({
   focusSelector,
   ...props
 }) {
+  const [preferArchive] = usePreferArchive();
   const theme = useTheme();
 
   const borderColor = useColorModeValue(
@@ -170,7 +172,7 @@ export function ItemThumbnail({
                 as="img"
                 width="100%"
                 height="100%"
-                src={safeImageUrl(item.thumbnailUrl)}
+                src={safeImageUrl(item.thumbnailUrl, { preferArchive })}
                 alt={`Thumbnail art for ${item.name}`}
               />
             )}
diff --git a/src/app/components/OutfitMovieLayer.js b/src/app/components/OutfitMovieLayer.js
index ac8c06e..81248cb 100644
--- a/src/app/components/OutfitMovieLayer.js
+++ b/src/app/components/OutfitMovieLayer.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import LRU from "lru-cache";
 import { Box, Grid, useToast } from "@chakra-ui/react";
 
 import { loadImage, logAndCapture, safeImageUrl } from "../util";
+import usePreferArchive from "./usePreferArchive";
 
 // Import EaselJS and TweenJS directly into the `window` object! The bundled
 // scripts are built to attach themselves to `window.createjs`, and
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ function OutfitMovieLayer({
   onLowFps = null,
   canvasProps = {},
 }) {
+  const [preferArchive] = usePreferArchive();
   const [stage, setStage] = React.useState(null);
   const [library, setLibrary] = React.useState(null);
   const [movieClip, setMovieClip] = React.useState(null);
@@ -129,7 +131,7 @@ function OutfitMovieLayer({
   React.useEffect(() => {
     let canceled = false;
 
-    const movieLibraryPromise = loadMovieLibrary(libraryUrl);
+    const movieLibraryPromise = loadMovieLibrary(libraryUrl, { preferArchive });
     movieLibraryPromise
       .then((library) => {
         if (canceled) {
@@ -154,7 +156,7 @@ function OutfitMovieLayer({
       setLibrary(null);
       setMovieClip(null);
     };
-  }, [libraryUrl, onError]);
+  }, [libraryUrl, preferArchive, onError]);
 
   // This effect puts the `movieClip` on the `stage`, when both are ready.
   React.useEffect(() => {
@@ -305,7 +307,7 @@ function loadScriptTag(src) {
 
 const MOVIE_LIBRARY_CACHE = new LRU(10);
 
-export function loadMovieLibrary(librarySrc) {
+export function loadMovieLibrary(librarySrc, { preferArchive = false } = {}) {
   const cancelableResourcePromises = [];
   const cancelAllResources = () =>
     cancelableResourcePromises.forEach((p) => p.cancel());
@@ -323,7 +325,9 @@ export function loadMovieLibrary(librarySrc) {
     }
 
     // Then, load the script tag. (Make sure we set it up to be cancelable!)
-    const scriptPromise = loadScriptTag(safeImageUrl(librarySrc));
+    const scriptPromise = loadScriptTag(
+      safeImageUrl(librarySrc, { preferArchive })
+    );
     cancelableResourcePromises.push(scriptPromise);
     await scriptPromise;
 
@@ -372,6 +376,7 @@ export function loadMovieLibrary(librarySrc) {
         id,
         loadImage(librarySrcDir + "/" + src, {
           crossOrigin: "anonymous",
+          preferArchive,
         }),
       ])
     );
diff --git a/src/app/components/OutfitPreview.js b/src/app/components/OutfitPreview.js
index 940c398..7e3e263 100644
--- a/src/app/components/OutfitPreview.js
+++ b/src/app/components/OutfitPreview.js
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import OutfitMovieLayer, {
 import HangerSpinner from "./HangerSpinner";
 import { loadImage, safeImageUrl, useLocalStorage } from "../util";
 import useOutfitAppearance from "./useOutfitAppearance";
+import usePreferArchive from "./usePreferArchive";
 
 /**
  * OutfitPreview is for rendering a full outfit! It accepts outfit data,
@@ -169,6 +170,7 @@ export function OutfitLayers({
   ...props
 }) {
   const [hiResMode] = useLocalStorage("DTIHiResMode", false);
+  const [preferArchive] = usePreferArchive();
 
   const containerRef = React.useRef(null);
   const [canvasSize, setCanvasSize] = React.useState(0);
@@ -281,7 +283,8 @@ export function OutfitLayers({
                     <Box
                       as="img"
                       src={safeImageUrl(
-                        getBestImageUrlForLayer(layer, { hiResMode })
+                        getBestImageUrlForLayer(layer, { hiResMode }),
+                        { preferArchive }
                       )}
                       alt=""
                       objectFit="contain"
@@ -367,6 +370,7 @@ export function getBestImageUrlForLayer(layer, { hiResMode = false } = {}) {
  */
 export function usePreloadLayers(layers) {
   const [hiResMode] = useLocalStorage("DTIHiResMode", false);
+  const [preferArchive] = usePreferArchive();
 
   const [error, setError] = React.useState(null);
   const [loadedLayers, setLoadedLayers] = React.useState([]);
@@ -393,7 +397,8 @@ export function usePreloadLayers(layers) {
     const movieAssetPromises = [];
     for (const layer of layers) {
       const imageAssetPromise = loadImage(
-        getBestImageUrlForLayer(layer, { hiResMode })
+        getBestImageUrlForLayer(layer, { hiResMode }),
+        { preferArchive }
       );
       imageAssetPromises.push(imageAssetPromise);
 
@@ -402,7 +407,8 @@ export function usePreloadLayers(layers) {
         // request will still be the image, which we'll show as a
         // placeholder, which should usually be noticeably faster!
         const movieLibraryPromise = loadMovieLibrary(
-          layer.canvasMovieLibraryUrl
+          layer.canvasMovieLibraryUrl,
+          { preferArchive }
         );
         const movieAssetPromise = movieLibraryPromise.then((library) => ({
           library,
@@ -465,7 +471,7 @@ export function usePreloadLayers(layers) {
     return () => {
       canceled = true;
     };
-  }, [layers, hiResMode]);
+  }, [layers, hiResMode, preferArchive]);
 
   return { loading, error, loadedLayers, layersHaveAnimations };
 }
diff --git a/src/app/components/SquareItemCard.js b/src/app/components/SquareItemCard.js
index 09df265..1ed643a 100644
--- a/src/app/components/SquareItemCard.js
+++ b/src/app/components/SquareItemCard.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import Link from "next/link";
 
 import { safeImageUrl, useCommonStyles } from "../util";
 import { CheckIcon, CloseIcon, StarIcon } from "@chakra-ui/icons";
+import usePreferArchive from "./usePreferArchive";
 
 function SquareItemCard({
   item,
@@ -183,6 +184,7 @@ function SquareItemCardLayout({
 }
 
 function ItemThumbnail({ item, tradeMatchingMode }) {
+  const [preferArchive] = usePreferArchive();
   const kindColorScheme = item.isNc ? "purple" : item.isPb ? "orange" : "gray";
 
   const thumbnailShadowColor = useColorModeValue(
@@ -229,7 +231,7 @@ function ItemThumbnail({ item, tradeMatchingMode }) {
         >
           {/* eslint-disable-next-line @next/next/no-img-element */}
           <img
-            src={safeImageUrl(item.thumbnailUrl)}
+            src={safeImageUrl(item.thumbnailUrl, { preferArchive })}
             alt={`Thumbnail art for ${item.name}`}
             width={80}
             height={80}
diff --git a/src/app/components/usePreferArchive.js b/src/app/components/usePreferArchive.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f52c38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/components/usePreferArchive.js
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import { useLocalStorage } from "../util";
+
+/**
+ * usePreferArchive helps the user choose to try using our archive before
+ * using images.neopets.com, when images.neopets.com is being slow and bleh!
+ */
+function usePreferArchive() {
+  const [preferArchiveSavedValue, setPreferArchive] = useLocalStorage(
+    "DTIPreferArchive",
+    null
+  );
+
+  // Oct 13 2022: I might default this back to on again if the lag gets
+  // miserable again, but it's okaaay right now? ish? Bad enough that I want to
+  // offer this option, but decent enough that I don't want to turn it on by
+  // default and break new items yet!
+  const preferArchive = preferArchiveSavedValue ?? false;
+
+  return [preferArchive, setPreferArchive];
+}
+
+export default usePreferArchive;
diff --git a/src/app/util.js b/src/app/util.js
index 1950306..518184d 100644
--- a/src/app/util.js
+++ b/src/app/util.js
@@ -115,7 +115,10 @@ export function useCommonStyles() {
 /**
  * safeImageUrl returns an HTTPS-safe image URL for Neopets assets!
  */
-export function safeImageUrl(urlString, { crossOrigin = null } = {}) {
+export function safeImageUrl(
+  urlString,
+  { crossOrigin = null, preferArchive = false } = {}
+) {
   if (urlString == null) {
     return urlString;
   }
@@ -148,7 +151,14 @@ export function safeImageUrl(urlString, { crossOrigin = null } = {}) {
     url.origin === "https://images.neopets.com"
   ) {
     url.protocol = "https:";
-    if (crossOrigin) {
+    if (preferArchive) {
+      const archiveUrl = new URL(
+        `/api/readFromArchive`,
+        window.location.origin
+      );
+      archiveUrl.search = new URLSearchParams({ url: url.toString() });
+      url = archiveUrl;
+    } else if (crossOrigin) {
       url.host = "images.neopets-asset-proxy.openneo.net";
     }
   } else if (
@@ -161,7 +171,7 @@ export function safeImageUrl(urlString, { crossOrigin = null } = {}) {
     }
   }
 
-  if (url.protocol !== "https:") {
+  if (url.protocol !== "https:" && url.hostname !== "localhost") {
     logAndCapture(
       new Error(
         `safeImageUrl was provided an unsafe URL, but we don't know how to ` +
@@ -337,8 +347,11 @@ export function useLocalStorage(key, initialValue) {
   return [storedValue, setValue];
 }
 
-export function loadImage(rawSrc, { crossOrigin = null } = {}) {
-  const src = safeImageUrl(rawSrc, { crossOrigin });
+export function loadImage(
+  rawSrc,
+  { crossOrigin = null, preferArchive = false } = {}
+) {
+  const src = safeImageUrl(rawSrc, { crossOrigin, preferArchive });
   const image = new Image();
   let canceled = false;
   let resolved = false;