If you're looking for something C&V, there are nice older Litespeed and Merlin frames out there from the 90s. They'll be pricier than most steel frames of the same vintage, but then they were pricier than steel when they were new. You can build them up with anything from "period correct" to a modern groupset, as long as it's mechanical and rim brake.

Litespeed will sell you the correct decals, so you can strip the frame with acetone (assuming it's unpainted), buff it up with red Scotchbrite pads, and install the new decals. That's what I did with a 1995 Litespeed Ultimate I bought on Ebay. I built it up with mid 1990s Dura Ace, but eventually I got tired of trying to push 39x25 up 6-8% gradients, so I rebuilt it with R8000 Ultegra.