diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/vowpalwabbit/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/vowpalwabbit/default.nix
index a8661fd3a9851..9bc2bbc270478 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/vowpalwabbit/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/vowpalwabbit/default.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-{ lib, buildPythonPackage, fetchPypi, python, boost, zlib, clang, ncurses
-, pytest, docutils, pygments, numpy, scipy, scikitlearn }:
+{ stdenv, lib, buildPythonPackage, fetchPypi, python, boost, zlib, clang
+, ncurses, pytest, docutils, pygments, numpy, scipy, scikitlearn }:
 
 buildPythonPackage rec {
   pname = "vowpalwabbit";
@@ -9,15 +9,27 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     inherit pname version;
     sha256 = "0b517371fc64f1c728a0af42a31fa93def27306e9b4d25d6e5fd01bcff1b7304";
   };
+
+  # Should be fixed in next Python release after 8.5.0:
+  # https://github.com/JohnLangford/vowpal_wabbit/pull/1533
+  patches = [
+    ./vowpal-wabbit-find-boost.diff
+  ];
+
   # vw tries to write some explicit things to home
   # python installed: The directory '/homeless-shelter/.cache/pip/http'
   preInstall = ''
     export HOME=$PWD
   '';
 
-  buildInputs = [ boost.dev zlib.dev clang ncurses pytest docutils pygments ];
+  buildInputs = [ python.pkgs.boost zlib.dev clang ncurses pytest docutils pygments ];
   propagatedBuildInputs = [ numpy scipy scikitlearn ];
 
+  # Python ctypes.find_library uses DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH.
+  preConfigure = lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin ''
+    export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH="${python.pkgs.boost}/lib"
+  '';
+
   checkPhase = ''
     # check-manifest requires a git clone, not a tarball
     # check-manifest --ignore "Makefile,PACKAGE.rst,*.cc,tox.ini,tests*,examples*,src*"
@@ -28,6 +40,7 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     description = "Vowpal Wabbit is a fast machine learning library for online learning, and this is the python wrapper for the project.";
     homepage    = https://github.com/JohnLangford/vowpal_wabbit;
     license     = licenses.bsd3;
+    broken      = stdenv.isAarch64;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ teh ];
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/vowpalwabbit/vowpal-wabbit-find-boost.diff b/pkgs/development/python-modules/vowpalwabbit/vowpal-wabbit-find-boost.diff
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..645956594bf68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/vowpalwabbit/vowpal-wabbit-find-boost.diff
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+--- vowpalwabbit-8.5.0.orig/setup.py	2018-09-03 20:32:39.000000000 +0200
++++ vowpalwabbit-8.5.0/setup.py	2018-09-03 20:34:09.000000000 +0200
+@@ -23,18 +23,11 @@
+ 
+ def find_boost():
+     """Find correct boost-python library information """
+-    if system == 'Linux':
++    if system == 'Linux' or system == 'Darwin':
+         # use version suffix if present
+-        boost_lib = 'boost_python-py{v[0]}{v[1]}'.format(v=sys.version_info)
+-        if sys.version_info.major == 3:
+-            for candidate in ['-py36', '-py35', '-py34', '3']:
+-                boost_lib = 'boost_python{}'.format(candidate)
+-                if find_library(boost_lib):
+-                    exit
++        boost_lib = 'boost_python{v[0]}{v[1]}'.format(v=sys.version_info)
+         if not find_library(boost_lib):
+             boost_lib = "boost_python"
+-    elif system == 'Darwin':
+-        boost_lib = 'boost_python-mt' if sys.version_info[0] == 2 else 'boost_python3-mt'
+     elif system == 'Cygwin':
+         boost_lib = 'boost_python-mt' if sys.version_info[0] == 2 else 'boost_python3-mt'
+     else:
+--- vowpalwabbit-8.5.0.orig/src/Makefile	2018-09-03 20:32:40.000000000 +0200
++++ vowpalwabbit-8.5.0/src/Makefile	2018-09-03 21:42:30.000000000 +0200
+@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
+   NPROCS:=$(shell grep -c ^processor /proc/cpuinfo)
+ endif
+ ifeq ($(UNAME), Darwin)
+-  LIBS = -lboost_program_options-mt -lboost_serialization-mt -l pthread -l z
++  LIBS = -lboost_program_options -lboost_serialization -l pthread -l z
+   # On Macs, the location isn't always clear
+   #	brew uses /usr/local
+   #	but /opt/local seems to be preferred by some users