Real Vintage?

Vintage clothing can be bought anywhere from Ebay to a small forgotten store. Vintage appears such an overused term; we see it in magazines and on online stores, describing items as “vintage” or “vintage style”. From what I have gathered, in terms of clothing, to be classed as vintage an item should really be around 30 years old, dressing vintage has recently become more of a trend than a re-use recycle movement. I have seen items in “vintage” shops that are unlikely to be 30 years old, so has the meaning of vintage now changed? Has the heritage been lost? As a group of creative’s we are aware of vintage as a trend, but in areas like Shoreditch there are a host of independent stores selling vintage clothes and accessories. By creating a film and look book that explores the best of Brick Lane we aim to change this distorted view of vintage and highlight the fascinating stories behind the clothes and the people that sell them. The short film series “Between the threads” was created to showcase the people behind these stores and how they incorporate vintage into their individual style.

Between The Threads 001

Style profile of a customer

123

Located on the corner of Brick Lane and Bethnal Green Road, 123 is a three story building is an exciting new store, selling local and sustainable clothing. Unlike other shops they use their recycling HQ in East London to take old clothes and turn them into new garments making each piece unique. There vintage section is picked to perfection choosing garments that are on trend and have good shapes; the shop is spacious and inviting making each garment seem special and looked after.

Every season they have a ‘pick and mix’ event where you can pay either £10 or £20 for a small or large bag and you can fill it up with vintage clothing, it ends when all the stock has gone. This is to get rid of all the old stock for new, beautiful, one off pieces.

Fashion Exchange

Light, fresh, and airy with rails of clothes flowing from white to pink to blue to black, making your eyes and hands wonder from rail to rail. Fashion Exchange isn’t like the other vintage shops on Brick Lane. Each piece picked by hand, by the owner, Juliette Margolis, who is originally from LA, which exchanging vintage clothing is very popular. She thought she would bring it over to the UK and thought Brick Lane would be the perfect spot, as the lane is full of vintage shops and young people who love fashion.

The stock is also different to the other shops as it is not full of rails with the same clothing, each piece chosen because it’s well made and beautiful. You can buy the items or exchange them for your own clothing, make an appointment with Juliette and she will spend time with you looking through your clothes picking things suitable for the store and a perfect item to exchange with your own.