Sanam Peshiman reviews the best kept vintage secret in town for magazine 'Revamp'
The fliers boast “the last great bargain in town”. For even the most cynical shopper in these credit crunch times, hand-picked vintage clothes for about a tenner, is more than enough of a gleaming prospect to venture into the real East End.
Forget Brick Lane and Shoreditch, no trendy fashion school drop outs for miles, The East End Thrift Store is located in a blink and miss it alleyway in Stepney Green. You may have to pass about a dozen fried chicken shops and then walk through a building site, but when you see the neon yellow sign board and hear the booming French electro music, you’ve chanced upon the warehouse of dreams.
Started in December 2007, The East End Thrift Store was conceptualised by owner Myles Oakley and manager John Howlin. Myles has been a buyer for 25 years and worked for concessions to TopShop. Increasing disappointment with high street fashion, and disillusioned by overpriced vintage wares found in Brick Lane, The East End Thrift Store was born out of sheer will to do something different.
“It permeates our every goal, we don’t compare ourselves to anyone but us...we don’t just want to be different, we genuinely are”, says manager John Howlin.
And different they are! Rows upon rows of 50’s tea dresses, 80s American Varsity Bomber Jackets, Tweed waistcoats, Tartan skirts, Trench Coats, 80’s sparkly prom dresses, all with inviting price tags of £10-£20 each, all lined up in clothing racks you can’t wait to rummage through. Bins filled with silk scarves for £3, racks of cowboy boots, classic aviators, and belts a-plenty, this is definitely where you can get your vintage fix, for about the cost of a good meal.
In conversation with the friendly owners, who are completely hands-on with the business and seem to know their customers by name, face and favourite trend, you get a sense that these guys don’t just adore what they do, they completely live for it. “We work extremely hard to keep our prices as low as possible, and when we say hand-picked, John and I literally go through every single piece you see on display, and nitpick like you wouldn’t imagine,” declares Myles proudly. With 25 tonnes of shipments from North America and all over the world coming in constantly, that is no mean feat! Plans for expansion and popularity have led new nooks and crannies of the abandoned warehouse constantly being reclaimed by vintage goodies, and they have even opened a new store in Brick Lane.
How on earth do they manage to keep their prices so low and their stock so fresh and inspiring? “We work at least six months in advance, if we see a trend, or feel it coming on, we don’t wait for it to be put into action, we order stock and display it as soon as possible...we don’t do vintage for the sake of it, we really want to play a part in shaking things up, in creating trends, not following them” and the bold assertion rings true. What brings back customers time after time isn’t just the amiable owners, the off-the-beaten track warehouse and the element of a bargain, but really it is the unmistakeable aura you get when you walk through the double doors that somewhere in the midst of those thousands of clothes, there lies a trend just waiting to come back.
