Designer & Vintage Clothing 👗🧥🛍️💰

Last week Millie and I went on a road trip to Bicester in Oxfordshire. It was lovely sunny day with not much traffic on the road and nice to spend the day together.

l thought I would take Millie to see Bicester village, a customer had come in the shop a few weeks ago who was in Chichester for Easter and told me they lived near Bicester and had I visited Bicester Village? Bicester Village is a luxury village style, shopping area, showcase in leading fashion brands at discounted prices. It is one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe people come from all over the World to see it.

It was easy to park and free parking, it even had its own train station! We browsed the shops from the front while looking for somewhere suitable for lunch, I was amazed by the brands -: Gucci, Prada, Christian Louboutin, Vivienne Westwood, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Mulberry the list goes on…

Millie chose the ITSY Sushi Bar for lunch 🍱 The restaurants were spaced out amongst the shops and all looked a little posh this was nice for a quick bite!

I took a picture of the Christian Louboutin shop for our friend Laylaleigh Millinery back at the shop! It was exciting to recognise all the names of the shops from conversations we’ve had together about labels.

It reminded me of my visit to Dubai in 2009 and it felt rather like The Dubai Mall. There were many nationalities shopping today but in particular I noticed lots of ladies in burkas with many bags! And they love their labels…  

This was a quick visit as we were in the area and not a planned shopping trip, available funds were not exactly inline with the price tags there even discounted! It is not quite a outlet shopping village like Gunwharf Quay’s but the sheer sight of the security and just the brand names put me off entering the shops! This let me understand why l love ‘vintage’ and ‘thrifting’ so much. Perhaps a weekend away when l have saved up l will return!

Why choose ‘vintage’?

Last month just before closing one Saturday afternoon, l had three customers appear at the same time!  A mother and daughter then another mother of the bride.

They all told me how disappointed they were from a day of shopping around the area and Gunwharf! One lady said unless you are male and 6ft tall Gunwharf had nothing suitable for a lady to wear to her sisters wedding. They we’re quite disheartened and not had a good day. The first customer left with 5 x Vintage Dresses! And a smile on her face!

The mother of the bride said she didn’t want to spend £100 on the shoes to match her outfit in Phase Eight. She saw our Joe Browns Sensational T-Bar Shoes in the window for £47.00 available in Size 3-8! Both customers left with what they wanted for the occasion they had coming up and it gave me a reason to smile why l love my ‘vintage’ shop so much.

Choosing Vintage can save you money and create a unique style for a special occasion! Our clothes/accessories bought that day we’re still new and would get you noticed at your special event!    

A quote l borrowed from Facebook yesterday, Sarah Jessica Parker who we all know from ‘Sex in the City’ ‘I really love beautiful, well made clothes, I don’t shop, so l tend to have pieces for a long time. I like mixing vintage with newer designers.  

9/10 of my customers come into the shop looking for a vintage style dress! This is because of style, fabric print. quality and size.  

This can become addictive to some! This is when we also help with selling your items to allow for new items!  

Watch out for my next emails on the best Vintage shops to go thrifting in Chichester & Joe Browns Vintage Inspired Fashion.

TBC…  

Bye for now,  

Sarah  

Owner, Almshouse Vintage