The Vintage Showroom

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The Vintage Showroom

If spending your Saturday rummaging through rails of military coats, trying on an array of reconditioned leather boots or simply admiring the hanging denim shirts above you with awe and excitement sounds like perfection, then The Vintage Showroom is a must visit shopping destination.

The Vintage Showroom is separated into two parts; the showroom and the retail outlet. Operating by appointment basis, the showroom/studio is designed as an inspirational tool aimed at stylists and design teams. Situated on Earlham Street in Covent Garden’s Seven Dials, the collection of historical treasures is available to hire or purchase, with expert advice offered for creative consultations. The vast archive boasts items recovered from the early mid 20th century – focusing on military, sports, traditional English tailoring and country wear.

Luckily for us, The Vintage Showroom expanded their archive to fill a retail store in 2009. The store was once a FW Collins & Sons Ironmongers, whose sign still proudly hangs above the shop front today, and was an important reason why Gunn and Luckett (co-founders of The Vintage Showroom) chose this location.

Once inside, the amount of vintage gems cleverly displayed and presented will leave you overwhelmed (in a good way). Resembling the inspirational idea of the studio, the retail store is organised into garment types on rails, with flat caps/shirts/jackets hanging above from sturdy coat hooks, scarves folded onto stacked trunks, belts rolled into wooden shelving units… the visual display techniques are endless.

The Vintage Showroom has now condensed their knowledge and findings into a book format. The resource book has three sections covering sportswear, military uniform and workwear with high quality images of front/back views and magnified areas to show detailing, cut and silhouette. A perfect guide for students, fashion designers and stylists to constantly refer to.