Underground Style - Roath, Cardiff

If Roath is seen as the creative hub of Cardiff, and if art and fashion are synonymous with one another, can it then be assumed that the residential area has some of the city’s best shopping?  Truthfully, no.  It would be false to gush that Roath is a must-visit for traditional shopping - there are far too many uninspired retailers letting the area down.  However, Roath does have a burgeoning underground fashion movement going on that allows style-conscious residents and visitors to pick up some 

offbeat ideas and bargains - if they know where to look.

The most obvious place to start scouring for curiosities is in one of the Roath’s charity shops.  Due to the persistent popularity of vintage, the appeal of shopping in the area is heightened by the number of charity shops that can be found on both Wellfield and Albany Roads.  These shops do not differ much from one another; they are satisfyingly cheap and stock the usual books, bric a brac and used clothing, along with some gems that can be found in amongst the tat if you’re prepared to rummage.  Don’t fret if you have neither the longing nor the patience, Cardiff’s YMCA Housing Association are pioneering a 50’s and 60’s-inspired charity boutique on Albany Road called PreFab, using the public’s which groups vintage items under one roof for ease of purchase.  All proceeds go back into the charity, so the customer gets to experience a pleasant shopping environment while donating to a 

good cause.

More quality vintage can be found at one of the markets that pop-up in some of Roath’s most avant garde spaces, along with craft items, up-and-coming designs and unusual jewellery. Intriguingly, these markets are not put on in conjunction with retail spaces, but with multi-faceted venues that are associated with the arts, such as Milgi Lounge and Milkwood Gallery. Milgi’s Northcote Lane Market in particular has gone from strength-to-strength since its conception in mid-summer 2007, with stalls spilling from inside the bar to the backyard yurt to the lane behind it on ever first Sunday of the month, depending on how many sellers are contributing their wares at the time.  The market runs between 6pm and 10pm on this chosen Sunday and has the kudos of being popular with local residents and celebrities alike – actress and renowned quirky-dresser Jaime Winstone has been spotted delving through the bargain bins while wearing a rather zany Navajo-printed jacket.

Milkwood Gallery hosts a Flea Market at various times throughout the year, and has a permanent shop selling all manner of quirky (if rather pricey) items - from human-shaped beanbags to jewellery from the cult brand Tatty Devine.  Homemade fashion is also actively encouraged at Milkwood, with drop-in sewing surgeries and Make Do and Mend classes (where you learn from an expert how to shape an item of clothing out of scrap fabric, from scratch) occurring on a regular basis.  In fact, this ‘make do and mend’ attitude is clearly taking off in Roath, with The Gate Theatre launching a similar project called RE: Fash on the final Wednesday of this month, in which attendees will be given ideas on how to revamp any piece of clothing to make it look high-fashion, at the cost of £5 per class.

Whether a response to the recession or a random fad inspired by the fashion industry’s continued love of vintage, this interactive approach to fashion and style is innovative, exciting, and - in terms of the Cardiff area - completely exclusive to Roath.  There are also, of course, plenty of great boutiques (Halcyon Daze, Seven, Big Girl’s Blouse, all on Wellfield Road) in Roath which balance out the poor ones.  Yet the grassroots fashion scene seems to be bolstering Roath’s reputation as an artistic area and is a far more exciting approach to fashion.  It will be interesting to see if it can continue to develop and thrive, with or without the help of the shops.

I wrote this guest post for Wales Online's Your Cardiff website.  You can check it out here.


(Images: Peace Love and Polkadots, Milgi facebook group, discothequeconfusion, Milkwood Gallery) 

I HEART Vintage

With the recent closure of Lunacy Boutique, it comes as no surprise that the newest independent fashion venture in Cardiff is making its tentative first steps online instead of on the high street.  I Heart Vintage is a second-hand clothing website, the brainchild of two local residents Sarah and Reena, whose love for vintage clothing motivates them to seek out individual finds for themselves and others.

Since I share a passion for vintage with the fashionable entrepreuners, I was keen to ask them a few questions about their venture:

Why did you decide to open an online shop?

R&S - We both love the high street and the key for us is mixing high street with vintage.  We aren't top-to-toe in vintage all day everyday and we don't claim to be vintage experts. We just have a passion for fashion so wanted to share this through setting up I Heart Vintage. We were lucky to have the support and generosity of family and friends which allowed us to set up the online store around our full time jobs. 

Would you ever think about branching out into the high-street?

R&S - We both work full time so at the moment that wouldn’t be an option for us but it’s not something we would rule out for the future. I think we would like to explore other opportunities the high street could offer such as working with stores who would like to add vintage to their range and would be interested in stocking a selection of clothing from I Heart Vintage.

What do you think about vintage in Cardiff?

R&S - We love the vintage scene in Cardiff and have enjoyed being a part of it as we have shopped many times at fairs such as Blind Lemon Vintage and Milgi's Northcote Lane Market. It's really exciting to experience the other side of it now, having become sellers particularly as the options for vintage shoppers in Cardiff grows. We've been able to raise our profile through the vintage networks in Cardiff by selling at fairs such as Make it Pretty and Milkwood Gallery's flea market. This has really helped us and it's been great to meet and get to know other vintage sellers. 

In the near future we are looking to work with local talented designers whose products are inspired by vintage fashion and showcasing them on I heart vintage. We hope that this will help towards the already thriving vintage scene in Cardiff and play a part in promoting Welsh talent. 

 Where do you source your clothing from?

S – We source our stock from a combination of wholesalers, charity shops and private sellers. My Auntie Pearl gave us a good kick start by kindly donating all her beautiful clothes from the 60s and 70s. Shopping runs in the family! To begin with we’re customising quite simply perhaps by shortening, removing shoulder pads or adding buttons but learning to make clothes or change them dramatically is something I’ve always been keen to learn to do.

 What sort of price range will the clothing be in?

S&R – Prices on our website for clothing start at £20 with accessories starting from under £10. We have chosen a great selection of items for the online store with the majority of dresses around £30-£40. At vintage fairs we’ll have a broader price range too.

Why Cardiff?

S&R – We both love Cardiff and live here so made sense to get the business well known and established here before taking on the rest of the world! ;o) Plus vintage is up-and-coming in Cardiff, so it’s great to be a part of it here and we’ve met lots of other great people here who are doing similar things especially jewellery makers who we would love to collaborate with in the near future. 

What era of vintage is the clothing from?
 

S&R - For I Heart Vintage we define vintage as being 80s or before. At the moment we have a lot of 60s and 70s stock but we select items according to what catches our eye more than what era it’s from. If we love it and think other people will then we’ll go for it.

                                        
How would you describe your own style?

S – I have a quite diverse style and incredibly varied taste in clothing. I love the look of celebs like Carey Mulligan & Milla Jovovich. On the high street i love Urban Outfitters and Top Shop. My friend Flair always looks amazing although she says one of her style icons is my mum!  My style and taste has constantly changed although and I’m a little bit less impetuous when buying things now. I’m constantly learning what goes together and what suits me personally.

R – I love Fearne Cotton, Alexa Chung and Kate Bosworth’s style so usually look to them for inspiration. I really like the way they mix their vintage pieces with high street clothes. I like their modern take on vintage. And even when they wear designer pieces you can usually count on Topshop and Urban Outfitters to come up with a great copy. And I am with Sarah on the love of these high street shops as they are my favourite!

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Hmm, good answers.  I very much agree with Reena and Sarah that the vintage scene in Cardiff is burgeoning (just like the blogging scene!), and I love that they're both eager to promote Welsh designers. 

I also love the clothes on their site, especially the 70's maxi-dress above.  Pass me my (imaginary) fedora and bring on the new season please?  I wonder if the couch and the furry cushion will get thrown into my purchase if I ask nicely??

I'm also liking this soft-looking dress (below), particularly for the nipped in waist and pussy-bow style neck.

There's plenty more on the website and prices are pretty reasonable too.  You'll also be smug in the knowledge that no one else will be wearing the same item as you.

I have to say though, as much as I love the site, buying vintage online does have its cons.  You miss out on feeling the quality of the item, of falling in love with the intricate detailing and incredible craftsmanship of a vintage piece.  

 Luckily, Sarah and Reena are still going to be selling at various markets, good news for us vintage-lover that still like to shop in the old-fashioned way. 

You can go say hello to them and their lovely items at:

Make it Pretty at Chapter – Saturday 5^th February

Blind Lemon Vintage Fair at City Hall – Sunday 6^th February

Blind Lemon Vintage Fair in Swansea – Sunday 13^th March

Fittingly, their also having an old-school launch party at 10 Feet Tall tomorrow night, featuring a clothes stall, a bespoke I Heart Vintage cocktail, CUPCAKES, a free prize draw, and Vinyl Vendetta DJing.

Let me know what you bought?