Braderie Vintage Clothes Store

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I live for places like the Braderie vintage store. Live. For. Them.



When you inhale that familiar scent of dust, it rings true; my Nan on my mother's side had wardrobes full of gowns, coats and little jackets, which I used to try on in my youth while she was making dinner. The smell of dusty clothes takes me right back to my childhood, sneaking upstairs to drown myself in her dresses and pretend I was at a fancy ball. Barbian is just like that, expect well - organised, spacious, and it doesn't have an old Irish woman cooking beef stew and dumplings downstairs.



Vintage clothing stores are much like marmite: you either love the scent and feel of clothing from the previous era, or you hate the fact you're wearing something another person has worn. I am in the love category. Everything about vintage stores excites me; my senses respond first, and when my nose gets a whiff of old spice, talcum powder, and the pre-loved scent: dust.



What I love most about vintage clothes is the quality; far from the throw away fashion which is popular these days, clothing stitched and sewn during the last century was made to last, on the premise that the dress or coat you bought was such good quality that you'd buy it again.

Braderie is rich with apparel of this nature; rails of vintage Barbour jackets line nearly half of the back wall, vintage sunglasses in aviator, wayfarer and cat eye styles, are at the front of the shop, and jewel colours shine out from the mixture of muted tones across the shop, as boutique pieces stick out.



Their respectful Barbour jackets collection ranges from wax to quilted and basic in sizes xs to xxl. Amazingly the Barbour's start at £50, which is practically a steal in my eyes; in the Barbour stores and in House of Fraser and Selfridges, prices start at £90, so it really is a mark down you should invest in. I initially thought the coats were donated, but the owner told me most of their Barbour's are imported from Denmark, and judging by the quality of the jackets, the Danes do it well.



Knitted and embroidered jumpers in plain and fun prints can be found from as a little as £8.00 for both men and women, and the bright and patterned leggings start from £5.00. Vintage needn't be expensive, and one of the flawless mac coats in a light beige was only £50, I couldn't believe it.

No vintage store is complete without the obligatory rail of vintage shorts, Levi's of course. Small, medium, large, and the undecided sizes are at the front of the shop in washes reminiscent of 1970's and 80's fashion.



On the men's side of the store you'll find the counterpart to the women's apparel, there is however a slight discrepancy because the men's shoe section has an upper hand: on the left side appears to be the largest amount of converse I have ever seen.



Like most vintage stores, their creativity spills over the other vintage goodies, and on the back shelf are four vintage cameras, one of which is known to work, and the other three could just be for decorative value. The cameras start from £25, so if you're a bit of a vintage collector, go and snap one of these up.



I visited Braderie for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and was quite overcome; vintage Burberry and enough denim shorts to wear all summer, it was a little seductive to be quite honest, but I reined myself in and bought the coolest blue aviator shades I'm proud to own.

Even payment at Braderie, is worth a mention. When you pay on your card you get a text sent to your smart phone of a link which you must follow to confirm the order. If you don't have a smart phone it's not as fun, but you can still pay without the cool confirmation.

With the right arm twisting you might even be tempted to buy the Honda bike at the front of the store, which has been kept in mint condition, and comes with two black leather side bags on the back wheel. You always need a reliable source of transport, should modern conveniences let you down, and haven't you heard? Bikes are cool.

#central_birmingham
#shopping
#vintage_retro
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