The well-anticipated vintage clothing shop opens on Albert Road in Southsea this week! And brings not only a real buzz to the road but also a fantastic pink showstopper of a shopfront.
Catching up with Merlin, the business owner, he said that having spent years loving fashion and collecting timeless pieces, he decided to take the selling of the items he liked to collect more seriously.
Being a lover of sustainability, he has always felt good about finding cool pieces that others would love and want to wear. Chatting about his passion for clothes, he said, “It’s so important to me to try and encourage people to buy second-hand quality items that will last instead of buying rubbish that’s made from plastic or cotton and drenched in pesticides and won’t be sustainable.”
Talking about why he wanted to go down the route of vintage clothing, the shop owner said that he feels that clothing should be well made and bought to last. He hates the fast fashion industry and wants people to think about the clothes they buy and where they go when worn and are not needed anymore.
Moving his business across from Salsbury, Merlin said that setting up the shop outside of Hampshire was a great starting point and gave him lots of ideas but his true love has always been Southsea. He has always loved the culture here, the lifestyle of being part of the independent community and bought a house in Southsea two years ago.
Opening the doors on Albert Road has always been the plan so it will be nice to see the shop open and see what collections of vintage stock Merlin will have on display.
Being a fan of Palace, Stone Island and vintage sportswear like Puma and Nike, you can see that he brings an edge to the vintage scene here in the city. There is definitely a skating vibe to his curated collections with Dickies and Carhartt that offer such longevity in their wear, you can really see the appeal.
By keeping vintage clothing on trend and current, Merlin said he hopes to keep inspiring people by curating seriously cool pieces that will keep drawing potential buyers back. Having bought a vintage Puma zip jacket back in 2021 from Merlin that I still love, I really feel the vintage look is here to stay.
There is a sincere following of vintage shops around the UK and it’s nice that most of the shop owners know each other and respect each other’s work. Up and down the country, these proprietors of clothing spend hours searching for the best stock they have lovingly sourced. The journey of that clothing, where it has come from, and where it is going really does matter.
From the feelings of whether this item will stand the test of time in 15 years, to how many times it will go through a washing machine are all questions that someone like Merlin will ask himself when choosing what to buy and put in his shop.
Pop along this week and you can’t miss the amazing pink frontage on Albert Road but if you do need help finding it, it is next to the Barbers where Langford Antiques used to be!
