Back to Grassmarket: Discovering a Retail Paradise

It's official. Move over temples of High street fashion on Princes Street. Bow your heads in shame tourist tats along the Royal Mile. I have crowned the Grassmarket area my new favourite shoppin' & browsin' spot in Edinburgh!

This marks my second trip back to the Grassmarket area in a week. While I scoured the adjoining Westport street for independent vintage finds on Sunday, this time I focused on Grassmarket itself, in addition to making little detours off to West Bow, Victoria Street and Candlemaker row. In sum: bigger and better vintage, awesome boutiques, antique shops, trendy bistros, and too-hip art book stores.

Sampled quite a few shops on my walkabout, and here are my top picks for retail fiends.

1. Armstrong's, 83 Grassmarket


Barnados Vintage along West Bow, is a sweet vintage charity store which uses all proceeds to aid young children and their families. However, it simply cannot compare to the behemoth just across the street on Grassmarket: Armstrong's is the grand dame of Vintage fashion and it's not hard to see why. It is a giant emporium stacked floor to ceiling with an assortment of vintage costumes, accessories, jewelry and day-to-day wear which is simply unbeatable.

There are pieces which are clearly intended for the stage (or a fancy-dress party): ornate mandarin-collared tunics, neon pink frilly showgirl pieces, ostentatious tartan kilts, and even 1970s-esque wigs drip off the racks. There is even a little corner dedicated to Vintage wedding dresses, all creamy white and flouncy.

If your tastes are less kitsch, head toward the back of the store and you'll find a large selection of daily wear (men's and women's), which are indeed, very wearable and at very reasonable prices to boot. I spied adorable dresses for around 15 pounds, and strings of faux pearls at just a pound.

I was very tempted by a grey checked top, with a delicate lace inner-lining. But quite sadly, washing instructions stipulated dry cleaning only. Not too practical in Singapore's sweat-inducing weather - sigh.

The grey checked top - 12 pounds

Swinging mini-skirt - five pounds.


So cute! Printed pussy-bow dress on mannequin. Forgot the price.

So definitely make Armstrong's a must-see when going on your retail rounds. It's not just a store. It's an institution.

They also have another smaller outlet along Clerk Street, and a spin-off at Teviot Place called Rusty Zip.

2. Red Door Gallery and Analogue,
42 Victoria Street and 102 West Bow respectively

Artsy bookstores which also double up as small gallery spaces. Analogue is a sparsely designed shop which stocks books pertaining to fashion, design and writing/publishing. Red Door has a quirky assortment of house-hold knick knacks, cards, planners and stationery including 'Film Diaries' by Otsu, with thoughtful blanks labelled 'Movie title,' 'Director,' 'Producer' and 'Analysis/Critique/Notes.' Perfect for that film student or movie buff!




Picked up The Locals' Guide to Edinburgh while at the Red Door and flipped through it briefly over lunch. It's given me new ideas about where to go and what to do in the next few days! Love how the places and activities featured come straight from native Edinburgh-ers, including students, taxi drivers and local DJs. The book is also lovingly designed and is a pretty companion to carry around in your handbag.

3. Swish and Joe
Somewhere along Victoria St, and Greyfriars place respectively

Swish is a tad pricy, but it stocks totally cute dresses with little, idiosyncratic twists. Had fun browsing even though the 40 - 60 pound price tags were out of my reach.

Joe features colourful jewelry and knick-knacks, including a gorgeous selection of bags against the wall which I simply loved.

In the course of my shopping trip, I've been amazed at the retail geography of Edinburgh. In addition to the usual mass chains along Princes Street, and the designer labels on Multrees Walk, I've also discovered so many cheap charity shops and independent boutiques. The latter in particular, are also really active in promoting local designers - drawn perhaps, from the nearby arts college on Lauriston place.

There is also a large emphasis on 'ethical' shopping - vintage shops invariably remind shoppers of the environmental benefits of buying second-hand, and the profusion of charity shops (like Barnados) also allow shoppers guilt-free retail trips as they know their money will go toward charitable causes. And of course, 'fairtrade' is a sacrosanct word which earns approving nods from consumers.

Overall a very different shopping and browsing experience compared to Singapore. Shoppers here seem more conscious about where and how they want to spend their dollar.

Vintage Hunting in Grassmarket

I have mixed views about Vintage clothing. On the one hand, I think the past can be a great source of unique, one-of-a-kind creations. I also like (selectively) the loud colours and prints on vintage dresses, in addition to the details on jewelry, bags and other accessories!

At the same time, I am distrustful of the almost hallowed, chi-chi cult status Vintage fashion has been given in recent years. Whatever their intentions, you can't deny that 'Vintage,' as a label, is a good way to justify selling old, second-hand clothes at expensive prices. And I also don't think all vintage is necessarily chic. Some of those floral print go-go dresses must be accompanied by a whole lot of attitude and smart accessorizing, lest you end up looking like mouldy curtains.

So as far as I'm concerned, one treads a flimsy line between looking stylishly retro on one hand...and playing dress-up with grandma's discards on the other.

Despite my reservations, I do enjoy sifting through the racks at Vintage stores just to see the colourful, often quirky and occassionally flamboyant creations from an era long gone. The vintage outlets I've seen usually take the form of cosy, little boutiques which make for a pleasantly different shopping experience than the kind you get at Top-shop, Zara and other similar high-end, mass outlets.

Roamed around Westport Street today in the Grassmarket area. Fashion-lovers may be pleased to know that there are several vintage outlets sprinkled in the vicinity. Here are two which I sampled:

1. Herman Brown
151 West Port, Edinburgh

Racks of clothing line either side of this store which stocks "Vintage & Retro to Modern Clothing, Jewelry & Accessories." They've got a selection of totally cute dresses hanging up on the walls as well. Amongst other things, I was quite taken by their selection of gingham frocks. The sad thing about Vintage however, is that being unique and "one of a kind," they don't usually do sizes. So many dresses which I wanted to try on simply did not fit!

However I did take this with me into the dressing room:

So apparently it dates back to the 1960s and has a 'Harrods' label on it! It was cute but pretty plain compared with some of the others on the rack which had more detail - however all too big for me! I also shimmied into a 70's-era black shiny top which wouldn't look out of the place in a club today!

2. Godiva Boutique
9 West Port, Edinburgh

The vintage fashion here is loud, outrageous and screams attention. Think billowing mini skirts resembling multi-coloured stripped circus tents, and polka-dotted mini dresses ending in an explosion of white ruffles at the hems. It's fun, bordering a little on the theatrical. Personally I don't think I would have the guts to pull most of it off!

They also stock a line of jeans called Hi-DEE which was pretty darn attractive - I really coveted the stretch skinny jeans in an absolutely gorgeous shade of fire-engine red. Roar.

But vintage clothing aside, Godiva's Made to Measure line is what really stood out for me. Basically, you choose a plain 'template' dress from their Made to Measure rack and try it on to see the cut. If you like it, you'll get measured up and the store will arrange a consultation session with the designer. You'll be allowed to discuss your specifications for the dress right down to the kind of fabric, any additional details, or minor tweaks you wish to make to the design - say you want the sleeves off or an extra bow at the back etc.

And two weeks later, voila - you get your own customized frock!

The helpful salesgirl informed me that Made to Measure is extremely popular with ladies wanting something a little special for that summer party, or fancy wedding dinner they've been invited to.

This made to order service is not exactly cheap. The dresses range from about 60 to 150 pounds, excluding the fabric and other bells-and-whistles you might want to add.

On the bright side, I guess you can be assured that fashion faux pas will be eliminated with Made to Measure - no chance of you showing up with the same dress as someone else! It'll also fit perfectly since it was made for you and only you in mind. Finally, it's also a rather environmentally-friendly concept; dresses are only made on order and are produced within Edinburgh by local designers, minimizing waste and air miles in the process.

That's fashion with a conscience for you.