Pure Vintage: Kingston’s new hub of old clothes

Vintage clothing store, Pure Vintage, opened its doors in Kingston last week, slowing down the pace of fashion within the Bentall Centre.

Pre-owned garments adorn the clothing rails and walls of Kingston resident Alex Gilbert’s first physical store, after using circular fashion platform Depop to resell clothes since he was 16-years-old.

The pandemic forced him to take his reselling hobby to the next level. “I lost my place in flying school, I was meant to be a pilot, but then I realised that all my stuff on Depop had sold,” said Gilbert.

“So I worked in a warehouse for the first lockdown, saved up a bit of money, bought some more clothes then it has just snowballed since then.”

Talking about his new store, Gilbert said: “We exclusively sell either reworked or second-hand clothing.

“Each piece is completely unique, which is what brought me to liking vintage in the first place. Each item has a bit of a history, it’s been worn by other people and it’s one of one.”

Gilbert wants to believe that people are more conscious of where they are buying their clothes and the problems with fast fashion.

He said: “I am pretty biased, but I know the amount of stuff that just gets chucked away. I’ve seen it first-hand, and it is disgraceful. Despite my hopes, I think it is quite a divided debate.”

Gilbert also recognises the lack of disposable income that leads students to buying from unsustainable brands and retailers.

He said: “If you are on a budget it is not as accessible to buy stuff that is not fast fashion, mass produced and possibly using illicit techniques.”

Permanent student discounts, 10% off everything and bargain bins are in the pipeline for those scouting for offers.

Their patchwork jackets are perhaps the most sustainable and creative use of second-hand clothes, which is a great way to repurpose material in bad yet salvageable conditions.

As sported by Gilbert, patchwork jackets made of workwear trousers are a unique find, with the goal to have plenty more by Christmas and to expand into reworked accessories, starting with a Carhartt denim tote bag.

The inspiration came from the abundance of undamaged material left despite the bottoms being frayed and the knees worn out.

Head over to the Wood Street or visit https://purevintage-clothing.com to check out the inventory and consequently save the environment.