VINTAGE FASHION“NOTTINGHAM HAS A DISTINCT VINTAGE STYLE.”

Raquel Booysen | T0072802 | FC031 | Green Cohort | Group B | Submission Date: 13 July 2017. | 1473 words.

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BRADERIE 2.1. Who Are We?2.2. Not Staying In Nottingham? 2.3. New To Vintage Fashion? 2.4. What Are Our Dominant Fabrics? 2.5. Do We Have Your Favorite Colour?2.6. Are We Affordable? 2.7. Who Is Our Target Market?

3. PRIMARK3.1. Who Are We? 3.2. Looking For Vintage Inspired Pieces? 3.3. Need Ideas On Vintage Style?3.4. Can You Find Us Online? 3.5. What Are Our Dominant Fabrics? 3.6. Are We Affordable? 3.7. Do We Satisfy Your Needs?

4. COMPARISON 4.1. Braderie vs. Primark 4.2. Vintage Clothing vs. Vintage Inspired Clothing

5. CONCLUSION

6. REFERENCES

1. INTRODUCTION:

Figure 1.

Nottingham is a city in England, well known for its young population as approximately 28% of its population is aged from 18 to 29 years of age (Nottinghamcity, 2016). Along with this younger population, the population is also very ethnically diverse because of the number of

international students from all over the world.

With this diverse population, it is only natural to assume that the style of women’s fashion accustomed to Nottingham is influenced by all these different ethnicities. However, Nottingham has some of its own, very noticeable, trends and style that women tend to integrate into their own personal style. One obvious style of fashion is Vintage Fashion, which is common amongst university students who tend to wear plaid shirts, bomber jackets and choker necklaces. These key items are only three of the very many vintage trends.

“Strictly speaking, Vintage Fashion is clothing that is at least 25 years old” (Odulate, 2008). Fashion is continuously evolving throughout every season, with newer and more innovative designs that grace the runways. However, fashion is also timeless and each era has produced designs worth appreciating and incorporating into today’s style.

The aim of this report is to see how a large department store such as Primark has included women’s vintage inspired pieces into its stores. Moreover, compare these pieces to those of

local/independent vintage clothing stores such as Braderie.

2. BRADERIE:

Figure 2. 19-21 Pelham St, Nottingham, NG1 2ED.

1. Who Are We? BRADERIE is a local/independent clothing

Local/independent Clothing Store.

Location: Nottingham, England.

Address: 19-21 Pelham St, Nottingham, NG1 2ED.

Contact Information: 0115 924 2353

Website: https://www.braderie.co.uk/

Online Shopping Platform: https://marketplace.asos.com/boutique/braderie

store in the City Centre of Nottingham popular amongst students aged 19 to 29. They have vintage pieces sourced from all over the world. Braderie caters for both men and women’s fashion but as mentioned before, this report will only focus on women’s fashion. They have a variety of different garments and accessories. With regards to the window display (figure 2), it shows different pieces layered together to create wonderful vintage ensembles fitting to the season.

2. Not Staying In Nottingham? They have recently launched an online shopping platform on the ASOS Marketplace which

has helped increase their popularity as ASOS is a well-known and commonly used online shopping source (figures 3, 4 & 5). With this increased popularity as well as their increased social media activity on Instagram (figure 6), Braderie has started to gain a lot more customers from all over the world.

3. New To Vintage Fashion? They have been successful in producing Lookbooks, available on their website that have, helped guide women on their vintage clothing journey whether they have had this style their whole life or have recently adapted to the trend (figures 7, 8 & 9).

Figures 3 & 4.

Figures 5 & 6.

Figures 7, 8 & 9.

4. What Are Our Dominant Fabrics? For a garment to be able to remain in good condition over a long period of time, the fabric needs to be of good quality. Braderie has a variety of different pieces all made of different types of fabric but the most dominant types of fabric are cotton, flannel and denim. Cotton and flannel are two the most comfortable and durable fabrics, making both a good investment as they tend to last longer (The Fabric of our Lives, 2017). Denim is a strong fabric, which increases its ability to

last and remain in suitable condtion (Denver Fabrics, 2017). To conclude, the fabrics most dominant in Braderie, are good investments as they have proven to last over a long period of time.

5. Do We Have Your Favorite Colour? Other than the type of fabric a garment is made of, the colours used are of importance too. The most dominant colours in Braderie are very bold colours such as yellow and red (figure 3 & 6) and muted colours such as grey and mustard.

6. Are We Affordable? The price is of great importance as well. The price of a garment depends on the type of garment it is or the brand it’s from. Braderie items of clothing tend to be more expensive as their pieces are high quality vintage pieces. The price indicates how much the garment is worth.

7. Who Is Our Target Market? Majority of Braderie’s cliental consists of students which poses a problem to their sales. Students have no solid income of their own, which means their purchases directly affect their monthly allowance. This is a factor Braderie as a clothing store needs to consider in terms of pricing to ensure they don’t overprice items and lose potential loyal customers.

3. PRIMARK:

Figure 10. 6-12 Long Row, Nottingham NG1 2DZ.

Department Store across the UK, Europe and USA.

Location: Nottingham, England.

Address: 6-12 Long Row, Nottingham NG1 2DZ.

Contact Information: 0115 958 0817

Website: https://www.primark.com/en/homepage

Online Shopping Platform: No official online shopping platform.

1. Who Are We? PRIMARK is a department store well known across the country located in the City Centre of Nottingham. It is most popular amongst people who are shopping on a budget as they offer quality clothing items at a reasonable and appealing price.

2. Looking for Vintage Inspired Pieces? Primark caters for both men and women’s fashion for all ages and sizes. They have a variety of products such as most clothing options in various styles, one of which is Vintage style. This section of the report will only focus on the Vintage inspired pieces found in the women’s fashion division at Primark. They have a range of designs inspired by previous decades, however, none of these pieces are actually Vintage, hence inspired. Some of these designs include high-waist denim jeans, tie dye shirts (figure 11), floral/hippie prints and overalls (figure 12).

Figure 11.

Figure 12.

3. Need Ideas On Vintage Style? Primark’s display windows and in-store displays usually pair these Vintage inspired pieces with normal modern styles, giving customers an idea of how to incorporate the ‘Vintage Look’ into their everyday style.

4. Can You Find Us Online? Primark has a website online with a catalogue of all the items they have available and the price accordingly. However, they do not have an official online shopping platform as of yet, which decreases

their chances of reaching a broader customer base.

Figure 13.

Figures 14 & 15.

5. What Are Our Dominant Fabrics? Polyester/Cotton blended fabrics are the most dominant fabrics found in Primark. These blended fabrics make shirts and jeans easier to care for and more comfortable, which are very attractive attributes when choosing clothing (Bbc.co.uk. 2014).

6. Are We Affordable? Not only do they have comfortable fabrics but comfortable prices as well. Primark is well known for having reasonable prices that range anywhere

between £1 and £30. Vintage inspired pieces such as tie dye shirts (figure 11) are priced at £8 and overalls (figure 12) are priced at £14. Their pieces are often from the brands Atmosphere or Denim&Co, which are not expensive designer brands and cater for the average person.

7. Do We Satisfy Your Needs? The quality of clothing purchased at Primark is not the best but they do however cater for all sizes and styles at a realistic price.

4. COMPARISON:

1. Braderie vs. Primark. BRADERIE is a local, independent store located in Nottingham. They do not have branches all over the country or in other parts of the world. Whereas, PRIMARK is located all

over both nationally and internationally. They also have a range of different products, in different styles while Braderie only has Vintage Fashion. Braderie and Primark both share the same target market, of

young adults aged from 18 to 29 years of age. Braderie has managed to provide customers with the option of online shopping on the ASOS marketplace, while Primark has no operating online shopping platform.

2. Vintage Clothing vs. Vintage Inspired Clothing.VINTAGE clothing is at least 25 years old whereas VINTAGE INSPIRED clothing is

fairly new. Vintage pieces are often of better quality and more expensive than Vintage inspired pieces. However, when shopping for Vintage pieces, the odds of finding something you like in your size and preferred colour are quite slim, whereas shopping for Vintage inspired pieces, finding your size in the colour you prefer is almost guaranteed.

5.CONCLUSION:

“With vintage there is an extra sense of serendipity to find something you love, which fits, is rarer than walking into a shop with racks of the same pieces in every size – but that winning feeling is so much greater” (Moss, 2016).

Vintage Fashion is in complete contrast of Fast

Fashion, it is unique and desirable. Preserving garments, recycling and upcycling fabrics, eliminates the need for further production of clothing, which is not only cheaper but is environmentally beneficial. Fast Fashion only exists as a way to fill the void of having something new, when in

fact, old pre-worn pieces have the potential to be new as well.

There are a number of Vintage clothing stores to choose from apart from Braderie, which cater for the young, vibrant, mostly student population of Nottingham. These include WILD Clothing and COW

among others, in the Hockley area. Similarly, Primark is not the only large retailer that supplies Vintage inspired pieces, retailers such as H&M and New Look have incorporated Vintage into their style of clothing as well. The choice is made by the customer, in terms of affordability and quality.

6. REFERENCES:

Websites

Bbc.co.uk. (2014). BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Modern fibres. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/design/textiles/fibresrev4.shtml [Accessed 25 June 2017].

Denver Fabrics (2013). Denim Fabric Facts. [online] Available at: https://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/denim/denim.aspx [Accessed 19 June 2017].

Nottinghamcity. (2016). Insight web family - Demography (2016). [online] Available at: http://jsna.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/insight/Strategic-Framework/Nottingham-JSNA/Related-documents/Demography-2016.aspx [Accessed 15 June 2017].

Moss, V. (2016). Vintage fashion is back and it's easier to buy than ever before. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/vintage-fashion-is-back-and-its-easier-to-buy-than-ever-before/ [Accessed 8 May 2017].

The Fabric of our Lives (2017). The Benefits of Cotton | Cotton. [online] Available at: https://thefabricofourlives.com/learn-about-cotton/the-benefits-of-cotton [Accessed 19 June 2017].

Images

Figure 1. Wikipedia.org (2017). Nottingham shown within Nottinghamshire and England. [online image] en.wikipedia.org. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham [Accessed 2 June 2017].

Figures 3, 4 & 5. ASOS Marketplace. (2017). Braderie. [online image] Available at: https://marketplace.asos.com/boutique/braderie [Accessed 10 June 2017]. Figure 6. Instagram (2017). Braderie. [online image] Braderievintage. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/braderievintage/?hl=en [Accessed 10 June 2017].

Figures 6, 7 & 8. Braderie (2017). The Braderie LookBook. [online image] Available at: https://www.braderie.co.uk/ [Accessed 10 June 2017].

Figures 13, 14 & 15. Primark (2017). Primark. [online image] Available at: https://www.primark.com/en/homepage [Accessed 15 June 2017].

Books

Odulate, F. (2008) Shopping for Vintage. United States of America: St. Martin’s Press.