Prim Vintage Fashion

Being a child of the 70s my student days in the mid 80s consisted of trawling charity or 'secondhand' shops as they were then known.  There, if you were lucky, you'd find some local stylish gran had cleared out her wardrobe and you could fill up a plastic bag with some foisty, slightly grubby goods for a couple of quid to be scrubbed and fixed up at home.  

Oh how times have changed!  Second hand has now become vintage, with stock sourced from specialist dealers around the world, cleaned, pressed and in pristine condition ready to be discovered and loved all over again in beautiful little boutiques up and down the country.

And one of the finest examples can be found right here in Norwich Lanes.

Prim Vintage Fashion was opened on St Benedicts in 2008 by Shona Darling Daly and James Nisbet and is home to some of the finest threads for miles around!  These guys really know their vintage.  Shona has been trading online since 2003 and has built up relationships with some of the best suppliers in the country (which she quite rightly keeps close to her chest...).  Her boyfriend James worked for many years in retail management around central London - so when they decided to put their heads together, move to Norwich and set up in bricks and mortar a star was born!

The shop was designed and laid out themselves so they are proud of every inch and corner, but perhaps most importantly they know their stock!  They can (and are happy to) tell you which era every piece dates from, so if it's a particular look you're going for you're in luck.  Clothes, shoes, boots, bags, belts, jewels... it's all here, and not a plastic bag in sight!

The men's department is tucked away in an underground cellar.  There's some real finds down here, not least one of the best shoe collections I've seen in a while.  And if you're just hanging out while your girlfriend shops upstairs, there's plenty of reading material...

After a dose of serious shopping, do yourself a favour and head across the road to The Bicycle Shop, one of my all time favourite cafe bars...

I'll leave the final word to Shona and James themselves who can explain the benefits of vintage so much better - all I know is I love a good dress when I see one, and pay day can't come quick enough...

Why Choose Vintage?