Again Garments brings vintage fashion back again in Oxford
Ade, Alfie and Chloe share their thoughts on working dynamics, the thrill of going to rag houses and the current trend of shopping second hand
As you enter the shop, Ade, Alfie and Chloe welcome everyone with not only their kindness, but also with their unique and rare styles. Alfie greets people wearing a traditional Russian fur hat, while Chloe smiles ear-to-ear in a stripy hat with a cat-ear shape. Ade, being unapologetically himself, represents the shop by wearing all vintage.
Ade started out in the vintage fashion industry when he was a mature student at Oxford Brookes University studying Cultural Anthropology. Now, four years later, working with his son Alfie and his business partner Chloe, Ade has successfully brought Again Garments to life, with two stores operating in Oxford.
“While I was studying at Brookes, I used to come down to Gloucester Green quite a bit, and I used to help out at the vintage stores, and then lockdown came”, said Ade. Even though COVID brought its complications with itself, he started his company out slowly. “The person I was working for pulled off, went online, but she gave me a contact in a textile mill. So, I started on my own.” Fighting against the challenging months of lockdown, it all began on eBay. “I started in my room, then moved into a container, and then by the time everything got back to normal we had the amount of garments from before, so we were like… Shall we?”
Some would call it pure luck, or maybe it was meant to be, but a place happened to open up at the Market. “There has always been a vintage clothing seller on Gloucester Green, so I didn’t have to do much marketing or advertising, people just knew it was here. So, we set it up, came and turned up to the market. Started off with one store, and now worked up to two stores”, said Ade.
As multiple years have passed, not only did the fashion industry change, but so did Ade’s perspective when it comes to the shop. “I think you need a kind of balance. You are providing a service to people that need it genuinely, because they haven’t got much money, and then you are also providing a service to people that love clothes and also understand that we need to stop making clothes. There’s just enough clothes for everybody already.”
“That’s where the fun comes in for us”, said Ade. “We love clothes, so we have an idea of style, of culture, of time, and then all the other things like fabrics and looks, that is what we bring then”.
Working at a market instead of for a corporation changes both the salesman and the costumer experience. “We have the added ability of curating our own stuff, so we don’t have to go through a vintage wholesaler and buy a bale and have to try and make that work”, explained Ade.
Ade also said that what they do at Again Garments is very Oxford centric, as they got to know the style of people after working with them for years. “When we go into a textile warehouse where there are mountains of clothes, we pull out items that have got a certain look, a certain style, and that’s what we bring. That’s very unique to what we do here. We couldn’t do what we do on Brick Lane, or Bristol, or Edinburgh or even Birmingham.”
After having Again Garments at Gloucester Green for four years, a new spot has opened up in the heart of the city centre, in the Covered Market. Chloe shared that they were toying with the idea of a new shop for a while, especially on rainy days. “It’s all fun in the sun, and in the cold we would prepare with warm clothes, but on those wet days when you’re putting up the canopies and water is dripping down your arms, it’s not the best experience”.
Even though Chloe and Alfie have been working together with Ade for years, the new shop meant that they would “have to take on a lot of responsibility for it”, which they did. Alfie also helps out with the graphic designs, and he makes all the logos and loyalty cards. “We also realised that it is beneficial to have two shops, because the market is only on between Thursday and Saturday, so it’s good that people can find vintage every other day as well”, said Chloe.
As they knew their target audience and they have been well established already, the new spot was an immediate success. “The feedback has been very positive”, said Ade. “It was a soft launch; we had a review in the paper, but we didn’t put up a big branding or promotions.
“We pitched it well, we kind of knew what the crowd was up there and what they were looking for, and it’s not too different to what we do here, it’s just better presented.”
“Those who know, know”, said Alfie about the feedback they received about the new store. “Vintage clothing is quite abstract, some people can’t wrap their heads around the fact that you charge maybe a bit higher amount for used clothes, but those people who are kind of in that world, they know we’ve got a nice selection”.
Again Garments offers a friendly shopping experience as Ade expressed that the way they think is: “Come on in, have a look, if you need any help let us know, so it’s very relaxed.”
“Come and have a rummage, because that’s vintage, right? It’s about encouraging everyone’s individual style.”
Chloe and Alfie also shared that gathering garments is one of their favourite parts of their job. “We have one rag house that we have a really good relationship with and then another supplier who does wholesale”, said Alfie. “We all go get clothes together from the rag house, and we always have a lot of fun. The whole process is just exciting, and we also get to buy things for ourselves. We call it the rag round when we go”, added Chloe.
Ade, Alfie and Chloe all said that they have a really good working dynamic, and that they would not be where they are now without each other. “We’re all partners here, I’m not the boss”, said Ade. “I do take a certain amount of responsibility, but we are all equal and respected. I might be the captain of the pirate ship, but I couldn’t sail the ship without Alfie and Chloe.”
As Ade and Alfie are father and son, the “lines get a bit blurred” when they are working together, said Alfie. “I am not only working with my dad but living with my boss as well, but I wouldn’t have it any other way”. Chloe also shared, that they all have a similar love for things, but they do disagree sometimes. “It’s just a healthy bit of difference”.
With the new store opening, Again Garments hopes to bring something new to Oxford. “When you’re in London, Manchester or Bristol, if you have a party that day and you want a vintage dress you know where to go, and I think Oxford is just lacking that”, said Chloe.
“There’s just not somewhere where there’s a community of people of all ages and who just have a common interest in buying vintage. That’s what we are trying to do here.”
Even though the new store is not that different from the one at Gloucester Green, some changes have been made already. “Now that we have the new place, we can curate the rails a bit nicer, we can clean the garments, steam them, do repairs”, said Alfie. “I feel like people’s attitudes also changed, it’s just different when you have an actual brick and mortar shop.”
The team is also trying to make customers feel included; they can now communicate what they would like to see on the rails. “I did a questionnaire on Instagram asking people what they want to see, and we immediately got so many responses. We knew we were lacking fancier options for girls, so most of the responses said to have more camisole tops. When we put them out, they sold right away”, said Chloe.
“We’re just paying attention to what sells, what doesn’t sell, swapping and changing things around. We just want to make everyone happy really, and we want people to be pleased when they come in.”
Ade, Alfie, and Chloe’s mindset on fashion can be seen in the way they operate both of their shops, as they have a true love for vintage clothing. “I think it’s just too easy for people to go and buy new things, but in my opinion the search is so fun and when you find something that’s rare and maybe you’re the only one that has it, it feels so much more special”, said Chloe.
At the end of the day everyone has a different spin on fashion, but it is all about the meaning you give to it, which Ade worded perfectly.
“Fashion is just all about doing things again. Where vintage fashion comes in, is how 20 years ago I interpreted it completely different from how you interpret it today, and this is why clothes stay in circulation. I might look at it and want to do something specific with it and pigeonhole it as only suitable for that now, but the reason we still sell clothes is because you guys give a new meaning to them.”