Melbourne Vintage Shopping: Part 1 of 3

I had the very good fortune recently to spend 4 days in Melbourne, Australia. I have to say that I am in love with the place. It seems to have all the best bits of New York City, Vancouver and Seattle rolled into one, all wrapped up in gloriously happy and sunny Australian packaging. It's the kind of city I could easily see myself living in for a spell.

There's a wonderful array of glorious historic buildings sitting cheek-to-cheek with fabulous modern architecture, and in the central city you can't turn around without stumbling over some quirky public artwork. A vast network of trams criss-crosses the city making transport a breeze and fun to boot. Melbourne has been called one of the world's largest (and most under-appreciated) Art Deco cities, so vintage-minded folks will love soaking up the various historial details that abound in the city.

So with four days at my disposal, I decided to investigate some of Melbourne's vintage shopping opportunities - and trust me, there are plenty. I only managed to scratch the surface in the central downtown area and just one (of the many) near-central shopping precincts.

This trip to Oz was totally last-minute (I decided to tag along with my beau, who was being sent over for work), so I did zero research before I went, and just left things up to the fates.

So, without further ado, here's Part 1 of my four days spent scouring for vintage treasures in sunny Melbourne.

Downtown Melbourne
Central Melbourne city has more shops than you can shake a stick at, and features a labyrinth of tiny 'laneways' bursting with small boutiques, cafes and other delectable designer shops. You could easily spend a few days just poking around in this relatively small area.

Top Picks:
Retrostar Vintage Clothing
corner Flinders Lane and Swanston Street
www.retrostar.com.au

This shop is billed as the 'largest vintage clothing shop in Australia' - so make sure you allocate plenty of time to get round everything. Their stock covers the gamut from the 1940s through the 1980s, but I'd say that (as is the case with most vintage stores) 1970s/80s is the dominant theme.

RetroStar is indeed quite big - allow plenty of time for browsing!

Pricing varies depending on the items. Things of recent vintage (1980s) seem fairly reasonable (for Melbourne) at around A$45-65 for a dress. Here's a couple of 'not-actual-1920s-but-could-pass-for 1920s-with-the-right-accessories' dresses I found:

The pale dress has cute little front pockets, and although the hemline is too short for the 1920s it could easily be lengthened by inserting a panel sash at the dropped waistline.

I really liked the darker dress and it fit nicely, but it was the morning of Day 1 and I didn't want to peak too early with my shopping endeavours. Turns out I ran out of time to make it back to RetroStar at the end of the trip - perhaps if I sent them the photo I could buy the dress by mail-order.

I also found this amazing 1930s style ladies' suit - which fit me PERFECTLY.

Front and back views - apologies for bad changing-room lighting!


The jacket fit like a dream!

I'm not sure if it's actual 1930s or a later era - it was definitely oldish. It did have a few wee holes in the fabric here and there and the jacket lining was extensively ripped, so I put it (and its A$185 price tag) back on the rack.

I was heartbroken to find out that I'd be leaving Melbourne the day before one of RetroStar's famous Warehouse Sales, where oodles of stock is sold off at rock-bottom prices. You can check their website news page for updates on sales - there's another one coming up in December.


Antons
Level 2, Melbourne Central Mall, 300 Lonsdale St
Phone 03 9663 8610

Anton's has a very unique approach to their business: They do no advertising, they have no website, and they don't even have signage on the front of the actual store. You have to either a) stumble across it accidentally, or b) know about its existence and use Google maps to find the darned place.

On the down-low: the unnamed exterior of Anton's
in Melbourne Central mall

Anton's stocks new (not secondand) clothing, which the lovely shop assistant Keira describes as "1940s-inspired with a modern twist". The look is very classic and tailored, but with just a dash of eclectic vaudeville and burlesque elements here and there (as hinted at by their marvellous window display).

I like the devil man...

The shop is an amazing place to browse. There's vintage and kitsch curiosities everywhere; I discover a (life sized?) Yoda statue sitting atop a vintage steamer trunk and peering out from under a display of electric blue satin pussybow blouses.

This is definitely a shop of suits - and all things suitably suity - for men and women. There are no frocks (GASP!), but what they do have in store is luvvvvverly. Anton's may not advertise, but it's proven there's always a market for good craftsmanship and elegant style. Customer service is top-notch. The assistants are friendly and knowledgeable. Impressively, Keira recognised and remembered me from a fleeting visit I made to the shop 6 months ago.

mmmm... can you say "Perfect Wedding Suit?"
photo by xntrek on Flickr

In addition to their 'no advertising' policy (which meant they wouldn't let me take photos inside the store), Anton's has an 'as and when' policy for the clothing ranges. Everything is made in short runs, when they feel like it. When a particular style sells out it may or may not ever be made again. While the runs are short, the overall styles are kept similar - which means if you visit the store 6 months later the items will be a little different but you know you'll still love everything.

Although they don't offer a completely bespoke tailoring service, Keira did note that you can choose to have an existing style made up in your size from any fabric from their available stock.

Suit from Anton's - photo by xntrek on Flickr

And in case you're wondering, there really is an Anton, who's been in the 'rag trade' for 20 years and designs the clothes for the shop. The story goes that he loves vintage style but got tired of having to wear moth-bitten secondhand suits to achieve the look - and hence the idea for Anton's was born and the shop has been going for 15 years now.

It's definitely a bonus to get retro style clothes in brand new, gorgeous fabrics. I tried on a pair of pinstripe slacks in a buttery soft grey material and they draped like nobody's business. The clothes are priced to reflect the quality and workmanship - suit pants are A$298 and suit jackets are $595. They do have a sale rack and an excellent layby option (used by many a poor-but-style-hungry university student).

Melbournians are defintely lucky to have Anton's, but Sydneysiders are in luck too as Anton's has a small shop in Sydney (don't ask me where it is - you'll just have to find it). Although they don't do mail order (surprise surprise), Anton's does do a trunk show in Auckland about once a year where you can try on samples and order items in your size.

Other places of interest:

Coops Shot Tower
After visiting Antons be sure to walk to the other end of Melbourne Central mall to see the wonderful old Coops Shot Tower, a lead shot factory built in 1890. Instead of demolishing it to make way for the mall, it was left standing and a giant glass atrium was built around it. How cool is that?

Coops Shot Tower before and after being swallowed by a mall

City Hatters
If you're in the vicinity of the marvellous Flinders Street Station, there's a lovely shop called City Hatters just under the station (right near the main entrance). The shop dates from 1910, and stocks all manner of dapper headwear from top hats to trilbys.

Flinders Street Station in 1927. It looks much the same today, except in color.

American Tailors
I came across this shop at 68 Bourke Street and was impressed by their spiffing window display. Apparently this is one of the only tailoring places in Melbourne worth their salt.

I say, that's some spiffing stuff, old sport!

Crazy Unnamed Fabric Store
Just a few doors down from American Tailors there is a crazy little fabric store. And when I say 'store', I mean 'hovel'. I was lured inside like a moth to a flame by a shonky-looking sign in the window that said "Vintage Fabrics" - and this is what I found:

Stop the insanity

I think this is where rolls of fabric go to die. Nothing is labelled or appears organised in any meaningful way. I wandered into the back, poked around here and there, couldn't find anything of interest, and then discovered the only way out of the shop (a narrow path about a foot and a half wide) was blocked by two ladies purchasing 28 metres of gaudy green fabric for bridesmaids dresses. 15 minutes later I managed to make good my escape.


Thus concludes Part 1 of my review of Vintage Shopping in Melbourne. Tune in next time to learn about a fan-ta-bu-lous vintage mecca in the suburb of Fitzroy where the owner literally wrote the book on collecting vintage garments...

Click here to read Part 2 of Melbourne Vintage Shopping