About once every three months, setting up in Bethnal Green, East London, on an ordinary Sunday morning, is a fair that is worth a visit. While queuing to enter, soft, retro-style piped music is the first thing to capture your attention, in an instant taking you back in time to the 1960s. Then, as soon as you cross the threshold, all you can think about is not the music any more: what comes to your eyes is a sea of vintage clothing and accessories, either hanging on the hangers, displayed on the stalls or lurking in the depth of large storage boxes, like hidden treasures silently waiting to be discovered.
Held in the historic York Hall, opened in 1929 by the will of the Duke of York and known to have been one of Britain’s most famous boxing venues, The Vintage Clothing Kilo Sale each time brings to London a vast and impressive stock coming from vintage traders from all over the UK. There you can find handmade or re-worked vintage items for both men and women spanning from the 1960s to the 1990s, and buy them by weight, at the price of £15 per kilo. To make the whole atmosphere even more pleasurable, part of the hall is set up with fancy tables where you can sit and enjoy a break from shopping with a cup of tea and a sweet treat.
The company behind the event, Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2015. For this reason, it has announced some special resolutions on its website, including competitions to win discount vouchers and free entry for the first ten customers through the door at each event.
“It’s been a successful business for 10 years, and now employs three full time staff as well as over 50 part time events staff across the country. Also, the whole aesthetic of our events just gets better year on year as well as our attendance,” says Emily Hughes, who has been working for the company as Brand and Event Manager since 2013. “We’ve got a winning formula: we always make sure our events are affordable and this brings people back year on year.” Alternating The Vintage Clothing Kilo Sale, in the same East London location, Judy’s team runs Bethnal Green’s Affordable Vintage Fair, with stock including fashion and accessories as well as homeware and collectables, all ranging from the 1920s to the 1980s, and The Vintage Furniture Flea. “This one is exclusively London-based at the moment but we are looking to expand this year,” she reveals.
The last time The Vintage Kilo Sale hit the British capital was 18 January 2015, and on that occasion I went there to see it first hand. I sneaked through the main entrance almost half an hour before the official opening to the public, set to be at 10.30am, expecting to only find the staff making the finishing touches. However, as soon as I got there, I spotted a long queue stretching up to York Hall. “Are you queuing for the Vintage Kilo Sale?” I asked one girl, who, in response, glanced at one of her friends as if mine was the most obvious question in the world. “Of course I am, we’ve been here from 9am!”
“In London, York Hall, anything from 1000 to 2500 people come each time,” says Lewis King, Event Supervisor for the Vintage Kilo Sale. According to him, however, certain times of the year are more crowded than others. As the event targets the younger customer, “it tends to be busier when students get their loans, so January, May and September/October.”
Meanwhile, at 10.30am, right on time, the impatient crowd makes its way from the main entrance, pouncing on the stalls of clothing straight away. They move around the hall, some surefooted, others more hesitantly, filling their dark purple plastic bags to the brim. Witnessing this scene, I cannot help but noticing how vintage clothing is increasingly gaining momentum in recent years. But why?
The economic aspect, with the recession not likely to end any day soon, certainly has a role. “It’s mostly because clothes are cheap, which is good,” says Iona Garrow, 20, who has come all the way from Manchester with a friend to take a look at the Vintage Kilo Sale.
Still, it is not just about that.
“I think it’s because of the originality of it all,” says Victoria Ball, owner and director of Victoria Vintage Jewellery and Accessories, who has been working besides Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair for six years now. “I mean, when you buy from shops such as Primark or Topshop that dress may look like a vintage dress but then there’s like 200,000 of them maybe, so you’ve still got the chance of walking down the streets and see someone else in the same dress as you, even if it’s styled in a vintage way, whereas if you buy an original Sixties dress there’s a very small chance you’re gonna walk down the streets and see somebody else in that dress. So I think it’s down to that, just originality, not having the same as what’s out there.”
Next East London Vintage Kilo Sale: 3 May 2015
DON’T MISS OUT!