Vintage shopping isn’t necessarily anything new. We’ve been delving into the wardrobes of our ancestors for years now, mainly because their fashion trends outweigh anything that we see around today, and also because it’s become a lot more affordable than hitting the high street.
In Manchester, we’re pretty lucky to have a seemingly endless amount of vintage shops and independently run second hand stores that offer hours of fun as you scour the rails for your latest statement piece.
Northern Quarter has become a hub for people looking to reduce their carbon footprint by shopping more sustainably, with the likes of Margot & Lux, Bionic Seven, Gone Fishing Vintage and the famous Pop Boutique all residing in the popular district.
This isn’t the only place that you’ll find some great vintage gems though, as you’ll see below in our list of the top 17 vintage shops in Greater Manchester.
Suzy Loves Milo
Tucked away in Hatch down on Oxford Road is Suzy Love Milo – offering reworked and upcycled vintage clobber from around the globe. I’m not sure who Suzy is or why she loves Milo but this lot always have an impressive selection of treats, and the prices are very reasonable indeed. They say to expect sunnies, sneaks and everything in-between – sounds good to me! Watch out soon for something new from this lot in the Northern Quarter!
Hatch, Oxford Road, Manchester M1 7ED
Top Of The Town Vintage
Owned by fashion blogger, Sophia Rosemary, Top Of The Town is a great place to go if you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind outfit for a special occasion. The store is a portal straight back to the 60s, complete with bold prints, vintage Jackie mags and various statement homeware pieces that you’ll be sad to know aren’t available to buy! Sophia hand picks some of the rarest vintage pieces you’ll come across, that will no doubt be a staple of your wardrobe forever.
Top Of The Town Vintage, 17 Lower Hillgate, Stockport, SK1 1JQ
www.topofthetownvintage.com
Blue Rinse
This place has moved around quite a bit over the years, but always within the same 500m radius and actually not through any fault of their own. Their old site was on Tib Street and had to be vacated because everyone banged their head on the way in, while they had to move again due to a fire in the old NQ Live Club. It’s great if you want denim stuff, old footy shirts and the odd XXL flannel shirt.
Blue Rinse Manchester, 21-23 Oldham St, Manchester M1 1JG
www.bluerinsevintage.co.uk
Oxfam Originals
A go-to vintage/charity haunt for many years now – Oxfam Originals has a great selection of wardrobe staples and statement pieces. It seems that if any Oxfam shops around the region get anything designer or decent donated – it comes here and, in the past, it has had everything from cracking Fred Perry gear to Levi’s originals and even some real leather Lederhosen.
Oxfam Original Shop, Unit 8, Smithfield Buildings, 51 Oldham St, Manchester M1 1JR
0161 839 3160
www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/local-shops/oxfam-original-manchester
British Heart Foundation, Piccadilly Gardens
This BHF charity shop is absolutely mint, and has become a regular stop off for vintage loving city folk on their lunch break. Inside you’ll find items such as an electric blue Barbour jacket for £40, some vintage Levi’s 511 for £35 and a pair of sunglasses for a tenner. The range of vintage stuff is always changing and being updated, there’s a small but excellent selection of homewares and you can pick up some rare sneakers in here too!
British Heart Foundation, 51 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AP
www.bhf.org.uk
The Vintage Emporium
Two floors of absolute vintage heaven, Stockport’s Vintage Emporium is a maze of fashion, homeware and everything in between that sits right in the heart of Pear Mill. Each part of the mill is owned by a different vendor, and spans old school dining sets, vintage Beatles memorabilia, Carharrt overalls and art from local creatives. You could honestly spend all day in here, there’s so much to get through!
The Vintage Emporium, Unit B1, Pear Mill Industrial Estate, Stockport Rd W, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2BP
www.instagram.com/thevintageemp
Kilo Sale on Oldham Street
The kilo sale, which is also run by Blue Rinse, allows you to pay for your vintage garments by weight. There’s always one-of-a-kind pick and mix mens and women’s vintage clothing from the 60s-90s, including all of your favourite branded names, and it’ll cost you a mere 15 quid for a kilo of clothing!
Kilo Sale, Sachas Hotel, Oldham Street Entrance, Manchester, M4 1SH
www.thekilosale.com
Bionic Seven
Premium, hand-picked pieces of vintage are what Bionic Seven specialises in. Just a few doors up from Margot and Lux, the store is cosy, but has more than enough space to spend time rummaging. It has Barbour jackets, Adidas jumpers, caps and Levi’s jeans that are all second-hand and sustainably sourced.
Bionic Seven, 60 Port St, Manchester M1 2EQ
www.bionicseven.com
Barnardo’s Vintage, Cheadle
Quite possibly one of the greatest charity shops in the North West, this Barnardo’s Vintage in Cheadle is always full of great new gear, furniture and trinkets at very affordable prices. This is the place where previous shoppers have purchased fabulous ski suits for a mere ten pounds – as well as countless other fashion winners over the years. It’s well worth getting the X57 for!
Barnardo’s, 76 High St, Cheadle SK8 1AE
0161 491 2000
www.barnardos.org.uk
Sue Ryder, Chorlton
Chorlton has a couple of cracking charity shops that are worthy of note. There’s the British Red Cross furniture place down near Croma, as well as the cracking little Age Concern right near Morrisons. The best one though is definitely Sue Ryder next to the Post Office – this monster charity shop has pretty much everything you could ever want, all at very reasonable prices. Right at the front is a great vintage section too – with loads of excellent interior pieces that’ll no doubt brighten any home.
Sue Ryder Charity Shop, 553 Wilbraham Rd, Manchester M21 0AE
0161 881 3578
www.sueryder.org
Afflecks
Even though things seem to change with alarming regularly within Affleck’s, it’s still one of the best places in the city for a bit of second-hand purchasing – with plenty of knowledgeable and good-natured traders all under one roof. There’s some great shops, including that geezer on the second floor who sells all them hats, a little Pop Boutique and a great vintage shop in the far corner on the 3rd floor. It’s a mecca of band t-shirts, cowboy boots, old Levi’s and leather jackets that are way too big to fit.
Afflecks, 52 Church St, Manchester M4 1PW
0161 839 0718
www.afflecks.com
Vintage Wholesalers
Located in Bredbury, Vintage Wholesalers is a huge warehouse full of authentic, ethically sourced clothing and accessories at unbelievable prices! You can shop either in-store or online, and the warehouse offers worldwide delivery, so if you spot anything you like and you’re nowhere near Stockport, they’ve got you covered. They often do discounted bundles of certain brands or styles, too – usually at a fraction of a price of anywhere else, so they’re definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already.
Vintage Wholesalers, Welkin Mill, G21-23, Welkin Rd, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2BH
www.vintagewholesalers.com
Bags of Flavor
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this place is named after the bags that the owner used to make out of old duvet sets – mostly featuring Ninja Turtles, He-Man and those Thundercats – which sold by the bucket-load and so the range of other vintage goodies grew and grew. Now slightly hidden away on Tib Street, Bags of Flavour still sell a cracking range of clothes and accessories, including one of the cities best range of old school Adidas clobber.
Bags Of Flavor, 33 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LX
0161 834 6166
www.bagsofflavor.com
Hope Direct Charity Shop
An absolutely massive charity shop down on Upper Chorlton Street, this is the perfect place to get some serious bargains before heading over to Kool Runnings outside for the best Jamaican food in Manchester. With it being so big it can be quite difficult finding the hidden gems, but be patient and you’re likely to find the one! They have a fantastic range of furniture, as well as clothes and collectables, as well as being a great place to pick up those little bits for your house.
Globe House, 118 Chorlton Rd, Stretford, Manchester M15 4AL?
0161 227 6700
Pop Boutique
Pop has been an Oldham Street institution for years now and it’s combination of excellent second-hand clobber, great sunglasses, and rather excellent self-made new stuff has ensured that it has remained where it is and doing some rip-roaring trade. They have a great selection of vintage jackets downstairs, as well as some excellent homeware stuff for pretty decent prices. They usually always have some sale stuff on too if you’re looking for even more bargains!
Pop Boutique, 34-36 Oldham St, Manchester M1 1JN
0161 236 5797
www.pop-boutique.com
Piccadilly Thrift Store
Not only is this place mega cheap – with stuff going for 3 for £10 – there’s a fantastic range of clothes including jackets, shirts, loads of tees and even the odd pair of striking green leggings. It’s all rather nicely organised too so you won’t spend 3 hours looking for a t-shirt among a pile of moth bitten jeans, but this always adds to the experience.
Thrift Shop, 39 Parker St, Manchester M1 4PH
COW
Although I would consider Cow to be on the higher end of the vintage shop spectrum, you can still find some cracking bargains, especially when it comes to sale time. Without having to dip into your savings too much, there can be some cracking pieces to be found – for example a fantastic ‘Journey Escape 82 Tour T-shirt’ which cost a mere £6 and a ‘Pepsi Challenge’ tee which was only a fiver.
COW Manchester, 61 Church St, Manchester M4 1PD
0161 834 4926
www.wearecow.com
The Wonderful Flight
The Wonderful Flight opened up in the ABC Building on Quay street last year, starting life selling clothes online and found themselves being drawn towards the more unique and harder to find items of clothing – like a mint condition official Glastonbury T Shirt from 1995. Sourced from all over the world but predominantly from the USA, their clothes range from 90s vintage sportswear to 60s Levi’s jeans, to everything else in between.
The Wonderful Flight, ABC Building Unit 2, Quay Street, Manchester, M3 4AE
Thewonderfulflight.com
Margot & Lux
Margot & Lux is a boutique vintage store on Manchester’s Port Street. Owned by gorgeous Geordie, Holly Edgar, the store offers a more bespoke vintage service selling unique, one-of-a-kind garments, accessories and homeware. Hollie hand-picks each item, scouring charity shops, wholesalers, warehouses and the internet for pre-loved pieces with undeniable charm and character. The store also stocks limited runs from sustainable brands such as Sandra Alexandra and Summer Morning Studios.
Margot & Lux, 54 Port St, Manchester M1 2EQ
www.margotandlux.com
Gone Fishing Vintage
Located towards the top end of Oldham Street, Gone Fishing Vintage specialises in expertly selected vintage garments from around the world. You’ll find 80s and 90s vintage, alongside a curated edit of Italian designers providing flair and dynamism to second hand, sustainable shopping. The space has also become a hub for the local creative community, regularly hosting brand pop ups, DJ sets and art exhibitions in its Oldham Street space.
Gone Fishing Vintage, 91 Oldham St, Manchester M4 1LW
www.gonefishingvintage.com
