Vintage Clothing Fair Takes Centre Stage At Hackney’s MildMay Club
By The Hoxton Trend | May 29, 2024
A few months ago, we visited the Mildmay Club located in Hackney’s Newington Green Manor, in the north of London. Originally known as the Mildmay Radical Club, it first opened its doors in 1888 at 36 Newington Green Road. It was not universally popular, as evidenced by the views of the vicar of the nearby St Matthias Church, who castigated its ‘pernicious influence among the young’. However, it brushed off such disapproval and moved in 1894 to a new clubhouse on Newington Green, near the Unitarian chapel.
This time, the Mildmay Club hosted the biannual event “Mr. Vintage Fayre,” one of the few vintage fairs in London that brings together collectors and buyers of vintage clothing and memorabilia. We learned about it from our favorite vintage clothing experts, Rag Parade, who traveled down from Sheffield to showcase their wares to friendly locals and enthusiasts alike. It was our first time visiting such an event, and we were not disappointed.
We found vintage Stone Island, CP Company, and Ralph Lauren items among a mix of vintage military clothing as Dan from Rag Parade gave us a tour of their current selections. While there, we were captivated by the community of vintage enthusiasts at the event, who clearly had a passion for vintage throwbacks. We got a strong sense of traditional, person-to-person retailing typical of independent shops in the early days of men’s fashion in the UK—something that has somewhat dwindled over the years, which we find quite sad.
Hopefully, we’ll see more of a resurgence like this, which is greatly needed within our communities. With the closure of many independent shops, particularly over the last two years (see our videos on our on this topic on our YouTube channel), we feel that events like this can still provide the personal touch that customers appreciate. They also offer a more affordable and accessible option for professional sellers to meet, interact, and sell clothing to customers. We’re fully supportive of such events and will be sure to cover the next one that comes up on our YouTube channel. We can’t wait for the next one to take place. Follow Rag Parade and Mr. Vintage Fayre for updates on upcoming vintage events in London and across the country. After the event Warren and I headed over to Brick Lane for spot of window shopping and a chinwag about clothing, see te video linked below.