Paddington is a suburb as renowned for its vintage shopping as its cafes, bookshops and parades of SUVs. Sure, there’s the usual clusters of op-shops and antique stores (still always worth a visit), but if you want to bypass the digging and head straight for the treasure then Retro Metro is your best bet.
Like West End’s Boxvintage, it is crammed wall to wall with vintage gold – from dresses and dress-ups for the girls, to stacks of tees and suits for the boys. The store has a refreshingly unpretentious air: carpets-on-concrete abound, with a friendly, effortlessly-cool bunch of sales staff.
Co-manager Erin Milburn is a connoisseur of all things yesteryear. She brings her own fashion-savvy taste to the shop’s collection, which also includes shoes, stockings, jewellery, decorations and collectables. With op-shop prices skyrocketing, and increasing competition from online stores, eco-friendly vintage boutiques really are becoming fashion’s new best friend.
-
goods
Up TightsPenny Kokinelis is a 26-year-old from Sydney. She makes kaleidoscopic leggings (or, ok, ‘tights’ – WEIRD) for her label Up Tights. Penny...
-
goods
Mr. Carter, ‘Grand Tour’ ...The label blends the conflicting elements of luxury and street with designer, Zach Carter’s, distaste for the heritage aesthetic seen in menswear...
-
goods
Proof SunglassesProof wooden eyewear is owned by three brothers whose father used to own a sawmill. They make sunglasses out of the finest hardwoods known to...
-
goods
Cheddar PocketsClams, bacon, dough, cheese, cake, bread, chips, smack. Money is delicious! Central Coast lads, Cheddar Pocket agree, and so the slang stuck....
-
eat-drink
PawpawIt’s difficult not to see Pawpaw as the little sister of Green Papaya (they’re joined together) – the kind of place you want...
-
goods
Pure Bamboo watches1997 was a good year for the watch. This was the year Casio’s Baby G reached cult status, and every nine-year-old girl with a soul wanted...