Ragamuffin

Reading the other reviews, this place must have really changed over the past few years. This was the only shop on the Royal Mile where we found a beautiful cable-​knit wool mens jumper that was actually made in Scotland. Compared to all the other «wool and cashmere» tourist traps in the area, Ragamuffin is a breath of fresh air! We got gifts for almost every family member (men and women) back home, including two absolutely gorgeous pairs of gloves. The ladies in the shop were exceptionally helpful as well. It’s clear they truly care about the products they sell. If you’re looking for lovely items made in Scotland (and other parts of the British Isles), there’s no place better in Edinburgh!

I love this place so much. I was in Edinburgh on business and when I had a day off I went around the town to explore a bit and stumbled upon this place. Not being super into wool and hand made items at the time, I bought one wool headband and brought it home (living in Seattle, you get COLD all the time). I grew to love this headband so much, that I now order headbands all the time from this place and have them shipped to Seattle. I cannot find yarn like the yarn at Ragamuffin ANYWHERE! It is so unique and thick, I would buy hundreds of headbands from this place if I could. Truly, they are so unique, I cannot do them justice in an explanation.
I always tell people who are going to EDI for business to check this place out, and I will definitely continue ordering from this place as long as they let me. :)

Hmm… When I popped into Ragamuffin the other day it really wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it was a shop for older ladies who were looking for sensible, no fuss garments similar to M & Co. or Peru Una. It goes completely in the other direction and half of the clothes here look like they’ve already been worn, a lot of times.
If your look is similar to Nanny McPhee’s or if you live in a croft in the Highlands then perhaps this kind of get up will look good. But for city life, it’s not very practical and the dragging ripped style skirts and dresses don’t look very comfortable either.
I’ve never seen anyone wearing this kind of get up in Edinburgh. To be honest, if I saw a woman dressed wearing the clothes from here I’d probably assume they were homeless or maybe auditioning for a stint in Oliver Twist.
Amazingly, it’s not cheap to look this bad so I’d recommend just running about in your old togs instead.

There are a couple of words that sum up Ragamuffin’s style perfectly.
The first one is Pagan.
The second one is Glastonbury.
We’re talking long, floaty dresses and shirts, baggy dungarees, striped trouser, sixties jumpers and chenille scarves. Some of them are in bright colours, some in gaudy, darker colours like rust and burgandy. The over-​all impression however, is free spirited, hippy wear for new and old hippies.

I don’t usually go for this sort of style, but I found myself really sucked in by Ragamuffin, and it’s cool eclectic style.
I love the hippy feel of the place, and the clothes follow suit, although I can’t really see myself in much of it! It totally reminds me of a floaty, airy-​fairy festival, folk with round sunglasses and headbands all gathered round singing and swaying to guitar music, blissful and mellow… You get my drift anyway.
The materials are top noch and locally sourced, which makes the clothing a wee bit more expensive but no doubt more durable. The knitwear is chunky and cosy looking, and probably the only thing in store that I would really consider purchasing.
Good because it does what it is supposed to, but just not to my taste!

Like Gavin, I got the impression Ragamuffin was left behind by the 1990s. I distinctly remember the stereotype portrayed in British comedies of feminist, Pagan improv poets doing small gigs in hippy bars wearing stuff like this. That’s not meant to be offensive, but the tie dyed, long skirts and massive knitted jumpers take me back to that era.
I think most of the garments here are made in Skye, and their cosy functionality would be fitting of the brisk weather you often get up north. It looks durable and is locally sourced, and although I wouldn’t wear stuff like this there is still a market for people who do. If you’re looking for something that will keep you warm and last longer than most of the other flimsy high street offerings, you can’t beat Ragamuffin’s high quality knits. Some may mock their style but no one would turn down these jumpers when out camping or at a festival. They are the kind of garments you could huddle yourself in, a bit like swaddling clothing, to try and keep the bitter winds aff yer back.

From what I can gather, Ragamuffin is a a fashion store aimed at middle aged women who want to be a bit trendy, or at least would have been in 1992 or thereabouts. Most of the stuff in here wouldn’t look out of place in an old Enya video.
Granted, I know nothing about woman’s fashions, but I haven’t seen people in clothes like this since I was literally three feet tall. It’s all very earth mother, but at least it’s a break from the endless stream of tartan tat sellers.

the usual style of clothes shop you get on the Royal Mile. I’ll be honest, it does seem for the more mature lady, but they key thing to remember that things for made for the more, classic, client tends to be slightly better made than what you can get on the highstreet.
Timeless cardigans, hats and gloves insure that you won’t be caught out next year if you still have that Topshop hat with the panda’s face on it because, unlike that, no one will know where you got it from.
Again, where it is makes it a bit pricey and the jewellery’s a bit nasty looking compared to everything else but all in all, rather nice!

An unusual clothes shop on the Royal Mile. From the onset you would think this store is suitable only for the older ladies, however inside there is a great selection of timeless, unusual clothing items and funky jewellrey. I particularly love the knitted cardigans and wooly accessories. Their hats and gloves are particularly cosy– I’m speaking from experience!

This is a shop of twenty-​five years of passion for clothes, style, colours, and jewllery — all handmade. Ragamuffin is more than a clothes store form the isle of Skye, it is a life story of woman, who started the business whilst still at school making her first pieces of art and selling them to friends. The first shop on the Royal mile opened fifteen years ago and is still there, full of wonderful and colourful items made with love, or as the owner cracks the joke: with the help of guardian angels who have great sense of humour. Ragamuffin latest collection is called ‘Angles don’t trudge’, in the true spirit of the philosophy of Ragamuffin: to produce design clothes that are comfortable, functional and fun. My first knitted winter hat from them is still among my favourites and defines me as ‘the blue dwarf’ at xmas time.