Raiders Vintage Clothing

Raiders was one of the items on my to do list last time I took a trip up to Liverpool, and I wasn’t disappointed!
I’ve never been to a vintage shop before — there aren’t any in my part of the Midlands — so I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect. Raiders is sweetly laid out with lots of girly furnishings and comfy seats (perfect for leaving male friends if you’re like me). The jewellery and pins are in little glass-​covered trays, shoes are on shelves (one bookcase-​type shelf in the front and a shelved wall in the back), clothes are — of course — on racks, and extras like bow ties, hats and braces are in buckets in a cosy raised corner. They even sell postcards!
The back room generally houses the more ‘special’ items — like fur coats, leather jackets, wool jumpers, leather shoes and party dresses. It’s about 75% vegan unfriendly, but it is lovely!
I found that a lot of the stuff was quite 80s — bold prints, loose — while I like 60s style better, but I managed to find a lovely, casual powder blue dress (£22 but too pretty to pass up) and also picked up a blue butterfly brooch (similar ones on eBay are around £10 or so; this was £5).
The lady on the shopfloor, who I think may have been the owner, was super friendly! She gave me her opinions on what I was looking at (e.g. «Those sunglasses really suit you! Very 50s, like your dress») and was happy to give me directions and recommendations around the city.
I’d have liked to have spent more time there, and inevitably more money — the cat-​eye sunglasses and chiffon party dress I was dithering over keep haunting me!

Raiders Vintage Clothing is an excellent little store. It sells women’s clothing & accessories and the range of items on sale is great.
They sell shoes in every style you can think of. They have stilettos, flats, boots, platform shoes, ballroom dancing shoes and retro trainers. They have a big range of sizes which is great for me as I’m a size 7 – 8 and I often find these sizes are rare in other shops, but they are on sale in abundance in Raiders Vintage.
The clothing is excellent although the sizes are a bit limited, which is often the case in vintage shops. They sell party dresses, skirts, t-​shirts, blouses, cocktail dresses, coats, cardigans, jackets, trousers, jeans and jumpers. They also have a good range of bags, accessories and jewellery.
The prices are very reasonable and all the items on sale are of a very good quality. In some vintage shops I have been in there are items which wouldn’t sell at a charity shop!
The staff are lovely at Vintage Raiders. When you have been browsing for a while they ask if you need any help and if you are looking for something in particular. They are happy to suggest items, and also build up a full outfit for you if that’s what you want.
An exceptional vintage store.

Raiders Vintage is most appropriately named for its style. If you are a female and interested in classic vintage wear, then this elegant shop is hard not to raid! There isn’t any menswear unfortunately and much to my disappointment but nevertheless, it is an extremely popular place for female students for example.
If you’ve not visited here before, you can expect to find a whole abundance of attractive dresses, bags and jewellery which all seem to have that individual uniqueness — enough class about them that they shout for ladies attention. You will probably be spoilt for choice and could easily spend a fair time in here browsing and trying on pieces.
Raiders Vintage delievers two floors of fashionable wear at affordable prices to tickle your delights!

When it comes to 80s music, I’m more into New York electro, hip hop and post-​punk than Duran Duran. I can put up with the cheesy soundtrack at Raiders however, because the shop is so damn good!
A spacious boutique on Renshaw Street, Raiders has a black and white checkerboard floor, lots of French style period furniture and cute posters. There’s a cracking selection of kitten heels, flats, stilettoes, boots and handbags alongside racks of cocktail dresses, party dresses, 50s skirts, polka dot dresses, 70s slacks and jeans, shirts, cardigans and bat wing jumpers. They also have a lot of what I call Dot Cotton blouses and unusually for a vintage shop, they take credit cards. Yay!

Raiders Vintage is a really great vintage clothing shop. They are very large in comparison to most vintage shops you find in Liverpool, and they have a really great variety of clothing, accessories and shoes.
I love the shop itself which is decorated creatively and intriguingly from the deer antlers that serve as hooks for necklaces and clothes, to the shabby chic furniture that houses handbags and other accessories. And can I talk about the floor please? The black and white checked tiles make the shop feel reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, rabbit-​hole type daydreams. I kind of want a room like that in my house.
Up for sale you are going to find more than 80 pairs of ladies shoes, racks and racks of dresses and blouses, purses, travel and overnight bags, jewellery, belts, and other accessories. There is so much to choose from.
And as usual in this kind of shop, the staff are very friendly and helpful.

Raiders is my favourite vintage shop and it’s probably the larget in Liverpool. Kelly’s advice for the summer is that Denim is going to be very big.
There is a diverse range of wear from pre 1950’s to 90’s grunge. Its a funky atmosphere with a great selection of music whilst you browse and try things on. Check out the Jewery and cases. Don’t miss the back room with even more great retro gear.
From time to time Raiders organises fashion shows and balls. Every year there is a £1 sale. I’ll update this post when I find out when it is as I’m sure it is not to be missed.
Come and grab your play suit (short dress and shorts).

Raiders is probably the best name for this little treasure trove; the people that run the place have clearly waded through a mammoth amount of vintage stuff and carefully selected every piece. The arty window dressing gives a quirky impression of the styles within. It’s great, set out like a dressing room inside, I can only hope that one day I will have a room so full of gems!
Those boots you saw in Topshop and couldn’t afford? Yep, they have better quality originals here and they’re much lighter on the pocket too. Oh, and they have loads of really wearable jumpers, dresses, shoes and jewellery. I bought a really cute clasp purse and silky scarf here the other day for cheaps! Bargain goodies all to the tune of 80s pop, it’s a really fun shopping experience and it’s possible you could come out a whole new you or at least with a whole new wardrobe, anyway!

Uh oh. Vintage shop meets Emma-​Louise H. They like each other. They like each other a LOT.
Raiders Vintage, on Renshaw Street or Boho Alley as I like to call it, is a perfect example of a brilliant vintage shop. Not only is it full of great little finds, it’s full of WEARABLE great little finds. You could easily mix those jumpers up. Those tartan pants are very Agyness Deyn. Those cat-​eye sunglasses, well, you can’t not really. They’re cat-​eye sunglasses. You too can look like Betty Draper. (Mad Men is not only one of my favourite shows, but officially my style bible.)
The staff are ridiculously friendly and helpful, and spend most of the day chatting away to one another not about idle gossip but the latest pieces they’ve brought in, and fashion in general. See, they take it seriously. Not only that, but while you beaver away looking through those rails, you have THE best soundtrack EVER. I tried on some pants to Video Killed the Radio Star, I rooted through gloves to that Breakfast Club Simple Minds epic Don’t You Forget About Me, I picked out shoes to Imagination by Belouis Some. In the end I was mighty happy with my purchase of sunglasses and some gorgeous little tan Clarks loafers with a kitten heel. Cute and retro as can be.
You can pay by card, which is more than I can say for most vintage shops in Manchester, but what perhaps is most stunning about this particular shop is its setup. It’s designed so fabulously well — vintage dressing tables and chests of drawers strewn with jewellery, ornate changing cubicles and little rows of cowboy boots around every corner. They’ve tried hard with this one, and it shows.
Not too use too ominous and scary a phrase, but I’ll be back. Heck, I’ll certainly be back.