Pierrepoint Arcade

I LOVE this shop. I bought my boyfriend a pair of gloves from here for Christmas and they cost me £20. They were black, heavy leather, fully lined with padding inside and long enough to go under the sleeves of a coat. I asked around about how much pair of these would have cost back in the 70s when they were made (not the shop assistant — you never know whether they’re going to lie to you to make the product sound even better) and the average guess was about £100. Pretty good going really. Not only is the shop full of such surprises but the shop assistant/​owner (I’m not sure) is, actually, just lovely. He bent down and studied the few pairs of gloves he had with me (the shop only has second hand originals and therefore you rarely find the same thing there twice) and this was in early December when it was blisteringly cold. I was there all huddled up in my hat, scarves and gloves and all excited about the idea of buying my boyfriend some vintage gloves (he had been looking for some «cool» gloves for a while) and it wasn’t until the poor guy asked if we could look at them inside that I realised he was only wearing a long sleeved t-​shirt! I was so grateful for his helpfulness and kindness and embarrassed that I made him stand outside trying the gloves on and asking to see his hands (!), that I gave him one of my ginger cookies that my friend had baked for me. He was so appreciative and told me he would have it with his tea later — he was so genuine and it was really great to know I was buying from someone like that. And it got better, too: I could pay by card AND if the gloves didn’t fit then I could bring them back and get a refund, though I knew if that was the case I would probably end up bringing them back and exchanging them for something for me!
I better just quickly tell you what else you can buy here — everything’s vintage — dresses; men’s jackets; women’s jackets (glam and non-​glam — depends on what he’s got); men and women’s shoes; sunglasses and bags. I think that’s all — but if could well change week to week so I suggest you arrange a weekly visit!