Beyond Retro

Staff are unwelcoming and unhelpful which really puts you off returning. Clothing selection is great though.

this branch is better than the one in the oford circus area, it's bigger with more selection and tidier too. There is a huge cafe to your right as you enter also, looked very inviting. I found some cool pieces. Staff arnt that helpful.

Beyond Retro has been celebrating its 10th anniversary having started life as THE original vintage clothing shop just off Brick Lane, and having grown since to providing large branches in Dalston-Stoke Newington, Soho and Brighton, plus I was told, a matching set of cool store locations in Sweden - I guess this must be in relative terms for Scandinavia? Their whole company birthday celebration was marked by a diverse evening of burlesque-esque entertainment provided by the talented Tassel Club, to which I was a grateful invitee. This was also an opportunity for the business to show off its successful trademark attire - from Victorian style lace accessories and nipple tassels to modern braces and satin-ruched dresses - even though their actual 'trademark' looks to me rather like the kind of permanent tattoo which I have been persuading my latest young intern not to go for.

This whole party package went down a treat with their invited customer, supplier and partner base; furthermore this branch includes a local coffee shop selling the best mixes of ground beans alongside homemade cakes such as one I liked with ginger+lemon+polenta. I was fortunately persuaded to sample these, despite the distraction of alcoholic freebies we were presented with to celebrate the occasion, e.g. amazing cocktails, confidentally mixed, one even containing London gin and Earl Grey tea! This spacious shop on the Dalston-Stoke Newington borders has a diverse range of vintage style apparel, and a wonderfully bespoke feel, complemented by the sounds of Aretha and similarly retro Tunes playing on a good sound system, reverberating around the lovely tall flaky ceilings, adorned with Tellytubby style post-industrial piping. Their secret, which is no longer safe with me, is that they are offering a special 50% off everything at the Cheshire St (Brick Lane) store this coming weekend. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.