It’s a vintage time to be a shopper in York.
Dog & Bone Vintage opens a brand new store showcasing two floors of retro style on Saturday (April 30).
Featuring vintage fashion, homeware and lifestyle products, it will be an Aladdin’s Cave for anyone yearning for a bit of old school cool.
The grand opening will see a vintage MG car parked in the Coppergate Centre, free drinks in store, and an entry into the raffle for the first customers.
The Castlegate shop is much bigger than the original Dog & Bone outlet which traded on Gillygate from November 2013 to earlier this year.
It has been painstakingly converted from a hair salon, a stone’s throw away from the Coppergate Centre.
That extra space has allowed owner Nic Barker to expand his offer. He told YorkMix:
There’s mid-century inspired artwork, we’ve got some really cool independent artists, designers and illustrators in the shop, and we’re tailoring our range towards the vintage retro style.
A lot of that is dependent on great design – nice record players and old-looking radios which are all actually brand new.
Traditional to on-trend
Based on the Gillygate store Nic expects flannel shirts, denim jackets from the likes of Levis and Wrangler, and Fifties and Sixties dresses to be best sellers.
And he has a large array of other pre-owned fashions to choose from, sourced from suppliers and auctions. Prices range from scrunchies at £3 through to “an expensive beautiful ornate 1950s dress for £150-£200“.
“There’s a mix of stuff from traditional to on-trend. We’re trying to cater to everybody.” said Nic.
The joy of buying vintage was getting something unique. “If you’ve got a flannel shirt that you’d picked up from a range that C&A did in the Eighties, you’d be very unlikely to see anyone wearing that same flannel shirt anywhere else in town.
“And it’s nice to pick up something that would have ended up in landfill in the end. It’s an ethical way to buy clothing as well.”
He sees Dog & Bone as complementary to chain stores like Primark, due to open in Monks Cross in a few days’ time and in the nearby Coppergate Centre later this year.
“People want a bit of both. People come in store and they might buy a flannel shirt from me and then go and buy their PJs from Primark. We offer different things and can quite happily co-exist together.”
York a great place
Nic described York as “a great place for a shop”. But you had to offer something extra to lure people away from internet shopping.
Hopefully we’re doing that.
The city is a magnet for people from miles around looking for something retro: “We’ve got some great vintage shops, and some great vintage-inspired tearooms. Some of the best in the country – if not the world!”
Nic came to York in 2003, then studied philosophy at university in Brighton. When he emerged with his qualifications the recession had just hit.
Having started selling “all my old clobber” on eBay he developed this into a stall on Brighton market, before returning to York in 2013 and opening Dog And Bone Vintage on Gillygate.
And now a new chapter.
He said: “We’ve been working with One&Other Creative, who have been great and really helped out.”
Nic is looking forward to opening the shop – and a new chapter in his vintage story.
“We just want to encourage people to come to the shop and enjoy themselves,” he said.