A new shop which specialises in high quality curated vintage clothing has opened in Stirling’s historic Arcade.
SRTD Vintage is run by 24-year-old Sophie Corbett – a fashion communications graduate who was keen to launch her first business venture in Stirling.
The store, which opened on Saturday October 26, sells a variety of clothes, accessories and footwear which have been handpicked by Sophie from a range of vintage suppliers.
She sells clothing for both men and women with brands such as Diesel, Karen Millen, Cos and Miss Sixty and much of her range is from the 1990s and early 2000s.
SRTD stands for Sorted and is both a reference to how Sophie sorts and curates the clothing before it goes on sale and a play on the British Transport Police slogan which is heard regularly on rail transport – ‘See it, Say it, Sorted.’
Sophie has cleverly incorporated the slogan and rail connection into her marketing – producing ‘See It, Style It, Sorted’ advertising flyers and loyalty cards in the style of a train ticket.
She says: “I thought it would be a good marketing ploy when people make the connection to the slogan and it’s also about me sorting through piles of clothing and handpicking the perfect items for the store.
“I’ve been trying a few different suppliers for womenswear and menswear and there are different ways of sourcing the clothing. You can buy big piles of clothing and you don’t really know what’s in there, so you get a real mix of items to sort through.
Or you can do a video call and point out the pieces you want so you get a more curated bundle. I also picked up some stock in person in Paris as there are some great vintage shops there and you can then see and touch everything and get a proper look at the sizes and quality.”
Sophie, who lives in Falkirk, initially started a Fashion Design Degree at Herriot Watt University before switching to Fashion Communications in her second year.
And after graduating with a First-Class degree, she spent some time working in Belgium on internships at a boutique called Just Waldo, which sells curated vintage clothes, and an online magazine where she wrote about European fashion trends.
She says: “I got the inspiration for a vintage clothes shop from working at Just Waldo and I knew I wanted to sell pieces which were handpicked and curated. There are vintage shops in Edinburgh and Glasgow but nothing here in Stirling so I thought that was a bit of a gap in the market – especially with it being a student town – and it seemed the ideal place to open a store.”
Sophie found the perfect premises for SRTD at Unit 34 in the Arcade which was previously home to Brooklyn Kitchens.
It’s a large and central space – next to Mimi’s restaurant – with huge corner windows which are perfect for displaying the vintage clothing on offer.
She says: “I looked at a few Arcade units and liked this one best as it gave me the chance to have a corner window for my displays. It’s got high ceilings and the floor was done, so I just had to put up rails and shelving, create a changing room, curate my window displays and I was ready to go.”
Sophie held a launch party on Friday October 25 and officially opened on October 26 with business proving steady since she started and a wide range of customers popping in for a look.
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She says: “I’d been stockpiling clothing for a while and went to Paris in September for some supplies so I have plenty of lovely items for people to come and browse through.
“I’ve got a lot of seasonal pieces in at the moment so there are some nice coats and jackets and I’ve also got some interesting menswear in hip hop style from the 90s. Italy is one of the best places to go to for quality vintage clothing so I’m planning a trip there in the future.”
She adds: “I’m trying to keep everything affordable and students receive a 10% discount all year round.”
Sophie has a Depop shop which features some of her clothing – www.depop.com/search/?q=srtdvintage – and is currently working on her own website.
More details about the business and photos of the clothing and accessories can be found on Instagram – www.instagram.com/srtdvintage/ – and Sophie also plans to set up on Tik Tok.
