On Monday October 2 and Tuesday October 3, The University of Manchester Students’ Union became home to hundreds of pre-loved, vintage pieces as part of Vintage Folk’s pop-up sale. Students descended to the ground floor of the SU where there were rails upon rails of clothes to suit all seasons and all of the possible ‘Fallow’ aesthetics, from Ski-Chic to Y2K.
Being hosted in the SU, the pop-up was extremely convenient for students to access. This is something which was greatly welcomed as it saved us from travelling all the way into the city centre and missing lectures to thrift (definitely not speaking from experience!) at vintage shops which are often much more expensive and commonly have fewer authentic pre-loved pieces.
This brings me to my next point about the price range of items at Vintage Folk. As someone who has always lived in Manchester, I have explored a lot of the smaller ‘vintage’ shops that are dotted around the city, and I must say, that for authentic, branded clothing pieces it was very reasonably priced.
The items are all placed under a blanket price band depending on what the piece of clothing is. For example, all t-shirts no matter the brand are priced at £5, and similarly, all coats are under a blanket price of £20. Of course this system can have its downfalls – you may end up overpaying for the odd unbranded t-shirt – however, more often than not this system means that you can get an absolute steal on items such as North Face coats or Carhartt t-shirts.
My only piece of advice on pricing would be to ask a member of staff if you are interested in an item that may lie in a grey area. The bigger leather jackets are often put under the bracket of ‘coats’, which are £8 more expensive despite what you may initially think. The price range of the items goes from as little as £3 for a bandanna or scarf, £15 for blankets or rugs, and up to £20 for coats, all of which are very reasonable.
Although the selection was not as vast as the stock Vintage Folk possesses at their large warehouse pop-up sales (which take place near Piccadilly Station on the last weekend of every month), there was certainly something for everybody and every aesthetic. They carry all of the staple thrift brands such as the aforementioned Carhartt and The North Face, as well as Dickies, Levi’s, Ralph Lauren, and Patagonia.
There were also non-branded or less well-known brand pieces like low-rise denim skirts or cropped denim jackets that would go down a storm with the Y2K lover. They had also clearly brought all the autumn/winter essentials as they were stocked up on some really unique and high-quality knitted sweatshirts of all sorts of patterns – something I personally love to see at charity and thrift stores alike.
The Vintage Folk sale took place over two days, and I can testify to the fact that staff frequently rotated stock throughout the day and between the different days, meaning that if you went on the Monday morning you would find lots of new items dotted around on the Monday afternoon and similarly on Tuesday.
This was something I really liked about the pop-up because it also meant that if you couldn’t make it until later in the day because of lectures, there was still sufficient choice of great items – something which is often lacking at some of the bigger pop-up sales in the city.
However, because it was hosted in the SU there were no changing rooms, which meant giving the whole student body a fashion show in your possibly cool, possibly ‘Grandma’ cardigan or risking purchase. This in itself is another stipulation as Vintage Folk, unfortunately, do not offer returns, perhaps due to the fact that they don’t have a permanent storefront.
All in all, the Vintage Folk pop-up is great for making authentically pre-loved vintage items accessible to students who may not usually have the budget or time to shop sustainably.
I would highly recommend checking out this pop-up next time it’s back in the SU on Monday October 16 and in the meantime, you can quench your vintage thirst by browsing their online selection, which carries more limited edition and higher-end fashion pieces. Or you could head to their warehouse thrift events on Saturday October 28 and Sunday October 29, which makes a great day out for thrift lovers.
