Secondo Vintage Store
A cafe and store in one, Secondo Vintage store in Brixton, South London is hip and multi-functional. The recently-opened store,owned by Black British entrepreneur Robert Beckford, stocks a range of designer wares at affordable prices, and is fast placing Brixton on the map for secondhand and fashionable high-end designs.
Some vintages stores merely dust you off precious wares from the past. Brixton’s Secondo however, lures you into a hidden treasure trove with a colourful window display. And once you have stepped over the threshold, just before you start plowing through for gems it pulls you out a comfy seat, soothes your ears with a jazzy tune and offers you a cup of tea and a chat, and depending on the time of day, a cocktail.
“Combining a shopping experience with leisure”, Secondo is a secondhand store located in the heart of South London’s Brixton. It opened in the spring 2009 and stocks retro wares for both men and women. Seecondo is the kind of stop where you can catch hip couples reading the paper over coffee in the corner or on the seats outside or see teens agonizing about a purchase.
A yellow board outside the store signals the stores presence from faraway. Spread out over a medium-sized space, as you enter there is a long wooden bar on your left with 1920s stools and wooden fixtures. A couple of tables and chairs are spaced to your right. These face the window display mounted on a small stage where shoes and bags are perched along before walking into the store’s main clothing area where rails of dresses, skirts, t-shirts, bags and plenty more await you.
The store is owned by Robert Beckford, a Black British Londoner via Manchester who also has a jazz café in east London and another Secondo store in Clapham, South London. Reminiscing, he recalls that his idea for the store came from his time in Berlin where multifunctional shops are a common site. The great thing about Secondo is the “different vibe” and the eclectic stock which is mostly sourced from Berlin. From Miu Miu shoes to Chanel bags and rare 1930 German horse bags, it is top quality vintage at an affordable price, with prices ranging from 20 to over 100 pounds. There are also various new designer items stocked, including items from Jude Law’s sister’s label. Furthermore, Robert explains, the store is a great find for men as “good secondhand clothing for men is virtually hard to find, but we have a selection of great shirts, not t-shirts, but t-shirts”
Secondo’s interior is another unique aspect of the store, evident from a mere glance around. Robert explains that while the store recently opened, he has owned the space for 12 years, and it has functioned as various things over the past. For example, it was once a bar for poets to slam and recite verses, then there was the time it moonlighted as a bookstore and a Latin dance bar. “The store evolves depending on the population.”
Right now it is a quirky sight. There is the oak-paneled floor; the 1960s brown-print wall paper, the customized storage space mounted on the walls, vintage medium-sized red and yellow toy cars from France placed high on shelves amongst bags and accessories; framed vintages posters from around the world walls, including one of local artist from the 70s Mac Mathews. And should you want to know what time it is, there is a clock with juice bar written on it.
What completes the experience is the helpful and knowledgeable staff. Robert, for example, who now lives in Berlin but journeys back and forth to oversee is business, takes time to talk to customers and answers any questions they might have. So give Secondo a chance and you will probably be back for a second visit.
