Swimming Against the Current
5 alternative fashion labels to burn up your student loan
Olive & Frank is a UK-based fashion line selling stylish, witty garb to express the sassy feminist inside. Their Instagram is like browsing your dream wardrobe - with bomber jackets emblazoned with Lana Del Rey lyrics and a "Heartbreaker" t-shirt being just two of the most covetable items on sale. Just try and close the website down before adding something to your cart.
This US e-tailer sells fantastic vintage t-shirts that make you nostalgic for a time when you weren't even born. Pink Floyd, Stevie Nicks, the Stones - whatever your groove, Junk Food probably sells something to fit it. This awesome Pulp Fiction tee is currently on sale, as well as so many others.
Quite expensive, niche and more than a little bit weird, Valfre won't be for everyone. The chokers section alone can come off a little cheap and faux-provocative. The quirky sweatshirts and unique styles will ensure you're seperated from the pack, just be careful spending a lot of money on an item, because the UK shipping costs aren't cheap.
Fierce, individual and salacious, Burger and Friends is not for the faint of heart. This cheeky t-shirt is one of their tamer slogans. T-shirts featuring pop culture figures en glagrante also feature, but the brand's sense of humour and irony runs through each item seamlessly.
Merrimaking teams the simple with the simply adorable, with apparel including a poodle-face jumper and a t shirt strewn with clouds.It also sells quirky "hoods" of various animals - dogs and deer included.
-Jessica (Editor)
VINTAGE VOLTAGE
Nostalgia is widely regarded as an irrational emotion felt towards periods of time that, in reality, were much worse than we remember them. But it has to be said that in terms of fashion and clothes, the 20th century had it going on. It wasn’t just the aesthetic of the styles-it was the quality, which was of a far higher standard than the sweatshop-sewn garb of today.
So it’s no surprise than vintage is so popular today – every month in Edinburgh there seems to be some kind of vintage fair (not to mention its numerous vintage shops). In a world chock-full of chain stores and label obsession, it feels good to have something unique for yourself.
There’s an air of mystery about vintage – simply by putting on a vintage fur coat, you can look like aGrateful Dead groupie from the 1970s (without the ardous task of having sex with the band members).
From early 1950s to late 2000's, the fair stretched across the Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Leith Walk for five hours. It was so packed with such a massive range of people you could hardly move, not to mention the open changing rooms not leaving much room for modesty or self-conciousness. But fortunately I managed to pick up a couple of pieces - one, a beige polo shirt from the 1970's and a cheap gold chain necklace from a vintage-repurposing stall in the corner of the room. Nothing groundbreaking, but quinessentially unique.
