Oxford: Inside city's best-kept secret vintage clothes spot

Ade King from Birmingham has been living here for eight years after moving to study cultural anthropology at Oxford Brookes University.

His studies saw him cover clothing trends, and he got to grips with Oxford life by buying a boat on the canal.

Ade established his own business, Again Garments, during the Covid pandemic and is now located at Gloucester Green in the city centre.

Inside Again Garments at the markets at Gloucester Green. (Image: Newsquest)

“I started selling vintage online and by the time lockdown was over, I had gathered enough clothes to sell on the markets,” he said.

“It has gone from strength to strength as many vendors who used to sell vintage clothes here have moved on so there was a gap in the market.

“Gloucester Green’s manager encouraged me to come and give it a go so I got two stalls and from there, we have worked our way up.”

The 50-year-old’s business has become a firm favourite for those in the know but remains somewhat of a secret.

Ade sells a variety of vintage items including jeans. (Image: Newsquest)

“We have seen an increased footfall over the years and we have had repeat customers that come back because of the prices,” said Ade.

“We are a pop-up so we don’t have city rates which allows us to sell for desirable prices but it’s a bit of a secret still as I don’t want it to be a superstore.

“I love the look on people’s faces when they find an individual look for themselves because you wouldn’t always discover things like this online.”

Ade has managed to find some amazing individual items while gathering the vintage products.

Gloucester Green also has food markets which are popular with Oxford residents. (Image: Newsquest)

“We try our best to source our clothes from local areas and get them from our suppliers but we also sometimes go to vintage wholesalers,” he said.

“I will go to a warehouse and go swimming through lots of clothes to curate the stock for the unique style in Oxford, fine-tuning it over the years.

“There are vintage Burberry jackets but we have so many different tribes of clothes.

“There was even a vintage World War Two duffel jacket so there are always special finds sold here.”

Ade sources the clothes from a variety of places. (Image: Newsquest)

Again Garments is open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Gloucester Green with a loyalty card system rewarding regular customers.

“If you get a loyalty card and collect ten stamps and follow us on Instagram, you receive £40 store credit,” said Ade.

“There’s all the beautiful food in Gloucester Green and other traders selling great stuff so it is a brilliant place in the city to hang out.

“It is a grassroots type of community which is local and organic.”