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Since 1997, Blue Rinse Vintage have embraced customers in Leeds with community love and simply, perfect clothing. I met with Kaitlyn Bullen, Brand Manager and Designer at Blue Rinse for the last ten years, to discuss all things Leeds and discover their positioning, in this constantly moving market.
The aroma of leather and the black squiggles against white walls, welcomes second-hand seekers into their Merrion Centre store. With kilo sales and pop ups excluded, this colour co-ordinated paradise is one of two physical spaces in the city, to hunt for those charming and individualistic garments.
Along side racks of sturdy jeans and jackets are the reworked creations of Kaitlyn’s, inspiring shirts into halter tops or slip-dresses into camis.
Despite constant changing trends, she informs me “We don’t have style inspirations as such, in terms of it being trend-led. We don’t really have a design in mind when we start out, we look at the products and waste materials available, to see what’s possible.” She continues, “It’s less style inspiration, more… ethical questioning.”
Aiming for Blue Rinse clothes to last consumers at least 3-5 years, Kaitlyn rightfully points out that “Creating anything too trend-led defeats the object”.
Working around this, whilst also prioritising slower consumption, means that the BR team exercise their personal take on trends elsewhere — creatively mirroring their mannequins for modern styles. Joking that these methods ‘hopefully make my job easier!’, Kaitlyn’s passion resonates regardless.
Having observed the vintage retail space in Leeds, she describes the decrease in physical stores post-pandemic and its consequent loss of variety. “You’ll see pop up stores in the market and Corn Exchange, but they tend to be quite short lived; usually if they’ve had an online presence, on Depop or Vinted, they’re trying to expand into the retail space.”
Practically, there are a range of add-ons that require closer attention for the retail business, foremost, with exhaustion of niche supply due to higher demand, some ‘vintage’ products may appear younger and younger.
When considering the finite resources available, she adds “There’s a certain vintage aesthetic, with the exception of Pop Boutique, and you would be hard pushed to find authentic 60’s and 70’s vintage, in Leeds and not online.”
Trying to cater to a more casual audience, Blue Rinse lead with a broader style appeal, approachable to even first-time shoppers. In order to find the common ground, Kaitlyn admits that they have changed their product model to evolve with the increased saturation of pre-loved businesses.
Despite online popularity, Blue Rinse now only sell exclusively in store — briefly having stocked on their website for two years . Both a sustainable and logistical decision, Kaitlyn explains how much they value the customers experience,
“We want people to visit shopping centres, be surprised, be daft, try on something different with friends for fun.
With trends changing in physical shopping, people used to go every Saturday, now the weekends are more for leisure activities.”
Upon hearing that, my own recollections of shopping days out as a treat with my mother or spending birthday money burning holes in my pockets, truly resonate with the tangible connection of clothes, and the memories they represent.
For those of us looking to make sustainable tweaks to our shopping habits, Kaitlyn frankly states, “Buy less.” Simultaneously laughing at the irony of being stood in a flood of clothes, she proceeds, “In a more considered way! Buy because you love the brand, and for the reasons you love their products.” It rings true that understanding the importance of buying from brands that care for the consequences of their actions, in itself, is a more fashion conscious way to shift purchasing patterns.
“Buy things that don’t necessarily fit perfectly but have a good quality fabric, are in a good colour, have them altered or crop things yourself. Get familiar with basic sewing techniques, so rips and repairs can be fixed not discarded.”
“Even if it’s not perfect, you’re walking around in something you’ve helped to create.”