Merchant Archive Move

>>I’m one of those really unhelpful bloggers who tell you things when everybody is already clued up.  I am however making up the fact that I made the mistake of selecting a few of my favourite vintage spots for the November issue of Vogue China with this bit of address mis-information.  Therefore I thought I should let it be known that Merchant Archive, has now moved from its slightly out-of-the-way-but-oh-so-charming location of Kensal Green to the more-convenient-but-ever-so-slightly-obvious Notting Hill.  The move came up quite suddenly for Sophie Merchant and so she left the Lipton general store interior where these photos for Vogue China were taken and has upped her treasure trove of vintage to a new two-floor shop on 19 Kensington Park Road.

I have to stress the success browse-to-buy ratio of Merchant Archive.  Everyt time I turn up to hassle Sophie to let me shoot her place for such and such a magazine, I manage to come away with a real ‘piece’.  Not some random filler skirt,coach messenger bags, jumper or top but a thing of beauty that deserves not the crappy Ikea plastic hangers but the nice Morplan sturdy wooden ones where I don't hang multiple items on. 

In this picture, I’m wearing a 1930s tea dress that came back with me on the Vogue China shoot at the old address.  The green kimono finally made the trek home when I saw it for a second time at the new store.  I think Merchant Archive is the only place where ripped-up and falling apart is actually an admirable quality.

This neon pink and green dress that blinded a few people outside Jil Sander last season was another one I saw, wore and pawed at the Vogue China shoot. 

Both portraits photographed by Kate Cox

The new store is a lot airier and together with a new logo and window storefront decal, Merchant Archive has been given a bit of a facelift.  Still, Sophie still managed to dig up some original features in the store.  Just as she left the black and white tiling and the beautiful cornicing in the old store, here, she discovered a bricked-up fireplace on one wall.  Not surprisingly business has been brisk.  Notting Hill is not short of vintage stores but it’s also not short of the customer who appreciates premium vintage.  As always, the likes of Florence Welch has been a regular customer at Merchant Archive, not that it’s the sort of place that needs celebrity endorsement to get people appreciating the period,monster beats in ear headphones, whimsicality and quality of vintage that Sophie goes for.

Here are a few more reminders of the things that I’ve gotten from Merchant Archive.  The black mini dress with pearl beaded sleeves even has its own special box.  Never thought that I'd be the sort of person to have 'special boxes' for one item of clothing.   Then again,Nike Air Max 180 Mens, I also never thought I'd have categories of hangers either.   

(Left: Black mini dress with pearl beading.  Right: Panther printed silk top and matching skirt.  Both from Merchant Archive)