Vintage Guide to Liverpool: Lili Bizarre

As part of my Vintage Guide, I intend to do a write-up on each of the Vintage Shops I've listed. I'm going to cover all sorts of stuff, including of course what type of vintage they stock, but also little details like the music they play etc. to give you more of a feel for the place. First up is Lili Bizarre, on Hardman Street:

 

Lili Bizarre

 

Lili Bizarre Shop Front - Source

I'm lucky enough to work near Lili Bizarre, so I often pop in bnefore work or during my lunchbreak. Lili Bizarre is actually a Fancy Dress Shop, but it has a dedicated vintage area at the front of the shop selling both men's and women's vintage clothing and accessories. The stock is left over from when they used to be a vintage shop and once they've sold it, they won't get any more in. Although I have been told there are a few more boxes of stock in storage and they've even promised to ring me when they put it out - how nice is that?

 

Women's Vintage Rail at Lili Bizarre

The staff are super-friendly and helpful and there's a whole army of them so you're never kept waiting. I've even been late for work once or twice because we've been chatting. The shop itself is always clean and tidy and I don't know what they use to wash their stock but it smells amazing - the whole shop is scented with it and you even get a waft sometimes as you pass the door. Their vintage certainly never smells vintage! They also have a good few changing rooms (6 I think), which is great.

 

Men's Shirts at Lili Bizarre

Music-wise they play up-beat stuff, mainly from the 1960s and 70s I think, and I never find it intrusive. When we were in taking these photos they had the Beatles on :)

 

Now, onto the stock itself! I really love the vintage they stock here - it's always excellent quality and I've bought beautiful dresses here that I've never seen the like of anywhere else and for great prices. They have a good mix of 1950s-1980s, with the odd earlier item and they have a whole heap of fab 1960s/70s mini-dresses as well as some gorgeous maxis.

 

1960s and 70s Minidresses - £15 each

They also stock items that I think of as quite hard to find such as vintage trousers:

 

Trousers and Blazers at Lili Bizarre

And they stock some accessories too, including 1960s/70s tights, which are another thing I don't come across too often.

 



Acessories, including Mary Quant tights, Bags, Gloves and Cummerbunds. (The rail on the right is fancy dress stock.)



I picked out some of my favourite items to show you:





Early Underskirt - £15 (I did actually try this on once but it did nothing for me.)



1950s Dress - £35
 

1950s Dress - £20 (has a little damage)

1950s Dress - £30

1950s Cocktail Dress - £25

1960s Minidress - £15

1960s Minidress - £15

1960s Minidress - £15

Awesome Disco Trousers - £7.50

I've bought quite a few items from Lili Bizarre since March (when I discovered they sold vintage - oh the treasures I must have missed!), including my beautiful 'Monet' dress and the gorgeous-but-teeny floral dress I bought recently. I've also had 2 more lovely 1950s dresses from them, 2 pretty vintage blouses and some fabulous 1970s platforms - all of which have yet to be shown on the blog.

 

Handy Cut-Out-and-Keep Guide to Lili Bizarre

  

Do they sell both Men’s and Women’s Vintage? Yes

 

What accessories do they sell? Bags (£5), Shoes (from £10), Gloves (£5), Cummerbunds (£3) and Tights.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Eras Represented: 1950s-1980s with a couple of earlier pieces

Cheapest Item of clothing? Disco Trousers pictured above - £7.50

Most expensive item of clothing? 1970s Velvet Cape - £55 (which I forgot to photograph)

Will they lend you a tape measure? Yes, I've borrowed one on occasion

Address:
Lili Bizarre
12 Hardman Street
Liverpool
L1 9AX

Opening Hours:
Monday - 9.30-18.00
Tuesday - 9.30-17.30
Wednesday - 9.30-20.00
Thursday, Friday and Saturday - 9.30-17.30

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 709 8159

Email: lilibizarre@googlemail.com

Website: www.lilibizarre.com

Twitter

Facebook Page

Notes: I just have to add that in the run-up to Hallowe'en, Lili Bizarre put away their vintage and replace it with Fancy Dress stock as it's (obviously) their busiest time of year. So don't visit in October or the first two weeks of November for vintage.

 

I hope you're finding this guide useful and please do go to Lili's if you're ever in Liverpool - it's one of my favourite vintage places.

 

I'm going to leave you with this:

 

The most eighties dress ever? I forgot to check how much it was

 

 

 

Sweet Dreams,

Nikki x

P.S. I thought I'd better add that none of my Vintage Guide posts are sponsored in any way - no freebies, no discounts etc.

A Little Bit of Treasure

I managed to convince A to get out of bed early this morning to go to the car boot before work. There were a few less stalls today because the ground was wet and this site is prone to the most enormous puddles. It was still busy, but I didn't get much.

1970s Tin

I got this vintage tin, which needs a good clean. Not really sure what I'm going to do with it, but I love the pattern.

Rainbow Brite Jigsaw

I also got this 1980s Rainbow Brite Jigsaw which I will probably sell, unless my sister snaffles it. I actually did this before to check it was complete.

Aaand I got this:

 

1970s Dressmaking Encyclopedia - 50p

You've probably seen this book around - it must have been quite popular as I've seen a few copies before myself. I've also got the Golden Hands Handicrafts Book, which I mentioned here. I actually bought this to sell as I was convinced I already had it, but I don't, so I'm keeping it.

 

Here are some fabulous pictures from the book:

 

I love these kids' coats (made from real Muppet Skin)

This dress is amazing, but I'm not convinced on the collar. Also the cape/dress in the background is fantastic!

Love this and I really want a quilted circle skirt for winter

Such a campy photo!

Hope you've had some good finds this weekend, or good luck for tomorrow if you're car-booting on the Bank Holiday. Normally on a Bank Holiday Monday I'd be off to the Frodsham Car Boots, but I have to work - boo!

 

Nikki x

A Deviation from the 1950s*

I bet you didn't expect me to come away from my vintage research trip on Monday empty-handed. Well, you were right, but if you were expecting me to buy another 1950s dress (or dresses), you were mistaken.

I got this:

1970s Maxi - £15, Bullet

Isn't it lovely? And not remotely 1950s. I've mentioned this before, but I do love the 1970s and the 1960s - they were my first love when I got into vintage things as a teenager. It's just that my favourite decade at the moment is the 1950s, so I mainly dedicate my time and money to acquiring things from that era. I've been after some maxis for a while now for the summer - well, those occasional warm days we have here in the UK - but I've been having trouble finding cotton ones. I actually quite like polyester (for reasons already mentioned here) and own a few pretty poly dresses but I find it too hot to wear and I do not cope well in the heat. So when I saw this lovely I had to try it on. I did try a few others but this was the only one that fit, which was lucky as it was my favourite of the bunch.

Bodice Detail

The fabric is so pretty and I love the ruffle, which carries on to the back and the sweet little buttons.

Close-up of the buttons

It's mdefssssssssssssssss - sorry Juno just jumped on the keyboard. It's made by Carnegie of London, who I think were a pretty popular brand but I can't find out much about them. There are plenty of their dresses about on the internet though and they seem to have started in the 1950s.

I love it when people post the labels from their clothes (I know, I'm a geek), so here's the label:

Carnegie of London Label

I'm not sure when I'll be able to give it it's first outing - my 1950s dresses I can wear to work, so they get tons of wear, but this is probably a bit much for work. It'll have to be a nice, warm day too, but I'll post a pic when I do wear it.

I also got these placemats:

Placemats - £1 the lot, The Jumble People

I think they're placemats anyway, I thought they were hankies at first. There are 4 of the rectangular ones and 2 of these square ones which I guess are napkins:

Napkin

They look unused and I think they're 1950s, but I'm not sure. I love them though and at £1 for all of them they're a complete bargain.

So there you go - I'm not a complete decade snob after all!

The dress is quite 1930s-inspired though - don't you think?

Nikki x

*I'm listening to Just a Minute on BBC iPlayer, hence 'deviation'

A Vintage Guide to Liverpool - Part One: Shops

**Updated 6th October 2012**

I've been looking forward to writing this guide for ages. It's a privilege to share some of my favourite Vintage Shops with you and to draw attention to some of the perhaps more neglected sources of vintage in Liverpool. At the moment I'll be concentrating on the city centre (bricks and mortar) shops - partly because those are the ones I'm most familiar with and partly because if you're visiting Liverpool for the day, those will be the easiest to get to. Later on I will add shops from outside of the city centre, as well as other places that might be of interest to vintage fans. I will also compile a list of the local Vintage Fairs.

This is just a basic overview to start, but my intention is to do a detailed write-up of each shop - perhaps one each month. I also plan to keep this list updated, adding new shops as they open/relocate etc. I've had to use other people's photographs for this overview (they should all be sourced - let me know if not), but I will replace them with my own photos over time.

Also, I don't know why the formatting in this post is all over the place, but I've tried to fix it several times to no avail - sorry.

I've also added this info to a Google map, which can be found here:

View Vintage Guide to Liverpool in a larger map

Bullet

Bullet Shop Front - Source

Bullet is based on Hardman Street and sells vintage clothing and accessories as well as their own line of one-off clothing. They stock only women's vintage clothing.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Eras Represented: Mainly 1960s-1980s

Address:

Bullet

41 Hardman Street

Liverpool

L1 9AS

Opening Hours:  

Monday-Saturday - 11.00-18.00 

Cash/Card: Cash only

Facebook Page

Lili Bizarre

Lili Bizarre Shop Front - Source

Lili Bizarre are also based on Hardman Street. They are predominantly a fancy dress shop, but have a dedicated vintage area at the front of the shop selling clothing and accessories. There are two racks of men's vintage clothing and some accessories, but the majority is women's.

*Please note that in October for the run-up to Hallowe'en and for about 2 weeks after, the vintage section is removed and replaced with Hallowe'en gear to cope with the extra demand. They are a Fancy Dress shop after all!*


Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Eras Represented: 1950s-1980s with a couple of earlier pieces

Address:
Lili Bizarre
12 Hardman Street
Liverpool
L1 9AX

Opening Hours:
Monday - 9.30-18.00
Tuesday - 9.30-17.30
Wednesday - 9.30-20.00
Thursday, Friday and Saturday - 9.30-17.30

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 709 8159

Email: lilibizarre@googlemail.com

Website: www.lilibizarre.com
 
Twitter

Facebook Page

The Jumble People

{Photo to be added soon}

The entrance to The Jumble People is just off Hardman Street, on Pilgrim Street. It's at the side  of an Off Licence and the shop is pretty much opposite Lili Bizarre. Once in the door, you go up the stairs to the first floor. Their little space is crammed with vintage clothes (mainly women's) and there are always a couple of boxes of scarves and accessories to rummage through. They operate as a collective/co-op and each seller has their own space in the shop. As well as the vintage, there are also clothing ranges by independent designers, re-worked vintage, some repro vintage and some crafts and illustration work for sale. It's quite hard to describe, so I recommend a visit.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? Yes, a little and there are plans to add more

Eras Represented: Mainly 1960s-1980s and some 1990s I think, but I did find a 1940s ballgown there once and I've seen the odd 1950s dress.

Address:

The Jumble People
Pilgrim Street

Liverpool

L1 9AX

(I think the building itself would qualify as a Hardman Street address, but the entrance is via a door on Pilgrim Street, so I've given it that address.)

Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday - 11.00-17.30/18.00 (roughly)

Cash/Card: Cash only

RYAN Vintage 

{Photo to be added soon}

RYAN Vintage are a big shop on Bold Street, selling vintage clothing and accessories as well as some of their own line of clothing and re-worked vintage. There's a lot of men's vintage here as well.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? A little - they have some fab 60s/70s curtains in stock at the moment.

Eras Represented: Mainly 1960s-1980s with some 1990s and the odd earlier piece too.

Address:
RYAN Vintage
Bold Street
Liverpool
L1 4EH

Opening Hours:
Monday - Saturday  - 10.00-18.00
Sunday - 12.00-17.00
 

Cash/Card: Cash only

Email: ryanvintagelpool@gmail.com

Facebook Page

Pop Boutique, Bold Street

Pop Boutique Shop Front - Source

There are two Pop Boutique shops in Liverpool - the one on Bold Street is the smaller of the two. It's just a few doors down from Ryan Vintage on the opposite side of the road. They sell men and women's vintage clothing and some accessories, as well as their own repro/retro clothing line.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Eras Represented: Mainly 1960s-1980s with a little 1990s and the odd 1950s item. Quite a bit of their own clothing line too.

Address:
Pop Boutique
Bold Street
Liverpool
L1 4HF

Opening Hours:  
Monday -Saturday - 10.30-18.00
Sunday - 12.00-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Website: www.pop-boutique.com

Twitter

Facebook Page

Soho's 

Soho's Shop Front - Source

Soho's is also based on Bold Street and sells alternative clothing and accessories including a lot of vintage-inspired clothing (such as Hell Bunny dresses and petticoats) and  quite a lot of men's and women's vintage clothing.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Eras Represented: Mainly 1970s-1980s, with some 1960s and I've spotted one or two 1950s pieces there too.

Address:
Soho's
80 Bold Street
Liverpool
L1 4HR

Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday - 10.30-17.30
Sunday - 12.00-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 707 0880

Website: www.sohos.co.uk (They don't sell vintage online though)

Little Red Vintage

Little Red Vintage Shop Front - Source

Little Red Vintage is another Bold Street vintage shop, a little bit further down from Soho's. It sells vintage clothing and accessories (nearly all women's) as well as a lot of re-worked vintage clothing.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? They sell a few teacup candles, but that's it really

Eras Represented: 1970s-90s - mainly 80s and 90s, with a few 1960s pieces. Quite a lot of re-worked vintage too.

Address:
Little Red Vintage
74 Bold Street
Liverpool
L1 4HR

Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday - 11.00-18.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 703 6872

Email: littleredvintage1@gmail.com

Twitter

Facebook Page

By the way, Kasbah, the Morroccan restaurant next door to Little Red is amazing!

Oxfam Original

Oxfam Original Shop Front - Source

Oxfam Original sells books as well as Vintage Clothing and Accessories. Both men's and women's vintage is for sale at reasonable prices, but it is mostly women's vintage. They also sell some second-hand, non-vintage clothes (usually higher-end High Street stuff). 

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Eras Represented: Mainly 1960s-80s, but I have seen the odd 1950s dress in there

Address:
Oxfam Original Shop
35-37 Bold St
Liverpool
L1 4DN

Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday - 10.00-18.00
Sunday: 11.00-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 709 6739

Email: oxfamshopf1227@oxfam.org.uk

Website:  www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/local-shops/oxfam-original-liverpool

Resurrection

Resurrection Shop Front - Source

Resurrection is another Bold Street shop - it mainly sells new clothing and accessories with a floor each for men's and women's stuff. They have a vintage section on each floor, but there isn't much men's vintage. The women's vintage seems to be mostly separates (blouses and skirts).

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Eras Represented: Mainly 1970s-90s and heavy on the 80s

Address:
Resurrection
29 Bold Street
Liverpool
L1 4DN

Opening Hours: 
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - 9.30-18.00
Thursday - 9.30-19.00
Friday and Saturday - 9.30-18.00

Sunday - 11.00-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 707 8099

Email: info@resurrection-online.com

Website:  www.resurrection-online.com

Blog: http://resurrectionltd.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter

Facebook Page

69A

69A Shop Front - Source

69A is a large Antiques/Collectables shop on Renshaw Street that also stocks men's and women's vintage clothing and accessories. Their clothing is mostly jackets and jumpers/tops and jeans and flares. There isn't much in the way of dresses.

Do they sell Vintage Homeware too? Yes - tonnes! Including lots of books and ceramics (quite a few Art Deco teasets), a little bit of furniture and various other things.

Eras Represented: Clothing-wise it's 1960s-1980s (mainly 1970s), with some earlier pieces. Homeware/Collectables-wise there's all sorts of stuff from Victorian to the 1980s but it's mainly 20th Century.  There's always a lot of Art Deco items too.

Address:

69A
75 Renshaw Street

Liverpool

L1 2SJ

Opening Hours:

Monday-Saturday - 10.30-18.00

Sunday - 12.00-17.30

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 708 8873

Email:  Intandane69a@yahoo.co.uk

Website:  www.trocadero.com/69aintandane/

Facebook Page

Raiders Vintage
 

Raiders Vintage Shop Front - Source

**Update**

Sadly Raiders will be closing on 27th October 2012, but will continue to trade online. Details to follow. They are having a big sale until they close, so make sure you get down there.

Raiders Vintage is another shop based on Renshaw Street. It's big and has a lot of stock and sells women's vintage clothing and accessories as well as some homeware. It also sells a line of modern, independently-designed jewellery and modern pettioats in different lengths and colours.

Eras Represented: 1950s-1980s with a really good mix of items, there's also the occasional earlier item

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? Yes, they sell ceramics - trios, cake stands and the like - as well as pictures, decorative items, eiderdowns and crochet blankets.

Address:

Raiders Vintage

38 Renshaw Street

Liverpool

L1 4EF

Opening Hours:

Monday-Saturday - 11.00-18.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 709 2929

Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/RaidersVintage

Twitter

Facebook Page

British Red Cross

British Red Cross Shop Front - Source

This British Red Cross shop is just next door to Raiders Vintage and has a small vintage section, selling men's and women's vintage clothing and accessories.

Eras Represented: 1960s-1980s


Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? A little

Address:

British Red Cross
36 Renshaw St
Liverpool
L1 4EF

Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday - 9.00-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 707 1074

Grand Central

Grand Central Hall - Source

Grand Central is just over the road from Raiders and the British Red Cross shop. It's a huge building housing lots of different shop units selling alternative and vintage stuff as well as jewellery, crafty things, records, curios, retro gaming stuff and so on and so forth. There's even a Tarot Reader and a magic shop. Most shops are in the basement levels and ground floor and there are a couple of shops on the first floor. As they're mostly small businesses, not all shops take card payments.

I've listed all the Vintage Shops based in Grand Central below.

Address:

Grand Central Hall

35 Renshaw Street

Liverpool

L1 2SF

Opening Hours:

Monday-Saturday - 10.00-17.30

Website: http://quiggins.weebly.com/
 

Facebook Page

Hepsibazaar

Hepsibazaar is based on the upper Basement level. It's a small shop selling women's vintage clothing and accessories as well as a line of re-worked vintage.

Eras Represented: Mainly 1980s with some 60s and 70s

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Opening Hours:

Monday-Saturday - 10.00-17.30

Cash/Card: Cash only

Curious Orange

Curious Orange is based in the lower basement level and is crammed with both men's and women's vintage clothing and accessories as well as some fancy dress items.

Eras Represented: 1950s-1980s with a good mix of all eras. There are also a few earlier pieces.

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? A little

Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday - 11.00-17.30

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 07806 316625

Email: kittyscuriousorange@hotmail.co.uk

Asos Boutique:  https://marketplace.asos.com/seller/curiousorange/collection

Facebook Page

Total Recall Vintage

Total Recall Vintage is also on the lower basement level. It sells both men's and women's vintage clothes and accessories.

Eras Represented: Mainly 1960s-1980s with the odd 1950s piece

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Opening Hours:Monday-Saturday - 10.00-17.30

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 707 0051

Email: walkerkirsty@rocketmail.com

Website: www.totalrecallvintage.co.uk/home

PeelyPops Vintage

**Update**
PeelyPops Vintage has now re-located to Lancaster and will be based on Brock Street. They also regularly attend Vintage Fairs in the North West.

PeelyPops Vintage is a recently-opened shop also on the lower basement level. It stocks women's vintage clothing and accessories and some vintage homeware.

Eras Represented: 1940s-1980s with a good mix of eras

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? Yes, at the moment they have some teasets and dresser sets and there are plans to add more items

Opening Hours:

Tuesday-Saturday - 10.30-17.30

Cash/Card: Cash only for now

Tel. Number: 07886 262 764

Email: eunicepeel@yahoo.co.uk

Asos Boutique: https://marketplace.asos.com/boutique/peelypops-vintage/collection

Facebook Page

Deja Vue

Deja Vue is based up on the first floor of Grand Central. It stocks women's vintage clothing and accessories and is mostly evening or going-out wear - lots of beads and sequins.

Eras Represented: 1960s-modern - mainly glitzy 1980s last time I was in

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday - 11.00-17.00
Saturday - 10.30-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash only

Tel. Number: 0151 709 2074

Email: dejavuevintage@hotmail.co.uk

Facebook Page

That's all the different vintage shops from Grand Central, but units do change over and new shops open up, so I'll try to be especially on-the-ball with this part of the guide.

A la Mode

{Photo to be added soon}

A la Mode has just taken over from Flashback Boutique and only recently opened. They're based on School Lane, next to the Bluecoat. They sell women's vintage clothing and accessories and will have a range of handmade items in stock soon including reworked vintage pieces. Their official launch date is September 1st.

Eras Represented: 1960s-1980s and their own line of clothing

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? No

Address:

A la Mode
School Lane
Liverpool L1 3BX

Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday - 10.00-20.00
Saturday - 10.00-19.00
Sunday - 12.00-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Card.

Email: alamode.susannah@googlemail.com

Facebook Page


 

Pop Boutique Whitechapel

Pop Boutique Whitechapel Shop Front - Source

This is the larger of Liverpool's two Pop Boutique stores, with stock spread over two floors. It stocks both men's and women's vintage clothing and accessories, as well as their own repro range and reworked vintage. It also houses the Knitting and Craft shop Purlesque on the first floor.

Eras Represented: 1950s-1990s and mainly 1960s-80s

Do they Sell Vintage Homeware too? A little, including retro lampshades

Address:

Pop Boutique
58 Whitechapel
Liverpool
L1 6EG

Opening Hours:
Monday-Saturday - 10.30-19.00
Sunday - 12.00-17.00

Cash/Card: Cash and Cards accepted

Tel. Number: 0151 709 7858

Website: www.pop-boutique.com/where/Pop,Liverpool 

Twitter

Facebook Page

 

Well, I think that's everything - I hope it's of use to you. If you're the owner of one of these shops and your details are wrong (or if you're the owner of a shop and I've missed you out), let me know at penelope_cat_vintage@hotmail.co.uk
 

Nikki x