Beyond Retro in Dalston keeps vintage fashion flowing from a former sewing factory

For lovers of vintage clothing, a trip to Beyond Retro is a proper treasure hunt. The vintage retailer has been dressing Londoners in unique and authentic clothing since 2002, and its Dalston store remains one of the best places in the city to find something nobody else is wearing.

The business began in East London. Its first store opened in 2002 in a disused dairy on Cheshire Street, just off Brick Lane. The brand still nods to those roots, noting on its website that the first store opened "in a disused dairy in East London" and placing the business firmly within the Brick Lane vintage scene. The Dalston outlet followed in 2011.

The Dalston shop is a destination in its own right. It occupies a former sewing factory on Stoke Newington Road, a fitting home for a business built on giving clothes a second life, and it holds more than 12,000 handpicked pieces at any one time.

Beyond Retro says it has given "second life to millions of items" over the years. Its stock is bought from charities, either directly or through recycling companies, which helps generate income for those charities while keeping good clothes in circulation.

The company has grown well beyond east London. In the UK it has stores in London, at Dalston and Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, and in Brighton's North Laine. It also has a strong presence in Sweden, with shops in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Uppsala, and shoppers in the EU can buy online through the brand's Sellpy store.

What keeps people coming back is the thrill of the hunt. With so many handpicked pieces in store, every visit offers something new, and buying second hand is one of the simplest ways to shop more sustainably.

In a city that has embraced second hand fashion, Beyond Retro remains one of the pioneers, proof that vintage can be both stylish and kinder to the planet.

Beyond Retro Dalston is on Stoke Newington Road, a short walk from Dalston Kingsland station. For store details, visit beyondretro.com.