At the beginning of this year a DM popped into the Long Shot inbox asking if we'd be interested in reworking some vintage Patagonia pieces. The answer (as it always is to such invitations) was a definite YES! And that is how I came to know Adrian of Again Garments, in his own words "a market trader who sells second hand clothes". A stalwart of Oxford's outdoor market, Again Garments can now also to be found in the indoor market. If you can't make it to Oxford you can find them on Depop and Instagram.
Not only was Adrian kind enough to send us some vintage Patagonia fleece he also answered a few questions aboout his life in the rag trade.
Long Shot: How long have you been in the vintage game and how did you get started?
Again Garments: I moved to Oxford from Birmingham to study as a mature student. I had a mid life crisis and rather than buy a Porsche and get a toupe I bought a canal boat and went back to school and studied cultural anthropology. When I graduated I stayed here
LS: You’re based in Oxford which is a city that conjures a few different styles in my mind, Oxbridge students and Radiohead come to my mind first. Does the city have a particular aesthetic or style?
AG: I got a stall on the outdoor market in Oxford and I sell reasonably priced products to the good people of Oxford whether they be toffs or tourists, students skater kids boho Jericho mum's country folk and the boating community. And everyone else in between really. It’s a very diverse spot.
LS: With environmental concerns being ever more prominent on people’s style agenda, there are many vintage stores around. Do you have a particular niche at Again Garments?
AG: Regarding vintage and environmental concerns I think it’s quite contradictory sometimes. Yes the idea of keeping the clothes in cycle and reusing is positive but if you look at the UK and European markets a lot of wholesalers are buying stock from Dubai and Pakistan which is importing rag from all over the world then grading it and exporting. So there is a lot of air miles being totted up and probably some minimum wage workforce being exploited.
We get our rag from uk textile mills and take to market items which we think are interesting and well made. Keeping the cost affordable allowing our customers to try new looks and experiment with style and fashion as they see fit.
We do use wholesalers to supply the demand of trends such as all things Carharrt and branded sportswear.
LS: What is your greatest vintage find? Any ‘grails’ that you are searching for?
AG: There is always a real high when we go picking as we never know what we’ll find. I’ve found Lewis leather jackets , a WW2 original duffle coat but some of my favourite bits were a 98 Helmut Lang army shirt which was such a cool piece. And as a collector of Patagonia it’s always a thrill to find rare synchilla prints. I was amazed to find the bullseye Gillsade from 94 which is a rare piece and to find it in the uk blew my mind.
LS: In one of the jackets that you supplied for our collaboration I found a pair of earrings in the pocket. What’s the strangest thing you’ve found in the pockets of a vintage piece?
AG: Regarding the little gifts you find in the pockets you were quite lucky with your earrings. Usually it’s snot rags and recently face masks as well as tickets, poop bags and extra strong mints. Occasionally we find cash but usually the factory pickers we work with get there first.
Experiment 003, is a series of six 5-panel caps crafted from one of Jay's vintage Patagonia jackets all hand made to order.
