Loot: The Dublin concept store on how to shop vintage in Ireland

Find a store that speaks to your style
Thanks to stores like rêverie and Loot, vintage shopping doesn’t have to mean rummaging through mountains of old clothing anymore. We’ve already done the hard work of siphoning through the obscurities to find the hidden gems for you.

I think finding a vintage brand that appeals to your personal style makes sustainable choices a lot easier. Is it the Neo-bohemian vibe of the 90s that speaks to you? Or are you inspired by the other end of the decade spectrum with silhouettes of the 70s? There are treasures for everyone at Loot!

Start with your everyday essentials
Figuring out what your absolute outfit staples are is a great way to start building your vintage wardrobe. For me, that starts with my Levi 501s, an archival Acne knit, buttery cowboy boots from the 80s and the perfect black blazer. Make sure you absolutely love any piece you buy, as this is the best way to make each purchase worthwhile.

Educate yourself about vintage sizing
Don’t be put off by labels as the sizing will be different depending on each garment’s era and where it was designed. I recommend bringing along a tape measure and really taking the time to get to know your measurements so you can figure out what you feel good in.

Find your needs and musts
Do you have a certain look in mind? You never know what treasures you’re going to come across when shopping vintage but I find it’s helpful to have a piece/era/designer that resonates with you in mind.

Having patience with the process is important. As the saying goes, it’s a marathon, not a sprint to find the perfect piece. If you can’t find the answer, ask! Us vintage aficionados only love to delve into our customer’s wishlists and help you find your most wanted pieces.

Mix the old with the new
When starting your vintage journey, I’d recommend trying to keep it simple with how you style your favourite finds. For example, I’ll style my favourite snakeskin vintage print pants with a simple white COS tee and steady biker boots. Each piece in my wardrobe is considered and loved, which makes creating a look around vintage pieces much easier.

A little about Loot, Dublin’s coolest vintage concept store

What is Loot’s vibe? 
Loot is a predominantly vintage clothing store and the sister brand to Nine Crows, rêverie and Heritage. Emma Fraser, our owner and founder, recognised the need for a creatively-driven concept space in Dublin. We want to build the store as a connection to the city, not only to home rêverie and Heritage, but also as a way to collaborate with some of Dublin’s most diverse talent on creative projects. Loot feels laid back and that’s really important to us. Customers need to be able to touch our pieces and explore our offering in order to appreciate the quality of vintage and the story behind each item.

What kind of brands/designers do you stock? 
Predominantly rêverie and Heritage, both with a focus on having curated vintage pieces as well as our friends Magnolia, INNÉ and HighMinds! Within that, we have a varied range of designer, from Roberto Cavalli to Yves Saint Laurent and Stone Island to Hermés. Loot homes amazing designers as well as some special unbranded vintage pieces that are equally as unique. Our offering doesn’t end at clothing either and we’ve got accessories and jewellery too. All the brands we stock feel aligned with our vision for Loot. For example, Magnolia is inspired by, and shares, the same principles as vintage clothing. We’re planning on expanding our offering so you can expect some new additions soon!

You also sell magazines… are these mostly vintage copies of old fashion mags? 
We’re all collectors and found it hard to find our favourite international fashion magazines in the city. For me, there’s nothing like spending a Saturday morning browsing through the pages of your favourite publications while on a weekend away, so we wanted to bring that luxury to Dublin.

At the moment, we’ve got The Gentlewoman, Acne Paper, i-D, Dazed, Wonderland, Numero and more… but we plan to continuously extend this as we grow and evolve. Send us your feedback and tell us what magazines you’d like to see us stock in store!

What was the inspiration behind the idea? 
Opening a concept store had been in the pipeline for quite a while but finding the perfect space for the brand was important to us. We wanted to create a must-visit for vintage lovers visiting Dublin and a place for the city’s locals to hang out in by cultivating a community.

We’ve loved having events on Fade Street, having some of our favourite local DJs play in-store and meeting our customers. There are retailers like VooStore in Berlin and Storm in Copenhagen that we admire and they’ve even inspired some of the design details you can see in Loot.

Located in the heart of Dublin city at 23 Drury Street, Loot is open for business seven days a week. Header image by Katie-Ruby Robinson.

This article was originally published in July 2022.