“They would say things like ‘if we buy you a branded shirt you will have grown out of it in a year’s time, so it’s a waste of money’. This drove me to finding ways of getting the clothes I liked at a cheaper price and I began searching sites like Depop and eBay. 

“If ever I bought something that didn’t fit, I’d flip it and that’s when I realised buying and selling vintage clothes could be a bit of a side hustle.

“Of course, now that doing so is proving itself to be a viable business my parents are very proud they refused to buy me any brands,” he joked. “They're definitely happy to take some of the credit!”

Regardless of the actual impact having prudent parents has had, Alex has quickly gone from making beer money to supplement his incomes as a day trader in the banking sector and swim teacher to procuring £25,000 worth of clothes every month.

Taking the plunge into the fashion industry after seeing his former work dry up as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the young businessman formally set-up Pure Vintage Clothing in December 2020 and has already seen sales surpass the VAT registration threshold.

“I never thought it would get this big so quickly,” added Alex, who uses his 450 sq ft of Big Yellow space for storage, product photography and packing. “It’s done better than I could have ever imagined and I am now getting into the groove of it.”

And while re-selling sought-after clothing from brands such as YSL, Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger is a major step change from his previous career path, Alex insists his previous experience has stood him in good stead.

“Before the lockdowns I wanted to get into analysing stock so I had quite a thorough knowledge of businesses and cash flows, the pitfalls faced by small companies and what to look for in good businesses,” he said. “I had the technical ability, could see the demand and just had to work on the supply.

“Although I studied maths, chemistry and physics at A-level I didn’t go to uni and was never super academic. I have always enjoyed putting knowledge to more practical use and that’s what interested me in stocks and shares; you can see how things apply to the real-world.”

Alex’s ability to assess the benefits potential suppliers could supply his business was put to further use when it came to selecting a storage solution. 

“Big Yellow’s prices were better, I was very interested in the flexibility of their units and the location of the store is fantastic,” he said of his decision.

 

“The security they provide is really important and having their staff on site to accept deliveries takes away a lot of stress and the need to be there 24/7. It’s nice to know they are there and will sort things out without you implicitly having to say please do this.”

Big Yellow’s green credentials and commitment to sustainability also chimed with Pure Vintage Clothing’s eco-friendly founder.

“I love the idea of a circular economy and of saving things that would otherwise be thrown away,” Alex concluded. “As a company we pride ourselves on being super carbon negative and for every item we sell we fund the planting of a tree in Madagascar to help rejuvenate the landscape. We also offset all our carbon emissions from postage to try to help Mother Earth.”

For more information, visit www.purevintage-clothing.com/