As a city famed for its quirkiness and creativity, Brighton’s independent boutiques attract tourists from far and wide to discover the hidden treasures on offer in the lanes. From the chic and classic high-fashion stores and eccentric thrift shops to the avant-garde designers’ boutiques, you’ll find fashion in every twist and turn of the charming, brick-paved lanes. With such an eclectic, vibrant and original mix, it was a tough job to whittle it down to just six of the best, but someone had to do it. So here they are, six of our favourite Brighton boutiques.
Bod & Ted
3 Bartholomews
Bod & Ted is a light and airy, family owned boutique packed full of chic designs from both up-and-coming designers and firm favourite brands. Notorious for its personal shopping experience and sense of individuality, a visit to the boutique is a must for every self-respecting fashionista who finds herself by the sea, no matter what her age or size. And the best thing? Their ever evolving selection of labels means that no two trips to Bod & Ted are the same.
Wolf & Gypsy
30 Sydney Street
A firm favourite amongst local vintage lovers, Wolf & Gypsy (40s-50s Hawaiian print dress, £120, pictured) is a treasure trove of fashionable finds from the yesteryear, with pieces ranging from the eighties right back to the roaring twenties. With a heavy focus on the swinging sixties and seventies, you will find the most wearable of printed shift dresses and blouses alongside some more flamboyant statement pieces- Go-go boots, anyone? But forget trawling through heaps of pre-loved clobber- the mercifully short rails have been filled with great care and consideration, with only the most stylish and covetable of vintage gems making the cut into the exclusive boutique.
Pretty Eccentric
Meeting House Lane & 10 Bond Street
This unique and charming boutique certainly lives up to its name, with avant-garde yet stunning designs stopping passersby to marvel through the quirkily dressed window. Inside, an Aladdin’s Cave of vintage inspired fashion, accessories and trinkets will transport you back in time until you feel you’re flapping and swinging in the Jazz Age. Boutique owner and designer, Michelle Scott, creates imaginative, twenties inspired fashion with lashings of lace, silk, velvet and frills aplenty, which don’t look out of place on the shelves alongside Vivienne Westwood and Mary Francis.
Milla Grace
24 Dukes Lane
Milla Grace is the lovechild of two fashion grads, Vashikeh Miller and Lydia Grace Colasurdo , who have brought a touch of the artistry and opulence of the fashion scenes in Paris and Milan into a fresh, feminine and friendly boutique on Dukes Lane. The boutique offers chic, high-end fashion from a range of new and talented designers, beautiful dainty jewellery and luxurious candles (which make the store smell divine by the way.) With pieces sourced from local designers and brands, as well as from around the world, the Milla Grace shopping experience tantalises your senses with an eclectic mix of culture, pattern and texture.
Sugarhill Boutique
17 Sydney Street
Born and bred here in sunny Brighton, Sugarhill Boutique has made a name for itself in the fashion world, with stockists worldwide and a fan base of celebrities and fashion bloggers alike. The lovingly designed collections are a pleasing blend of illustrative prints, vintage silhouettes, and Asian inspired detailing . Staying true to their Brightonian roots, the label have opened an outlet store in the North Laines, where you can shop the feminine and whimsical designs at a fraction of the RRP.
Dollydagger
6 Brighton Place
Following an onslaught of online success, Dollydagger opened the doors to its very first store right here in Brighton. The retro-inspired dressmakers have become famous on the rockabilly scene for their beautiful and high quality 50s-esque frocks and kitsch accessories. And as if that wasn’t enough, the boutique host Dollydagger VIP evenings where you’ll be treated to cupcakes and cocktails and given a lesson in vintage styling, whilst the experts transform you into the ultimate pin-up girl.
Words by Rosie Crompton, a journalist for Brighton-based fashion search engine site, Style In View.
Photo by Eleni Mettyear
