A new 1950s and pre-1950s vintage gem is taking Crouch End by storm

Jade Stavri started collecting vintage when she was a fashion student at university. “Back then it was all 80s stuff, proper student stuff.” Five years ago, she turned her collecting into a little business and then into a bigger one – selling clothes on vintage markets all over the country. She was following the path on the advice of her mother, who sold clothes on Camden Market in the 70s.

As she graduated and became a fashion editor and stylist (counting the Inbetweeners and Skins cast as clients), her taste for vintage remained and refined.

In between working as a fashion editor at east London Disorder magazine, she began to collect 1950s vintage. “I started falling in love with the 50s. I told my mum I wanted to start collecting and selling 1950s and pre-50s vintage and she said, ‘That’s going to be really difficult.’”

Three weeks ago, she opened Scarlet Rage Vintage, where we are both stood now. The shop walls are white and the colour comes from the pick ‘n’ mix vintage collection which lines each wall. Centrally, there’s a table filled with vintage accessories. There are lots of bags – Stavri’s favourite pieces.

Here, eager collectors can find genuine pieces from as early as the 1920s, hand- picked by Stavri from collections all over Europe and in America. “Everything is for sale in the shop, bar me, the desk and Frank,” she says, looking over at her sausage dog (full name Frankfurter).

The shop has already got attention from the fashion pack, having been featured in Vogue and on photographer Rankin’s website. Stavri’s experience as a stylist means she can spot a woman’s shape a mile off and help out selecting pieces if needed. “The next step is to make our own collection for women who are different shapes to how shapes were cut in those eras. I want to cater for everyone.”

Real vintage it seems is more akin with antiques hunting than shopping. “None of my stuff is from a vintage warehouse,” says Stavri. “Building a collection and keeping it replenished with stock in good condition is hard – you have to build up contacts and find collections. Lots of people are getting into vintage but, to do it properly, you have to commit to it.”

Scarlet Rage has a home in Crouch End, which has also been home to Stavri and her family for three generations. She knows the area and its inhabitants well. “The people around here are so savvy, they demand a certain standard, and I like that.”