Edinburgh gave me two things I will remember for a very long time: a fiancé, after I proposed to James while we were there, and a vintage-clothing haul large enough to create a minor luggage problem.
Most guides to vintage shopping are not especially helpful when you primarily wear menswear. A shop may be beautifully arranged and full of excellent clothes, yet contain one small rail of men’s shirts somewhere behind several rooms of dresses. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is useful to know before devoting part of a short holiday to it.
I visited two Armstrongs branches and several smaller vintage shops across Edinburgh. Stock naturally changes from week to week, so this is not a promise of what will be waiting on every rail. It is a first-hand account of which shops gave me the best menswear selection, which were still worth seeing for other reasons and where I would begin on my next visit.
Visited in July 2026. Shop details and stock can change, so check current opening information before travelling.
Armstrongs was the clear winner
I visited the Armstrongs shops on Cockburn Street and in the Grassmarket. Both were excellent, although the Grassmarket branch felt like the main event: large, dense with stock and capable of consuming rather more of an afternoon than you intended.
Men’s and women’s clothing was clearly separated, which made the shops much easier to browse. Menswear did not feel like an afterthought. There were proper sections to work through rather than a token rail of checked shirts and oversized sports jackets.
The interiors are almost worth visiting on their own. They sit somewhere between a museum, a bazaar and the backstage wardrobe of a theatre that has been operating for several centuries without throwing anything away. The displays are eccentric, crowded and theatrical, but the clothing itself remains organised enough to shop.
What I found at Armstrongs
Across the two branches, I bought:
- six shirts;
- one jacket;
- one pair of flares;
- one pair of jeans;
- one sweater vest;
- one jumper;
- and one T-shirt.
That is twelve garments at an average of roughly £21 each. For wearable vintage found in a city-centre shop, I thought that represented excellent value.
The shirt selection was particularly strong. Armstrongs had long, pointed dagger-style collars for days, which mattered to me because they can be absurdly difficult to find elsewhere. There were plenty of ordinary shirts too, but this was not merely a row of safe checks and pale office stripes.
One of my purchases was originally destined for a mannequin. A member of staff was assembling a display when I noticed the shirt she was holding and asked whether I could try it on. I then bought it, leaving her to reconsider the entire outfit. I am sorry about the mannequin, but not sufficiently sorry to have left the shirt behind.
The jacket that became mine
One of the most memorable finds was an orange varsity jacket covered in mismatched embroidered patches. It also has an unexpected cream panel across the back that hangs rather like a small cape—or part of an unusually sporty stage costume.
The name Kirstin had been embroidered on the chest. I liked the jacket far too much to leave it behind over somebody else’s name, so I visited Pie in the Sky and found a patch to cover it: an Oregon Trail joke involving a wagon and an unfortunate end from dysentery.
Ironing the patch over the embroidery did not make the jacket more restrained. It made it more specifically mine.
That is one of the advantages of buying second-hand. A garment does not always need to arrive in its final form. A patch, altered button or small repair can solve the one detail preventing an otherwise excellent piece from being worn.
There were also rails of vintage tweed jackets. Tweed is not usually the first thing I reach for, but anyone looking for traditional jackets, heavier cloth or a more academic silhouette would have had plenty to inspect.
The accessory selection deserved more time than I gave it. There were belts worth properly rummaging through and an excellent pair of motorcycle-style boots that I resisted just about. By then my hands were full, which is not a figure of speech but a genuine failure of shopping logistics.
My main regret was not returning to try on one of the kilts. I have never worn a kilt or a skirt, but I am increasingly interested in giving one a go. That will have to become unfinished business for the next trip.
Labels were secondary to the clothes
I generally buy according to appearance, condition and quality rather than the name stitched inside. A shop with Armstrongs’ scale and changing stock may still reward dedicated label hunters, but that is not the best reason to go.
The real appeal is finding an unusually shaped shirt, a good wool jacket or a pair of trousers that would be difficult to reproduce by shopping new.
Little Blue Door was small but carefully chosen
Little Blue Door Vintage offered a very different experience. The shop was smaller, warmer and more selective, with the feeling of stepping into a particularly colourful corner of the 1980s or 1990s.
Run by Irish sisters Áine and Aisling, Little Blue Door specialises in handpicked 1980s and 1990s clothing from its shop on Candlemaker Row.
The pieces felt individually chosen rather than bought in vast quantities. I noticed good knitwear, fleeces, shirts, sweaters and windbreakers. It did not offer the sheer depth of menswear found at Armstrongs, but it was friendly, enjoyable to browse and had enough relevant stock to deserve a stop.
This would be particularly worthwhile for someone who favours colourful late-twentieth-century clothing rather than older tailoring or traditional Scottish pieces.
Carnivàle, TORN, Stoodio and Godiva were appealing but mostly womenswear
Several of the smaller shops were attractive and thoughtfully presented, but their stock was overwhelmingly women’s clothing during my visits. That may change as individual pieces sell, so I would not treat this as a permanent judgement. It does mean that a menswear shopper on a tight schedule should manage expectations.
Carnivàle Vintage
Carnivàle was especially satisfying to browse because the clothing was organised by period. That immediately gave the shop more coherence than a generic mixture of everything vaguely old.
Its official description says it carries clothing spanning the 1890s to the 1990s, including both menswear and womenswear, with particular strength in mid-century period pieces. On my visit, however, there was much more for womenswear shoppers than there was for me.
I would still visit again. The historical organisation made it interesting even when I was not finding much to try on.
TORN Vintage
TORN was polished, restrained and chic, with a carefully curated selection of wearable vintage. The stock during my visit leaned heavily towards womenswear, so it would not be my first recommendation for a dedicated menswear hunt, although it may suit people shopping across different sections.
Stoodio Vintage
Stoodio had a younger, more playful Y2K emphasis. I found one rail of menswear right at the back, but someone specifically hunting late-1990s or early-2000s pieces may have better luck as the stock changes.
Godiva Boutique
Godiva was another attractive shop, but not especially productive for me as a menswear shopper. It combines vintage clothing with work from independent and ethical designers, including pieces reworked in its Edinburgh studio.
That broader boutique approach makes it more than a conventional vintage shop. It is worth visiting for unusual design and accessories, although I would not make it the centre of a menswear itinerary.
Joey D is worth seeing for the upcycling
Joey D stood apart from the other shops because the emphasis was not simply on selling old clothing. Joey D reconstructs vintage materials and everyday objects as clothing, accessories and furniture.
The Irn-Bru cans turned into bags were particularly memorable. They are not subtle, but subtlety is not really the point of turning a drinks can into something you can carry over your shoulder.
This is a useful stop for anyone interested in reworked clothing, handmade oddities and Scottish visual humour. I would approach it as a place to find an unusual constructed object rather than somewhere to build a conventional vintage wardrobe.
Pie in the Sky is useful for personalising a find
Pie in the Sky is not a vintage-clothing shop, but its patches, pins and handmade oddities make it a useful detour after one. It supplied the Oregon Trail patch now covering Kirstin’s name on my Armstrongs jacket.
Forever Vintage was not the right shop for me
Forever Vintage was the one shop I would personally skip on a return visit.
The selection I saw leaned heavily towards football shirts and sportswear. There were repeated examples of similar-looking pieces, and I could not always tell at a glance whether I was looking at genuinely older clothing, later retro stock or a modern reissue.
That distinction matters when a shop uses the word vintage. A reissued football shirt may still be desirable and well made, but it is a different purchase from an original garment that has survived from the period.
The shop’s current online range similarly places considerable emphasis on football jerseys, branded sportswear, racing jackets and items explicitly described as official reissues. That makes its focus reasonably clear, even though it was not the kind of vintage clothing I had travelled to Edinburgh to find.
Someone who collects football shirts or prefers sportswear may enjoy it far more than I did. Anyone seeking tweed, unusual tailoring, older shirts or characterful everyday menswear would be better served by beginning elsewhere.
How I would plan an Edinburgh menswear vintage-shopping day
Based on my own trip, I would begin at the Grassmarket Armstrongs and allow far more time than seems reasonable. Do not treat it as somewhere to glance around for twenty minutes between other attractions. The size and variety reward a slower search.
From there, I would visit the Cockburn Street branch. Even when two shops share a name, vintage stock is individual enough that one branch may contain exactly what the other lacks.
Little Blue Door would be my next deliberate stop, particularly for knitwear, casual shirts, fleeces and colourful 1980s or 1990s clothing. Carnivàle, TORN, Stoodio and Godiva would then become optional additions depending on time, current displays and whether everyone involved still possessed the will to continue shopping.
A few practical lessons:
- Wear clothes and shoes that are easy to change out of.
- Leave room in your bag for purchases.
- Inspect collars, cuffs, fastenings, linings and trouser seats before buying.
- Try pieces on rather than trusting the size label.
- Ask whether uncertain items are original vintage, later reproductions or modern reissues.
- Check each shop’s current hours before setting out.
- Do not fill both hands with shirts before investigating the belts.
I would also build in a proper break. James became understandably overwhelmed and spent around half an hour waiting outside while I continued searching. Given that I had also proposed to him during the holiday, he had already dealt with quite enough emotional and sartorial activity for one trip.
Is Edinburgh good for vintage menswear?
Yes, although the quality and quantity of menswear vary considerably from shop to shop.
Armstrongs was the clear highlight. It combined breadth, accessible prices, unusual shirts, traditional pieces and an environment that made the search enjoyable. Little Blue Door provided a smaller and more carefully edited alternative, while the other boutiques were worth seeing even when their menswear sections were limited.
On my next visit, I would return to Armstrongs first. I still have a kilt to try, belts to inspect and a pair of motorcycle boots to regret not buying.
James, quite reasonably, may choose to wait in a café.