Trader Spotlight: Minimum Mouse

What makes Minimum Mouse different to all the other vintage shops? We’re vintage for people who love fashion, not just people who love vintage. We try not to be too focused on a particular era or look, we’re inspired by people who love to use vintage to create their own unique personal style, so we don’t try to dictate what people should be wearing. We aim to offer an eclectic, wide ranging selection of clothing for men and women, always at great prices. A lot of vintage shops and websites don't do much menswear, so we really try to make sure we have a lot of mens stuff on offer. We like to think of our collection as a mix and match of the twentieth century’s greatest hits. We then add in a sprinkling of some brand new accessories and jewellery, most of which is made in house, that we think perfectly complements the vintage clothing and that’s the Minimum Mouse collection in a nutshell!

How did it all start? It all started back on a cold January day in 2007, when we took the plunge to go full time with a hobby that had got a bit out of control! We started out just collecting and selling stuff we found at car boots, charity shops and jumble sales, ended up finding it a whole lot more fulfilling than our day jobs and took the plunge to make Minimum Mouse our full time livelihood. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been an adventure! We initially sold only on eBay, then we started trading with the Vintage Fair back in 2009 and have been regulars ever since. We’ve since expanded to selling through our own website and ASOS Marketplace as well.

Talking of cold days, we love all the knits still on offer at Minimum Mouse - it's still nippy!

Why do you love vintage? To put it bluntly, we love vintage because the high street is boring! Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t vintage purists and we aren’t against buying new clothes, but once you get into vintage going shopping in ‘normal’ shops seems so dull by comparison! You never know what you might find, and you can afford to experiment as the prices are generally so much more reasonable. Running a vintage business means we get to experience the joy of vintage every day, we get the biggest buzz from people coming to our stall at vintage fairs and finding something completely different to what they have seen before. It’s the most satisfying part of the job.

Vintage is not for solely for the fashion savvy girl. We love that MM give so much focus to the vintage boys out there.

Who is your vintage style icon? It’s impossible to choose just one vintage style icon, but at the moment James is crazy for Moschino, he has a growing collection of amazing print shirts from the 80's and 90's, so we're going with the brand's founder Franco Moschino. Since the brand only started in 1983 it's not the most 'vintage' choice, but his designs referenced so much of what went before in fashion, the pieces transcend eras. We love the tongue in cheek nature of the designs.

But fear not! Spring is coming and the ASOS Marketplace and eBay at MM is brimming with summery dresses. 

Where can we find you? When we’re not at a vintage fair, you can find us at www.minimummouse.com as well as on eBay and ASOS Marketplace. 

Our favourite picks from their eBay shop are perfect for this season's Hitchcock Heroine look, gorgeous 50s and 60s dresses for every shape. I'm totally in love with all of them! It's a good job I get to see all their wonderful stock at most of our fairs! Perk of the job!

Pink Pleated

Sky Blue Dolly

Pink Patterned Wiggle