Office Style Blog: Beyond Retro

Naomi Rowland - Online Creative Content Manager

Wearing Beyond Retro Dress and MissGuided waistcoat 

"Day to day I look after all the photoshoots as well as styling for the website, and also helping the press team pull together the lookbooks as well as creating digital and email content such as trend reports. I love doing shoots because we get a lot of creative freedom, especially with the trends this year, with the 70s being such a big trend. I love working at Beyond Retro and going from high street to vintage has been a really big experience."

"Before I came to Beyond Retro in January I was working for Topshop as a senior stylist for four years. I also had my own fashion blog on the side which helped with getting the job here. I think having an extra skill set on the side made me stand out, as well as the fact that I've always had a love of vintage but I style it up in a modern way."

"Blogging and working at the same time means I have to be super organized with everything but it enables me to have another creative output that I can work on myself. It’s definitely worthwhile as it gets me a lot of contacts, and a chance to go to events. " 

"My one vintage styling tip would be to mix it up with high street to make it more current; I think it’s about buying a statement piece, like this vintage dress with a high street waistcoat."

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING VINTAGE 

Victoria Plum  - Head of Press and Marketing

Wearing Beyond Retro vintage belt and Kimono from the Beyond Retro Archive, Weekday Jeans, Top from a charity shop and Miss Selfridge shoes

"I started working in magazines when I moved to London 10 years ago, across women's fashion titles like Elle and Red in advertising, then specialised in music, and I worked on NME. I got headhunted to work at an advertising agency where Warner Music were my client and I worked on album releases for Lianne La Havas, Foals and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Once I turned 30 I decided I wanted a change of career."

"After seven years working in media, I took some time out and went off and got all the transferrable skills I needed to do what I do now and it led me to this role at Beyond Retro – it’s basically my dream job!"

"I oversee all of our communications strategy, press and marketing and manage our events calendar. I work with journalists pitching out stories, look after product placement and work on the implementation of all of our campaigns and collaborations. We can have anyone from Sophie Ellis Bextor’s stylist to Vogue fashion editors coming in for appointments; it’s really varied."

"In the past year we’ve worked with some fantastic bloggers, influencers and writers like Pandora Sykes for example who wore one of our Archive pieces to Fashion Week – a red varsity jacket with the word Chanel on the back – and got photographed by everyone from Candice Lake to Vogue – that was pretty exciting!"

"I prefer to blend eras or to mix vintage with high street pieces and contemporary designers. If I’m going to buy something, I want to invest in it. If I could go back in time to an era it would be the late 70s New York, when disco was emerging... I would love that!"

THE TEN KEY PIECES YOU NEED TO OWN FOR SS15

Hannah Wilkinson - Press Assistant

Wearing a vintage Beyond Retro jumpsuit, ASOS jewellery and her mum's 70s shoes 

"I started interning at Beyond Retro after Uni, having carried out internships at Cosmpolitan and other PR agencies - then was lucky enough to be offered the job here after the press assistant left. I studied History and have always been obsessed with the subtler splendors of times gone by, so it was a natural step to come here. When you're holding press appointments, you can teach everyone about the stories of items which I love. I’ve always nursed a little obsession with vintage, which is part of like my DNA."

"My role is all about communicating the brand’s message, through holding appointments with editors, stylists, bloggers, as well as managing the Beyond Retro blog and writing press releases. I really enjoy the writing side because I love fashion history. I try to demystify vintage - it’s not scary, it’s not intimidating, anyone can shop vintage and there’s so many stories to tell.""

"When vintage shopping, come in with an idea of what you’re looking for. If you’re thinking this year 'I really want a 70s style dress', which is a big trend at the moment, you can find the real thing at Beyond Retro so why would you go elsewhere?  It may take a bit more delving but you'll end up with something unique. An idea of what you're looking gives you a bit of a guide because there can be an overwhelming amount of product which is really different from the high street. Also always try everything on - that’s my main tip!"

"As for the future, I’d love to see where I can go in Beyond Retro, and eventually in a dream world I see myself doing a vintage column or to carry on researching fashion history."

THE BEST SHOES TO WEAR WITH FLARES: OUR GUIDE

Hayley Browne -  Ecommerce System and Office Assistant 

Wearing top to toe Beyond Retro vintage

"I moved to London last summer and I started working on the shop floor at Beyond Retro. I started off working in the store and then got promoted into the office.  What's nice about this company is that if you’re passionate and enthusiastic about the brand and about vintage, there’s definitely room to manoeuvre."

"My role involves keeping all of our customers happy, making sure that if they experience any issues, I'll sort it out.  I'm first port of call when people contact the company, so I’ve got like a really good overview of the entire brand, which helps the customers have a better shopping experience. What I also love is the fact that we've got the warehouse underneath our office, so I get to see all the new stock come in!"

"Before working here I did a year course in Fashion History in Brighton which was really interesting - everything from how suffragettes dressed to empower themselves to the importance of fashion in Britain's history - and have been in retail since then. From retail management to high street to boutique and also a little bit of buying, I just love clothing, working with clothes and buying clothes. Who doesn't?" 

QUIZ: WHICH TYPE OF SHOE ARE YOU??

Rachel Wood - Graphic Designer

Wearing Zara top, Lennie the Label flares, and jewellery from Bali, Mexico, London and West Africa  

"After I graduated from my Design for Publishing degree two years ago, I was freelancing full time doing graphic design for Hotel Chocolat, which was amazing because I got loads of chocolate! The contract ran out so I went on a long holiday to Mexico, and when I returned I got a job at Brick Lane Beyond Retro as I’ve always been really into vintage.

While I was there they had a position come up for a web designer - and even though that's not what I studied, they trained me up. Now I create the artwork for all of the newsletters, the website, posters, window artwork, flyers and flags - I even did a billboard on Brick Lane, any design that the company needs. So I’m in quite a good position coming two years out of uni!"

"The anchor is our main logo but I have quite a lot of freedom on my designs - I get inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram too (Backbite in LA is a group of girls that are into the same style as I am, and Lennie the label where these flares are from are two accounts I love), and of course everyone who works here." 

"Everyone that works here has in common thread in that they all love vintage, that’s why they’re here and everyone has the same passion for the company. That makes Beyond Retro a great environment to work in - and the content is great! Being a graphic designer, I could design for anything as I did at Hotel Chocolat, I mean, chocolate’s great and everything...  but vintage is better!"