I lived a 2 minute walk from here last year and spent a morning a week browsing through the goodies! There are a few locations in Edinburgh, but this one has my favorite of the owners personal collection( vintage boots to die for). Also I've gotten some of my favorite pieces here! There's a ton of leather, denim, button down shirts, period clothing (although there's a lot more this at the grass market store), it's great for daily staples as well as statement pieces! One of my favorite vintage shops in the world! I'll be back soon :p read more

Amstrongs has always got ripe vintage pickings. It is one of the most famous vintage stores in the country, and was impressed to see the sign on this outlet saying it was founded in 1840. 1840! They were living in a time that everything was vintage (to us, anyway). It makes me wonder why they used to sell! However, despite my praise for the other outlet's glitzy displays, this Armstrong's has a bit less pizzaz. Don't get me wrong, it's still a prime target for rummaging, and I don't tend to surface from the shop for at least half an hour. But today I was let down (like in the other store) by vaguely ignorant customer servicem and by finding a few of my clothes on the rails! A 40s inspired Haiwaiian dress, eh? That may be the case, but what the tag failed to highlight was that it was in H&M last season. Not only that, but a fair few items from my wardrobe turned up in there, to the point I felt like I was in the Truman Show. I have a really horrible jumper I wear in bed that makes me look like a creepy kids TV presenter, and was surprised to say the least when it turned up in here (although perhaps not surprised at why it is unlikely to be purchased anytime soon.) Armstrongs is always fun, but I can't deny I was a bit disappointed. But I'm still going to go back because - well, it's Armstrongs! read more

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I honestly thought this was a fancy dress shop when I first walked in here in my first year. Some of the clothes are just ridiculous, including what looked like technicolous dreamcoats. It's really not up my street and they try to label most of it as 'vintage' when, really, it's just tack. What's more, the strange guy who owns it took a shining to one of my friends and kept demanding that he had a photo taken of her! Pretty bewildering stuff. Nonetheless, if your into interesting and unusal clothing, this is the place to look. read more

W. Armstrong & Son - Used, Vintage & Consignment Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I couldn't believe it when I stumbled across W. Armstrong & Son yesterday as they have a whole window display dedicated to my favourite things... SHOES! High shoes, flat shoes, brown shoes, blue shoes, glittery shoes, sequined shoes... they had them all and I couldn't believe my eyes. I'll be honest, I'm not really one for vintage clothes, vintage bags and shoes are fine but clothes... I don't know I just find weird even though I'm more prone to getting a veruca from a pair of shoes than a wooly jumper. It's just a weird thing I have at the thought of wearing someone else's old clothes. I think it's the smell of vintage shops that puts me off too, that kind of moth ball, damp, fusty smell that really isn't that attractive. However, like Marj I noticed that some of the clothes weren't quite as "vintage" as they would like you to believe and needless to say, I didn't really ponder over the clothes too much on my visit here and instead made a b-line for the shoes. The prices ranged from quite reasonable to pretty ridiculous considering most of the shoes were pretty well worn. They had some really unusual shoes and I especially liked a dainty little black and red pair of heels that I saw. This place is definitely worth a look and I guess like most second hand shops, it's a bit hit or miss and also dependant on how much you want to fork out for "vintage" items. read more

W. Armstrong & Son - Used, Vintage & Consignment Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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For quite a while, I believed Armstrongs to be much more fancy than it it actually is, as they've had very impressive displays at their Clerk Street branch! After a few weeks, I went in with a friend and discovered it's just like any other vintage store. They have a large selection of EVERYTHING! The items are extremely well organized so it takes little time to figure out if they have what you're looking for or not. Though I've visited and spent quite a while here, I haven't really found anything that said "BUY ME!" and I think the whole second hand vibe is just a little two strong; some dusting and air freshener wouldn't go amiss! read more

W. Armstrong & Son - Used, Vintage & Consignment Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I dont understand these places - what was once called a second hand store is now a 'Vintage Style Store' and commands huge prices and pretensious customers. The only times I have been in here I have been for items for a fancy dress costume, but I have seen others coming in here and buying huge amounts of second hand... err, I mean 'vintage' clothes at large cost. Moreover, I cant see the fashion in these clothes, it all seems to be rubbish and a lot of it looks like rubbish or a bit tattered. It might just be me, but I really cant understand this place, its not for me at all, although I appreciate others will love it. On a final note, the mannequins in the windows are the scariest thing ever. Look at them, you will know what I mean. read more

W. Armstrong & Son - Used, Vintage & Consignment Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Armstrongs is an Edinburgh institution. My Uncle worked here back in the day when it first opened, and it has been trendy ever since. Kate Moss was even spotted here once, so if its good enough for Kate it is good enough for me. When you first enter Armstrongs, you are hit with a musty stench, which can only mean you are surrounded by either old people or old clothes. Fortunately, its the latter. I am not going to lie, the two occasions I have purchased something from Armstrongs is for fancy dress purposes. There is a huge selection of clothes in every possible style, but I do not have the bank balance or desire to spend so much on such things. If you are super trendy and love vintage clothes, then great you will find something. Need some help with a fancy dress costume, then again you will be sorted. It depends on your personal style, but I can fully appreciate that to a vintage shopper this place is fantastic. I have rummaged around the men section, and there is some great, interesting finds in there. Sometimes in the woman's section they New Look/Topshop clothes from two years ago- this isn't really my idea of vintage. But their coats and fur selection is pretty great. Definitely worth a visit, even if it is just to play dress up for an hour. read more

Gone are the days of second hand clothes shops accompanied with the cheap prices you'd expect from re-sold rags. Instead 'vintage' shops such as W. Armstrongs play on the apparent rarity of such items and thus some of the price tags will have you wincing. But, as is the nature of vintage shops, you never know if you'll find a tempting bargain hidden amongst the front row products. read more

W. Armstrong & Son - Used, Vintage & Consignment Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

This is the second of two Armstrong & Son's in Edinburgh, and is definitely not my favourite. It's really quite small and everything is crammed in - if there's more than one person in the shop with you then you may as well leave because there's not much you can do with it! Their clothes are really decent though - surprisingly! Especially their accessories. I heard a few rumours that all the clothes they sell belong to the now-deceased, but that can't be true....right? They have some crazy window displays here too. It's quite expensive too! If you're into this sort of thing then great, if not then keep on walking! read more

My favourite ever vintage shop. Because I bought my favourite ever vintage dress from here. I don't find shopping for vintage dresses easy, so when I find one I love, I make sure I snap it up! The dress I bought from here was damaged (the zip was broken) but they did give me a discount. The dresses in the shop are cleverly organised by length which makes life much easier - if you're looking for a 60s shift dress as I was, you want have to hunt through a bunch of ugly maxi-dresses. They know their stuff in here, the staff are friendly and it's a wonderful treasure trove of goodies. If you're in the city, it's a great place to lose yourself for an hour. read more

This is a great shop for vintage finds. It's smaller than its counterpart in the Grassmarket and has a more approachable feel as a result. It still has the floor to ceiling rails of clothes but if you just want to drop in and pick up gem from a smaller selection of great vintage finds this won't disappoint (or daunt!) you! read more

A very cool little shop, not as big as the Armstrongs on the grassmarket but it's still very easy to lose track of time as you trawl through the vintage clothes. They usually get a delivery of new stock every other day so I usually pop in when i pass just for a quick rake through the t shirts. This place has almost everything, from old school leather biker jackets to ballroom gowns, everything is quite cheap so anything from here would pretty much be a bargain. If you are into retro clothing of any sort its defo worth having a little look in here now and again read more

Armstrong's has a fabulous window display, it must be said. It can cause you to stop in your tracks to look at the carefully picked vintage on display. How disappointing to read a sign that says you cannot purchase the clothes until they are done being on display. I've lived in many cities in the world and am a vintage afficionado, but I have never seen such a sign. What a short sighted policy! My partner has wanted to buy at least six or seven things to no avail. It would seem more prudient to just replace the item with another- which gets me to: Armstrongs has great finds. By finds, I mean, you pay the finder's fee of someone else finding them for you. Its stocked with vintage, yes. It also has the price tag of the finder's fee attached. If you're a diligent thrift shopper, you should be able to find the same sort of goods in charity shops or at a car boot sale. This will take hours whilst Armstrong's takes minutes. You'll get good stuff, no doubt, but you pay the convenience fee. read more

I thought this was an interesting shop the first time I spotted it but like the previous reviewer has mentioned most if not all of the interesting stuff you will see there is not actually for sale? just display only. I really don't get it!? Also the things they do have for sale are run of the mill and way overpriced. You would do better to have a look through ebay. By the way they have another shop in Edinburgh (in the grass market area) which is much larger than the clerk street shop but again most of the interesting stuff is not for sale. They should rename their shops Armstrongs Vintage Clothing Museums. read more

I LOVE THIS SHOP! Could literally spend hours in here, clothing always nicely put away and organised and so cheap!! Staff members always chatty and smiling! read more