My name is Jack, and I am the founder of the Ebay based vintage and classic menswear shop ‘The Sartorium’. I set up the shop in 2019 whilst I was working full time in menswear, and used it as a repository for the sartorial off cuts that I acquired as a result of working in the industry at the time. Over the years my shop picked up quite alot of interest online however, and last year I decided to acquire a studio space in which to go full time with my selling. One year on I have carved out a little space for myself between the studio and the Ebay shop, and now I would like to expand the franchise a little further. So today I am introducing this new journal, which will be a companion platform for the shop.

Over the years I have sold many beautiful and special items of clothing, but as is the nature of the business, things often sell very quickly, subsequently disappearing into an Ebay aether. Gone forever! In light of this, I wanted to make a space where I could highlight some of the more unique pieces I get in, and also use them as touch points for wider conversations about style and aesthetics. I plan to pen a few articles based upon more general musings pertaining to style too, which I think may provide more contextual reference points for the clothes I sell, and the milieu that they come out of. I feel it is important to make a record here, as I do believe all of these clothes are part of a bigger story, one that can often transcend fashion. And it is these surrounding stories and ideals that I shall attempt to articulate and immortalise. First however, I would like to start with a bit of background on myself and how I got into buying, selling and collecting vintage. 

Throughout my life, I have always been fascinated by good quality design, history, heritage and culture. And something that often intersects through all of those interests, are classic clothes and timeless style. The cultivation of which has too been a lifelong pursuit of mine. From a young age I was drawn to old clothes, things which were unique and not readily available. And as a result of having grown up in London, places like Camden Market and Brick Lane became natural stomping grounds of mine. But what started out as a novel desire to stand out from my peers by dressing in gaudy 80s/90s Sportswear, eventually blossomed into something very different. Indeed, throughout the years I went on somewhat of a journey with my own personal style, but it was not until I started working in the the menswear industry proper (first for Polo Ralph Lauren, and then for Drake’s), did I truly begin to get a real sense of what ‘dressing well’ meant.

For it was in this period that I was fortunate enough to be working in and around central London. And, as anyone who knows central London well, there are certain streets, certain avenues and enclaves that are real sartorial havens. Places like Savile Row, Clifford Street, The Piccadilly Arcade and Jermyn Street, all became regular destinations for me. Not just for the traditional shops that sold fine English made shoes or immaculately tailored suits, but also for the atmosphere and mood that they imbibed. In these places one finds men (and women too), who speak, act and indeed dress in particular ways. Ways that are idiosyncratic, often parochial, sometimes eccentric. And although it is perhaps the stylistic affectations and accoutrements on display in these spaces that one notices foremost, the meaning underneath it is really about something deeper. To me it revealed a specific way of life and outlook, whose origins lie mostly in England, Italy and France. A material manifestation of a sensibility that came from a real sense of belonging. Certainly to me, the sight of these very well dressed people stood in stark contrast to the cyclical and arbitrary nature of contemporary fashion, which is worn more often than not for show by the trend obsessed. In these quieter streets of central London however, I saw expressions that were more timeless. And I simply found it all rather appealing!

In the midst of such sights I underwent a real sartorial education. One that very much informed my tastes for dressing, and the curation that you see in The Sartorium today. Over the years I have been able to offer a little slice of Savile Row and Jermyn street in my humble corner online, and have helped people across the world to accent their wardrobes with genuinely special pieces. I am proud to have been of such service. However, I have always wanted to make something more of it all. And, as I have previously outlined, I want this blog to be a space for that purpose. A small repository for my thoughts, and some fine visuals that I hope you will appreciate…

Yours sincerely.

– Jack Simpson