About
Dress Code - Southsea - Portsmouth
Visit our Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth shop for our fabulous range of:
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The best selection of hard to find vintage rock and indie band T shirts from Adam Ant to XRay Spex.
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Sustainable vintage clothing from 90's sportswear to Y2K festival rave wear, from downright kitch Hawaiian dad shirts to glorious retro club wear.
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Thousands of vintage vinyl records specialisng in punk, post-punk, classic rock, metal, prog, goth, indie, reggae and ska.
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Vintage books and pop culture memorabilia including orginal vintage ads from the music press of the 70's & 80's.
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Original and exclusive jewellery handmade in Portsmouth and Southsea by local designers.
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Vintage obscene and obscure gifts and kitsch curios including vintage cassette tapes and pop culture mugs.
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Anime Goodies including wallets, plushies, postcards and key chains.
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- All your smoking needs from kingsize juicy papers to incense sticks and locally handmade ashtrays.
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Artwork from local makers and shakers and much, much more!!
Deep in the belly of bohemian Albert Road, Southsea beats a fearless heart of all things vintage and retro, where the atmosphere is always relaxed and the music is always good and loud!! Established in 1995, Dress Code is an independent, family run, specialist vintage shop, catering to retro clothes lovers and even the pickiest of vinyl junkies. Our vinyl collection has thousands of records, specializing in Classic Rock, Punk, Metal, Post-Punk, Prog, Emo, Reggae and Ska, in which you'll find more than one rare gem you thought was lost to the world. So come and have a browse at more vintage vinyl than your nans attic!
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Along side all the gorgeous vinyl is Portsmouth and Southsea's best selection of vintage clothing. For 25 years we have been catering to every species of subculture vulture and building an unparalelled collection of retro resplendencies to bludgeon blandness into oblivion. We have been doing this so long, we definately remember it the first time round! With everything from vintage jackets and all things Punk from the 1970s, Glam and Glitz from the 80S, Grunge from the 90s to Y2K sports Luxe. Our favourite thing and what we are most famous for is our huge range of hard to find vintage indie, rock and punk band tees.
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As if vintage clothing and retro vinyl weren't enough, we also have a wide range of vintage cassette tapes, loads of smoking accessories, unusual greeting cards and one of a kind and hand made gifts. Whatever the occassion, we've got the quirky gift-giver covered with snarky cards, hand made crafts from local artists, geeky one off gifts and oh-so-much more.
Come and see for yourself in our Albert Road, Southsea store if you are in Portsmouth.
The Story so far:
Established in 1985 as a market stall in the iconic Portsmouth Tricorn Centre, later named as Britain's ugliest building of all time, the imposing concrete landscape provided a perfect base camp for punks, rockers, ravers, rebels and like minds looking to fiercely defy fashion rules. Dress Code has been supplying the Portsmouth and Southsea alt scene with an eclectic range of vintage clothing, and a space to uncompromisingly play with aesthetics and let creativity flow. Encouraging the trend setters, nurturing the creators and feeding all the obscure, absurd, kitsch and obscene vintage and retro needs of the Albert Road scene for over a quarter of a century.
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Fuelled by equal parts punk rebellion, an innate hardwired urge to push the boundaries of culture and fashion and a deep, deep disdain for working for The Man, Dress Code was born into its current Albert Road incarnation in 1995. We have been selling vintage and alternative clothing and music merch to the local indie scene through Rave, Goth, Emo, Indie and now millenials. Even numerous recessions and a pandemic hasn’t managed to quell our love for all things vintage and alternative, and our passion to be as sustainable as possible!