London

Though its history has been all too brief, Steinberg & Tolkien has proved a constant inspiration for people on a quest for something just that little bit different. The antique designer-clothes store’s wide range of customers has included models, students, Hollywood actresses and Londoners of all ages, shapes and pockets. Whether it’s Vogue or Cosmopolitan Bride, i-D or Vanity Fair, it’s also the essential destination for those wanting to shoot vintage.

‘It’s the first place you come,’ says Jo Adams, fashion editor at the Observer. ‘What you get here is amazing, authentic dresses with real “wow” factor whether they happen to be valuable Schiaparelli at £250 or a cheap and fun 1970s taffeta cocktail frock for £30. And I love the Ossie Clarkes.’
Feature continues

So nothing has upset London’s retail scene in recent times quite so much as this Chelsea institution’s imminent closure. Although it’s not cheap and its layout is more eccentric than beautiful, it’s difficult to think where else can truly compete with the shop’s extensive collection of antique designer clothing. There are rails devoted to Ossie Clarke (who used to shop here with his dog before he died); Pucci, Chanel and Courreges to name just a few. Cabinets bulge with 1920s handbags and 1940s paste jewellery, while unusual hats and racks of obscure old shoes are also on display. It’s an adult dressing-up box to inspire the most puritanical of dressers, and in just over a month it will all be gone.

A fine vintage: the end of an era at Steinberg & Tolkien

Owned by American mother-and-daughter team: Anne Steinberg, 75, and Tracy Tolkien, 45 (married to JRR Tolkien’s grandson Simon, who was famously at loggerheads with his father after supporting Peter Jackson’s adaptation of ‘Lord of the Rings’), the shop is run by a cluster of devoutly loyal, vintage-loving staff. When the pair announced they would be shutting up shop, regular customers were devastated.

‘People were actually crying, I thought that was so sweet,’ says Steinberg. ‘We had one woman who said, “I’m gonna throw rocks at the next shop that moves in here!” The sentiment is good, but it’s not worth getting arrested!’

The closure of Steinberg & Tolkien is bad enough in isolation, but it’s part of a worrying pattern in London’s current retail climate where independents have no protection from landlords hiking up rent. At Steinberg, the rent has gone up from £18,000 per annum when they first opened up shop 13 years ago to £109,000, plus £36,000 for Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council. ‘So what would you sell to make a profit? That’s a lot of Starbucks,’ says Steinberg. ‘People keep coming in and saying, “We don’t want another high-street shop.”’ She points out that the matter of the rent is compounded by other factors: the red route, congestion charge and a lack of American and Japanese tourists have all hit profits. It’s a story familiar to many independent shopkeepers and antiques dealers.

Reflected glory

‘It’s a tragedy,’ says Peter Kane, 26, a Steinberg & Tolkien assistant and fashion graduate, who – like hundreds of designers before him – seeks inspiration from the thousands of antique garments and accessories all around. ‘It’s better than the V&A because you can pick things up and touch them,’ he explains.

Many of the world’s key designers have sought inspiration from within these vibrant walls over the years. The list is lengthy and includes Stella McCartney, Basso & Brooke, Alexander McQueen, Sophia Kokosalaki and even Giorgio Armani. ‘It’s quite nice because the designers come back every season,’ says Ruth Stuarts-Warwick, assistant at the shop for the past seven years. ‘We often know what’s going to be on the catwalks the next season!’

One of the pivotal moments for Steinberg & Tolkien was when a young John Galliano, fresh out of Saint Martins, picked up a £2 Mexican T-shirt sporting a horse’s head from the sale room which subsequently inspired him to design his landmark The Circus Collection. The designer still acknowledges the shop’s influence today. ‘That was definitely one of the highlights,’ says Tolkien, whose little girl Anna, a cherubic, five-year-old blonde, is playing dress-up in some 1960s red court shoes with a sparkly ankle strap. (Tolkien’s eldest child, Nicky, 17, is continuing the family literary tradition by having a book of poetry published in the USA.)

Fifties flounces

Despite its legendary status on London’s shopping circuit, Steinberg & Tolkien has only existed in its current incarnation since 1994. After suffering a heart attack, former Hollywood scriptwriter Mark Steinberg (Anne’s late husband and Tracy’s father) resolved to follow his passion for vintage clothing and glamour. Along with daughter Tracy, who had successfully been selling costume jewellery in Camden Passage, he decided to open up shop. ‘We walked past this place when it was an old charity shop and pined for it,’ remembers Tolkien. They couldn’t get it straight away but, after a period of Tolkien and her father selling antique jewels and accessories at Chenil House market in Kensington, the lease came up and they grabbed it.

They started with a few clothes, a lot of antique furniture and some antique jewels. Methodically they went about filling the roomy two-floored shop, covering its dank bare walls with one-of-a-kind frocks sourced from auctions, flea-markets, and yard sales around the globe. Tracy’s brother Mark was based in Chicago sourcing stock from the other side of the Atlantic. Steinberg’s old Hollywood contacts meant that from day one, an impressive clientele of actors, actresses and costume designers were regulars.

Now you've met your Prince Charming...

‘In those days Helena Christensen [famously a vintage fan] would call up and say, “I’m looking for this… do you have it?”’ says Steinberg. ‘My husband adored this business because in his early days he worked in Hollywood around costumes. He loved being in the shop talking to people, the models, the cute things. He knew what they wanted and how to talk to them.’

It wasn’t just fabulous party frocks you could find, but items of clothing with a story behind them. In store today is a suit worn by the late Jackie Onassis and a utilitarian-looking black handbag from the 1940s, concealing a gasmask and photograph and letter belonging to its former owner. Tolkien remembers how she came across the wardrobe of an incredibly chic woman who had been with the Resistance – her garments still had the red ribbon which showed she had fought against the Nazis – and, in one of the bags, Tolkien found a cyanide capsule. ‘It’s moments like that when it hits you that these aren’t just recycled clothes but pieces of history.’

The miliner's tale

In 2000, Mark Steinberg died, leaving Anne and Tracy to run the business. Despite this blow, the mother and daughter kept the shop alive with the help of their loyal staff. In memory of Mark, they had a bench engraved with his name and placed it on the Kings Road, opposite the shop, where it still stands.

With just over a month to go before the shop shuts its doors for the final time, the owners are sad but buoyant; they have plans in place. Steinberg is moving back to her native St Louis, Missouri to focus on her fiction-writing career (she already has a few novels out) while Tolkien, who lives in Fulham with Simon and the children, will focus on writing non-fiction; she too has books out including the comprehensive ‘Vintage: The Art of Dressing Up’. But for now, a little piece of London’s shopping history is about to be concluded. Be part of it while you still can.

Steinberg & Tolkien, 193 Kings Rd, SW3 5EB (020 7376 3660) Open Mon-Sat 11am-6.30pm, Sun 12noon-6pm. Sale with stock at up to 80 per cent off on now until Sept 24.