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The red front of W. Armstrong & Son at 83 Grassmarket, established 1840, with a vintage bicycle and dressed mannequins outside.
Edinburgh

W. Armstrong & Son

A vintage clothing shop on the Grassmarket, founded in 1840 and still a family business, with kiltwear, tweed, uniforms and vintage from every decade.

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Welcome

W.

W. Armstrong & Son is one of the UK's oldest vintage clothing shops, and its bright red front on the Grassmarket is hard to miss. William Armstrong founded the business in 1840, selling traditional men's clothes from a tiny shop in the Cowgate, and it's still a family business today, run by Carol and Greg McMorris. The Grassmarket shop at number 83 is a cornucopia of well-chosen vintage, and you could happily lose an hour working your way along the rails. The collections run from kiltwear and military uniforms to Harris Tweed, cashmere and vintage accessories, with plenty that tells Scotland's own story, for men and women alike. If you want to keep hunting, Armstrongs also has shops on Teviot Place, Clerk Street and Cockburn Street, all a short walk away. The Grassmarket shop is open every day, from 10am Monday to Saturday and from midday on Sunday, until 5.30pm early in the week and 6pm from Friday.

Round the cornerHula Juice BarA cafe on the West Bow, just off the Grassmarket, serving fresh juices, smoothies and bowls, breakfasts, brunch and lunch.1 min by roadSee itGreen booths and mustard chairs fill a café with exposed stone walls and black pendant lights
Before you go

Racks of vintage for men and women, and a shop to get lost in.

Where
83 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2HJ.
Open
Monday to Thursday 10am to 5.30pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 12pm to 6pm.
More shops
Teviot Place, Clerk Street and Cockburn Street.
Phone
0131 220 5557

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–5.30pm
Tuesday
10am–5.30pm
Wednesday
10am–5.30pm
Thursday
10am–5.30pm
Friday
10am–6pm
Saturday
10am–6pm
Sunday
noon–6pm

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Where it is

On the Grassmarket, below the castle, EH1 2HJ.

Close byThe Grassmarket and Victoria Street.
  1. The Red Door GalleryThe Red Door GalleryA family-run gallery shop on Victoria Street behind a red door, of affordable prints by Scottish and UK artists, with jewellery, cards and gifts.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The green front of Maggie Dickson's on the Grassmarket, gold lettering over the door.Maggie Dickson’sA pub at the east end of the Grassmarket, named for Half-Hangit Maggie, with 92 whiskies, local craft beers and live music.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Magdalen ChapelMagdalen ChapelA small chapel of the 1540s on the Cowgate, guildhall of the hammermen, holding the only stained glass in Scotland that survives whole from before the Reformation.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Green corner shopfront reading "I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger" with cream awning and wooden bench outsideI.J. MellisThe first Mellis cheese shop, opened on Victoria Street in 1993, selling farmhouse and artisan cheese matured in the company's own rooms.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars KirkThe first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation, opened on Christmas Day 1620, where the National Covenant was signed in 1638.Under a mile 4 min by road
  6. The cream-painted shopfront of Transreal Fiction on Candlemaker Row, with its name above the door and two windows, beneath a stone tenement.Transreal FictionA small shop for new science fiction and fantasy books at 46 Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh's Old Town, open Wednesday to Saturday since 2011 at this address.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Green booths and mustard chairs fill a café with exposed stone walls and black pendant lightsCafeHula Juice BarA step away
Red-fronted shop "The Enchanted Galaxy" on Victoria Street, EdinburghShoppingThe Enchanted GalaxyA step away
Whirlybird's dining room on Victoria Street, with wooden tables and chairs, a stone wall, fringed lamps and a tall window onto the street.RestaurantsWhirlybirdA step away
Blue, pink and grey terraced buildings above the Oink hog roast shopRestaurantsOinkA step away
Restaurant dining room with laid tables, wrought-iron balustrade and stocked bar behindRestaurantsHowies Victoria StreetA step away
Gelato counter with flavours including peanut chilli coconut, bitter chinotto basil sorbet and liquorice passion fruitCafeMary's Milk BarA step away
Bedrock Coffee, EdinburghCafeBedrock Coffee0.2 miles
Dragonfly sign above wooden doors on a stone Edinburgh buildingBarsDragonfly0.2 miles
Five of the Lewis chess pieces against a dark background, including two bishops and a crowned figure, carved in pale ivory.AttractionsThe Lewis Chess Pieces0.4 miles

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Stay nearby

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