If, like us at the Gentleman’s Gazette, you are also a fan of menswear, you are probably aware that some great things can be found in vintage shops. You may even find your signature piece or favorite wardrobe item there! In my case, I found a good and reliable store for secondhand deals that was my go-to as I was starting my journey to classic menswear, which we’ll visit today.

Video Transcript [Lightly Edited for Clarity]:

Sven Raphael Schneider: Welcome back to the Gentleman’s Gazette. Today, I am in Hamburg, Germany, and at this beautiful store, Rudolf Beaufays. It’s tucked away behind this construction zone, but it is a wonderful store where I used to buy things when I studied law in Hamburg, just a few blocks away. It’s called Rudolf Beaufays after the owner Rudolf Beaufays, but today, it is owned and operated by Meizun.

Raphael: Hi, Meizun! How are you?

Meizun Farhat: Fine, thank you. 

Raphael: Tell me more about the story and how you got to take over such a lovely thing?

Meizun: It’s a vintage store that I bought from Rudolf Beaufays in, uh, what was it… 2015, and I was his co-partner for a very long time, and then he decided to retire, and I bought the store, finally.

Raphael: Most people people don’t just buy a classic menswear vintage store on a whim. Tell me more about that.

Meizun: I was always fascinated by vintage clothes and men’s fashion, so everything that I wear, almost everything is men’s fashion, so I love oversized coats and jackets and shirts, and I think it works for women as good as it works for men so I was always fascinated by the story behind old clothes.

Raphael: So, when did the store start?

Meizun: It started 23 years years ago.

Raphael: Okay, and when did you take it over?

Meizun: 2015.

Raphael: Okay, so you’ve been doing it for quite a while.

Meizun: Quite a while, yeah.

Raphael: So what have you changed? What have you added? If I remember correctly, you kind of cleared it out a little bit. It looks all a little neater; the ties are actually visible!

Meizun: Yeah. I made it a little easier for the people when they look for things. So: the store’s organized by size, which makes it easier for people to choose clothes, and it’s a little more organized. I have more ties, more cufflinks, cuff buttons and little accessories, which we didn’t have before. So, it’s the whole equipment that the gentleman needs.

Raphael: So, I think we should walk around a little bit, and you just tell me what you got there, what you did. And I think it’s lovely. I mean, just look at this fox over here. Fantastic!

Meizun: It’s an old fox from the 1960s and a hunting coat from London. So, the main source is still London with all the beautiful clothes that I still find there.

Raphael: So, how often do you travel there?

Meizun: Once a year, but I have a contact in London who knows the store quite well. He travels to Hamburg once in a while, and he checks with me together; what I need, [like] special wishes from clients, like morning coats, dinner jackets, very special pieces, and he gets a list from me to collect special stuff for the people that are looking for special, beautiful things.

Raphael: So what about your customers: [are they] more women, more men? Like, has it changed since you took it over?

Meizun: It’s more men, of course, because I sell menswear, men’s clothes, but sometimes it happens that women also come in and look for clothes that are a little oversized and the age changed. So, it’s more young people who are looking for sustainable fashion. So, second hand … doesn’t have this dirty image that it had long ago, so it’s very in fashion to wear secondhand.

Raphael: Well, ’cause nothing is as green as the coat this has already been made, right? Exactly!

Raphael: Even like fur, you know it’s there, so why not use it instead of making something new? You know vegan leather that ends up in a landfill because it’s just plastic.

Choosing Vintage

Secondhand is Sustainable

Sustainable clothing is in, owning secondhand clothes is key to have a green wardrobe. For example, you just don’t leave that beautiful fur coat lying around–it deserves more wear!

Meizun: Exactly. It’s better to wear old stuff, and I mean the quality is so good you have tweet jackets that are from the 1960s, and the quality: you don’t get this quality anymore. I have a coat that is from the 1940s, all the uniforms are from the 1930s and if you are very lucky, they look like new.

Raphael: All right, let’s walk through your store here. I’ll let you guide us. Just maybe show us some pieces, some maybe interesting things that have a story, or things that you think are just worth talking about.

Meizun: Okay, so the uniforms are very special. So, like I said before, this one is, for example, from 1934. It’s a mess jacket, and I love these uniforms because I love the bright red color. So, I have hats, and I have shoes, and I have some tweet jackets that you see over here that are from the 1960s.

Raphael: Nice! So, I would guess the mess jackets don’t sell as well as the tweed jackets. Is that right?

Meizun: This is so right! Yeah, yeah. So, some people buy them and mostly women for special occasions, so you can make a combination of a modern trouser, modern pants with the mess jacket and it looks very beautiful on women because the sizes are very small.

Raphael: They are, I think they’re almost better for like display purposes. On a mannequin, you know, at home. I think that’s where it really shines.

Meizun: Yeah, exactly!

Raphael: And here you got some tweed.

Meizun: I got some tweed. It’s an old tweed jacket, which is handmade. Most of the things are handmade, so everything is unique. So everything that you see in the store, I have it only once. You will never find a jacket double.

Raphael: Is that sometimes frustrating? Because people come in, and you have something, and you probably know it. “I could sell this a 100 times, but I just have it once.”

Meizun: No, it’s not frustrating because it makes me very happy to see if somebody comes in, and he was looking for many years for something special, a special jacket, and he finds it in my store. And he goes out happy about finding this jacket. And so, no, this doesn’t bother me at all.

Raphael: Wonderful! You said it was sort of by sizes? What [have] we got here?

Meizun: So, with a German, it’s always guessing because sometimes you don’t find the size in the clothes. So, it’s a German 52–

Raphael: Okay, which is American 42 regular.

Meizun: Exactly! And most of the time, it’s tweed, I don’t have keepers tweed. Oh! I have a keeper tweed suit. I do because it’s it’s very rare for the moment, and I have trouble finding it in London. So, this is the keeper tweet jacket.

Raphael: Which is characterized by its resilient structure, right? It’s almost like, it’s like a cavalry twill in the structure, right? All that twill. But, it’s really kind of… How would you say is it different from a thornproof?

Meizun: It has a special color, so it’s always a little greenish, little yellow, and it’s very thick. So, if you buy something like that, you will have it for the next 20, 30 years, and it’s almost undestroyable. And I have also the Italian brands like Kiton cashmere dinner jacket.

Raphael: Oh, wow! Nice!

Meizun: It’s a very good quality, and it’s Kiton!

Raphael: It’s nice! Yeah, I just–we did a video about Kiton. Like, I cut one apart just to see, you know, how much hand work is there actually inside. So, it was surprising, but their fabrics are always lovely. They’re nice and soft, and I have a like a navy cashmere blazer with like mother-of- pearl buttons. They’re nice. They’re nice.

Meizun: There’s also some, apart from the classical stuff, like tweed waistcoats, tweed jackets, and everything. The main part of the store is classical menswear, but sometimes, it happens that I have also something very special and unique. For example, this is a Jean Paul Gaultier jacket from the beginning of the ’90s, bought in Paris. So, it was the very beginning of John Paul Gaultier. It’s an oversized…

Raphael: It’s like a bit like, you know, art provenance. Like, bought in Paris and, kind of, [you] know the history of the garment. That’s pretty cool. Tell me more about this beautiful decoration. I remember it was always nicely decorated, but I think it looks even better now.

Meizun: Yeah, it’s, I mean, everything that is in the store is found by Rudolph on flea markets in Paris, and he was collecting everything, so his home in Hamburg was decorated in this way, so it was quite similar to the store. And I arranged it a little differently. I made spaces to sit because I thought, it’s more comfortable for the clients, the customers to take a seat, take their time, maybe read something…. For example, the painting up there, over there with a lion on the left side, it fell from the truck when Rudolf tried to transport it from from Paris to Germany, so it’s broken in the middle, and so you see it, if you pay attention.

Raphael: Yes, yes, yes, yes, I can see it.

Meizun: I hang this chandelier in the middle, and I hope it will stay safe and not fall. And the Chesterfield, so far, is so–This is–I mean–

Raphael: Yeah, Chesterfields have become, like, more popular. I always like the ones where you always have the tufting on the seat area, but often times, they’re really hard. I’m like, “No! I want, I want a soft one.” So, these are hard to find, but it’s a nice color, nicely lived in.

Meizun: A color that never nobody wanted so this is why I bought it, because I love this orange-red color. And yeah, you find everything. We have ties, Hermes ties, old Gucci ties.

Raphael: So you’re not exclusively English. You’re also open to other things. I see a Louis Vuitton trunk over there, kind of rep stripes, polo shirts.

Meizun: Yeah, so it’s mainly classical menswear, no matter where it’s from. The main source is still London, but it’s also the French fashion that I have in the store. If the quality is good, I buy stuff. So, cashmere pullovers, pocket squares. Lanvin, from Paris. So, this is the other room: o, there’s some luggage like you said before, some pilot’s jacket from the Second World War.

Raphael: And star-spangled banner.

Meizun: From a friend of mine who was living in the US, and he gave it to me, and I thought it could fit. I mean, the colors are beautiful, and it fits beautifully in the store. And then old souvenir jacket for kids from Japan.

Raphael: I also noticed is that this is a set, correct?

Meizun: Yeah, it is. Yeah.

Raphael: Beautiful! I think this one here was here when I was here last, which was before you owned the store. Could that be?

SOMETHING FAMILIAR

Vintage Dressing Gown

There was vintage dressing gown in the Rudolf Beaufays store today that was already there when Raphael went there the last time!

Meizun: Yeah, it is, it’s true.

Raphael: It’s kind of a woolen dressing gown with a– You can see the moth holes, right? [It] gives it that character. It’s almost like a worn English rug.

Meizun: Exactly.

Raphael: That same concept. Did you paint it all or did you just leave it as is?

Meizun: I left it like that. So, because I love the British Racing Green, it’s green and bold, so they make, for me…

Raphael: Most [of them] they make beautiful colors.

Meizun: Beautiful colors, and I think the British racing green, it fits with the store perfectly

Raphael: Absolutely! Oh, I like this coat here. It’s almost like a bold, brushed herringbone in this kind of hacking pocket style, right?

Meizun: Exactly. It’s from from London. I got it a few weeks ago and it’s a really heavy one. What I have also is a British warm [overcoat], the last British warm that is in the store for the moment.

Raphael: Is it, I mean, and now it’s winter, right? So, people are not that–

Meizun: Yeah, they are not that keen on… No, it’s not that true because they buy, how do you say, anti–

Raphael: Antizyklisch [German: in cyles].

Meizun: Yeah, they do. So, no matter last year how hot it was, they will buy winter coats.

Raphael: You know, I had the same experience. I bought a super heavy winter coat in Dresden once. Kind of a, you know, flea market for like 5 euros. And it’s wonderful, you know, it was like in great condition, but people are not buying it when it’s like 34° C or like 100° F. [These are] some waistcoats here?

Meizun: Yeah.

Raphael: Are those selling well? Are these popular or not so popular?

Meizun: They do. They do. I’m surprised how popular everything is, that is … concerning classical menswear. Even if the customers who come in through the store are 25, 35. So, it’s quite young age, I would say. It’s … changed a little because sustainability is a very important part. So, yeah they sell quite well, I would say, yeah.

Raphael: Some of these hats, they look like they’re new, right? So, you have, is it like Christy’s? I think I saw a tag.

Meizun: Exactly, it’s still Christys’. I still buy hats at Christys’ in London, so I make a list, and they send me everything, and I think they make the most beautiful hats. And they are very nice, very friendly, and they deliver well, so it works. Apart from the Brexit, it works really well.

Raphael: So, what did you do before you ran Rudolph Beaufays?

Meizun: I’m a doctor. Yeah, and I thought, [I] need a hobby. So, I was bored of the main job that I did in a way.

Raphael: It’s hard work and I think doctors in Germany, you know, they’re not paid like doctors in the US. No, they’re also not sued to the same degree, but it’s it’s a hard job.

Meizun: It’s a hard job, and corona didn’t make it better. And yeah, and I was bored in a way. I needed something like Ausgleich [German: compromise, balance], I don’t know.

Raphael: Yeah, just to balance.

Meizun: Exactly, and I thought, “Oh, maybe [I] could work.” I started the store working still in the hospital, but then I reached a point where I said, “Okay, this is a full-time job, and I have to give up.”

Raphael: Whatever main job you have, otherwise you work too much.

Meizun: Yeah, exactly.

Raphael: This used to be what you did to get, like some balance in your life. What do you do now to get balance in your life?

Meizun: I love the store. The store is the balance of my life. I love it. When I go into the store, when I open every day, I’m so happy when I go into the store, and I’m like, “This is mine,” and I love finding beautiful stuff and the story behind every single piece. So, I have beautiful stories. I bought, a few years ago, almost the whole closet from a guy who was very famous in the Red Light district.

PASSION FOR VINTAGE PIECES

Finding Balance

Meizun was trained as a doctor but enjoys classic style a lot. She loves her store and finds joy in finding beautiful things with beautiful stories.

Raphael: What was his name? Do you mind sharing?

Meizun: Yeah, I will not tell you, but he was quite famous. And he was the doorman of a very famous striptease club, and he died. And his nephew called me, and he was like, “What do I do with everything that my uncle owns? Everything, the clothes, is very English? Do you want to buy it?” And I bought everything. And yeah, so this is every single piece has a story.

Raphael: Well, I’m glad that you’re able to make this store work and that you kind of carried on that torch.

Meizun: Thank you.

Raphael: Because it would have been a pity to lose a store of this caliber.

Meizun: Yeah, it’s a lovely store.

Raphael: I think you also do a fantastic job with like Instagram. Was it something that you were comfortable with from the beginning or did you have to learn that …?

Meizun: It’s difficult because I didn’t grow up with [the] internet, so I will turn 49 this year and … for all the younger people, it’s normal to be on social media … it was hard for me because I was never that kind that wanted to be exposed, is this how you say it?

Raphael: Well, I mean, you open up yourself, right? Which means you open yourself up to criticism, to people saying, “Hey, what is this?” You know, it’s often something unfair, or maybe they’re having a bad day, you know? And it’s like, people say things they would never say in person, but with that kind of … increased privacy, like, people say things that are not always nice. It depends on your personality, too, right? If you’re someone who takes things too hard because … you put so much love and effort into it, maybe even a bad day, and no one is coming through [the] store because it’s raining, and you’re like, “Oh, no one loves me anymore!” Because, yeah, it’s–I can see that.

Meizun: So, it’s hard work, but I increase the amount of followers, and I’m very happy about every single follower that follows me, and I love the positive comments under the whatever real stories pictures. And I get used to it. So, it was, in the beginning, [a] little hard, but I got used to it.

Raphael: So, what’s next for you? What are you planning to do? Do you want to keep it as is…?

Meizun: I have an idea in my mind for a very long time to increase the store a little so–

Raphael: In size?

Meizun: In size, maybe. My dream would be that I would open a store somewhere else also, so maybe abroad. So, as Rudolph Beaufays somewhere [else].

Raphael: Okay, like a second branch, so to speak?

Meizun: Yeah, because I have so many customers who come from all around the world, so it’s not only Europe. It’s from everywhere, and they always tell me, “Oh, I would be so happy if I would have a store like that in my hometown.”

Raphael: …are there certain cities that you think like, “I’d love to be there!”

Meizun: I would like New York. I would like to meet Sean Crowley, for example.

Raphael: Yes! He has a wonderful store, very similar aesthetics, similar merchandise. I think you two hit it off.

Meizun: I would like to. I think that the store has a big potential and I didn’t do everything that is needed to push everything forward. So, maybe in the future. So this is the plan for the future at least.

Raphael: And are you concerned about just, you know, keeping to find these pieces that are hard to find? ‘Cause they’re one of a kind, right? You can’t produce more of them…. Do you find it hard? Is it fun? Is it easy?

Meizun: It’s fun. It’s easy. I mean, I had a couple yesterday; sometimes I buy clothes from people who come into the store, and they have boxes, bags full of clothes.

Raphael: So, what’s your process then? They should reach out to you and just send you some pictures, and you’re like, “Yes, that’s good,” or not? Or just come?

Meizun: They come they come into the store without an appointment. I don’t make an announcement anywhere, so they come into the store. And yesterday, I had a couple who came in, and they had a big bag full of beautiful ties. Very old Hermes ties and bow ties, and I was like freaking out because it was so beautiful. And with every single tie that I looked at, you saw the story behind [it], so they were chosen with love. And so, this is something that I’m so excited when I find new beautiful things. And it’s, yeah–

Raphael: It’s cool, right? Because people come to you, they know you, and then you have the stuff that otherwise may end up in a landfill because they just throw it out. People don’t appreciate it, they don’t know what it is, and it’s just gone forever.

Meizun: Exactly, exactly.

Raphael: And I love looking through old tie designs, and you find things. And then looking through your old books and, like, recreating it is hard. You know, because sometimes the chemicals are no longer allowed, which is great, you know, we don’t want to hurt our planet. But, sometimes, the weave–you know, the knowledge of how to weave it, it’s no longer there, right? So, it’s stuff like that. There’s just a lot that goes into it.

Meizun: Yeah. There are so many sources and so many beautiful things that I still find and, yeah, I hope that it will never stop.

Raphael: Well, thank you for keeping this tradition alive. I’m just in Hamburg for a few days, but the first thing we’re doing here today was coming to your store because I reached out and said, “Hey, can I come and take a look and see what you got?

SHOPPING VINTAGE

Stuff with Stories

Vintage shopping is enjoyable, especially if you like rare pieces and are looking to have a green and sustainable collection. Chances are, you might find really great deals at a fraction of the original price tag!

Meizun: Thank you so much for visiting the store.

Raphael: And you should, too, if you have stuff. Reach out to Meizun. She’s really responsive on Instagram: @rudolfbeaufays. And if you don’t have anything to sell, just come here and buy something. If you’re interested in classic men’s clothing, I’d be shocked if you walk out of here without something. And, now, I’m going to walk around and look for stuff for myself.