All That Glitters Is Gold

Let's be honest; weather dictates fashion, and it's getting mighty cold outside. But far from being pessimistic about this turn in weather, here at Rokit we're using this as the perfect excuse to get stocking up on lots of lovely sparkly glad rags, ready for the party season. Ok, so christmas might be two months away, but there's no need to wait that long - sequins have shed their former ever-so-slightly-naff image and transformed into acceptable day wear, now adorning everything from leggings, to blazers, to t-shirts. For a vintage spin on the look, channel glam rock stars like David Bowie's alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, who were championing all that sparkles back in the day, with bold make-up and space age jumpsuits.

Our party tops section is the perfect place to start, with a gorgeous range of sequinned vests, boob tubes, shrugs and tops which look great dressed down in the daytime with jeans, or jazzed up in the evenings with chunky platform heels.

Click here to jump to product

Click here to jump to product

Click here to jump to product

As well as sequinned party tops, we have plenty of dresses guaranteed to satisfy a sparkle fix, and with the likes of Balmain showcasing sequin dresses at Paris Fashion Week, this is one party look that's not going anywhere.

Go to blue sequin dress
Go to silver sequin dress

Halloween Glam

If sparkle isn’t your thing (not every man can pull off a silver sequinned dress after all), then head over to the dark side with our new Halloween Glamour section, where you’ll find a whole range of fabulously dark and vampy vintage clothing & accessories, perfect for this season’s gothic look, or as glamorous fancy dress costume. For the male take on the look, there’s no doubting the power of the vampire at the moment, both on screen and catwalk. Get the look at Rokit, by teaming leather jackets, tuxedo blazers or smart black overcoats, with dark trousers and chunky boots.

Above left: an Edward Scissorhands moment at Gareth Pugh

Go to tuxedo jacket Go to shirt
Go to boots Go to trousers

Finally, for a feminine slice of Halloween glamour, make like a sultry goth lolita by pairing autumn/winter’s trend for textures (think lace, velvet & faux fur) and rich shades of purple, with dark vampy lips and nails. Smouldering stare optional...

Above left: dark & gothic at Rodarte

Go to dress Go to coat
Go to bustier Go to blouse

Covent Garden's 'Fashion Fête' For London Fashion Week

This month saw the fashionista's out in full force for the eagerly anticipated London Fashion Week, and here at Rokit we joined in with the buzz at Covent Garden's first ever Fashion Fête, in conjunction with Models 1 and SuperSuper magazine. Our Covent Garden staff set up stall in the central piazza - along with various other quirky booths - and pulled out all the stops with plenty of vintage gems for sale, as well as a vintage dress up box (the results of which you can see below). With old school games, face painting, burlesque, and even a vintage patisserie, the day was a fun filled fashion extravaganza - and free for anyone to come along to, proving once and for all that a cheap day out in London is possible.

High Tea At Rokit

Hello all! It's a dreary old wednesday morning, so to perk you up we thought we'd post some lovely pics from our fabulous High Tea event, which took place at our boutique store in Brick Lane on Thursday 3rd September. The evening – in aid of nothing, but our generosity of course – was a good old fashioned knees up filled with complimentary cake, tea, and a superbly retro DJ set courtesy of ‘Rockabilly Mark’. Those of you who came along were also treated to a 15% off discount on all purchases made on the evening, which went down very well indeed...



























































If you missed out on all the fun, fear not - there's always next time. Just remember to keep checking back here for all the latest on events, products, and special offers.

Rokit x

Time To Jacket Up

Let’s face it, this “summer” has been a bit of a wash out really hasn’t it? Given, there’s been the odd week of BBQ perfect temperatures, but on the whole, our friend the British Weather has lived up to its stereotype: yep that’s right, damn unpredictable. No sooner do you step out sporting a summery sandals and dress ensemble, than a giant cloud appears looming in the skies like a foreboding outfit spoiler. Not good. So, with that in mind – and the scary fact that by fashion terms it’s now autumn winter/09 – it’s time to talk jackets. Ever faithful, the humble jacket is the perfect in between seasons look: light, practical and stylish. And as ever, Rokit are here to help give a vintage spin on contemporary looks... Just take your pick from below and you’ll be sorted.

Tailored jackets and oversized blazers

If you’ve failed to notice the epic comeback of blazers, then quite frankly where have you been? Dressed down with jeans or paired with a pretty dress, the blazer is a versatile wardrobe essential with a fit to suit everyone. Channel Marlene Dietrich and Annie Hall with an androgynous outsized look, favoured by today’s fashionistas Agyness Deyn, Daisy Lowe and Kate Moss, or go for a more classic and feminine fitted shape à la Coco Chanel herself.

Go to grey jacket Go to tartan jacket
Go to pink jacket Go to black jacket

Retro coach jackets

Conjuring up images of 1950s high schools, baseball, and the all American jock, coach jackets are a great way of adding a slice of retro to an outfit. Vintage sportswear is enjoying somewhat of a revival, and at Rokit we have a huge range of colours, fabrics and designs that will ensure a unique look.

Below: Tom Meighan of Kasabian, sporting a coach jacket at Glastonbury 09


Classic denim jackets

Also enjoying a revival is the classic denim jacket. A symbol of youth and rebellion, denim was popularised in the 1950’s by icons such as James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause, and of course was a heavy fashion influence throughout the 70’s and 80’s between hippies, rockers, and pop princesses alike (Madonna, anyone?) With plenty of choice at Rokit, go for 80s stonewash, dark indigo, or sleeveless ripped & dishevelled for a truly vintage look.

Above: James Dean

Above: a whole lotta denim


Go to denim jacket

Glam Festival Looks At Sale Prices

This week, it’s time to get topical and talk about a current issue that has literally dominated the media over the past month. There’s no escaping from it; pick up a paper, switch on the TV, or log on to the web and you will be faced with the latest. Nope, we’re not talking swine flu or Michael Jackson, we mean music festivals, and more importantly (or superficially, depending on how you look at it) – festival fashion. We’ve been flabbergasted at Lady Gaga’s alleged ‘lady garden’ flashing at Glastonbury, amused by Lily’s wigs, and jealous of the celeb attendees who managed to get their laidback and effortless looks down to a T (in the park). In keeping with the theme, we’ve got a brand spanking new festival section on the website, which lists all our essential items that’ll have you looking festival fabulous in no time. There’s even a pair of binoculars, should you wish to get a closer look at the stage (no dodgy misuse please).

Click here for our festival shop!

As if that wasn’t enough, we’ve just launched an amazing online sale, where you can get a generous 30% off a whole host of women’s & men’s clothing. There’s also some great reductions on accessories and jewellery, so hurry while stock lasts!



These items are just a selection of the bargains available - check them out here.

Festival looks

Casual denim - The ultimate in dressed down rock ‘n’ roll chic, it’s the humble cut off denim shorts. These babies have been sported by the likes of Alexa Chung, the Geldof sisters, and Keith Richards’ girls’ Theodora and Alexandra (pictured below). Men can get in on the cut-off action too, (like Nick Grimshaw did at Glastonbury) with our longer, modesty preserving version. Whichever length you choose, pick up a pair from Rokit for just a tenner!


Click here to check out the above pair of denims.

Pretty florals & quirky prints - Add a feminine touch to your festival look with a pretty floral dress. Dress down by layering it with a tee as spotted on Chloë Sevigny at Coachella festival (weird socks and sandals combo optional), or simply add some wellies to a bright print dress like the increasingly stylish Nicola Roberts and you’re good to go. Our festival section has some great dresses similar in style (pictured below).

View red print dress View purple print dress

Handy hats - There’s nothing better than a good hat to disguise bad festival hair. Trilbies, straw hats, sun visors, trucker... the options are endless because anything goes at a festival – the wackier the better we say. Try a classic style à la Pete Doherty, or if you’re feeling more outlandish, how about a sparkly cap, a pilot hat, cowboy straw hat, or even a cow print number? Well you are going to be standing in a field...


Oversized sunnies - By far the best way to hide tired, make up smudged eyes is a pair of vintage sunglasses. Florence Welch looked great in her quirky pair, and you can too by choosing a pair from our huge range, the cheapest costing you just £9 – bargain.


Check out these and other styles.

Fun, games and freebies...

Blame it on the sunny weather going to our heads if you will, but here at Rokit we’ve become rather generous of late. As you may well know, we teamed up with Bangers & Mash for not one, but TWO fantastic events where we gave away stack loads of lovely vintage items to you lucky punters for free. Yes, FREE! Because we’re just nice like that.

The first, held at Camden’s Proud was a great success, and our decision to pull out a game of Twister went down very well, as you can see from the somewhat ‘messy’ pics below. With a table loaded with quirky vintage sunglasses and beautiful scarves, all you had to do was sign up to our newsletter and take your pick!



With that great night under our belts, we couldn’t just leave it as a one off, and so this month saw our second night of fun and debauchery with Bangers & Mash, this time at 93 Feet East. Setting up camp in the courtyard, we stocked our table once again with sunnies, scarves, dresses and shirts which were all up for grabs. This time, we gave twister a day off, and played hoopla which was great fun – if you landed your hoop on an item, you got to keep it. Inevitably, you cheeky people employed all sorts of cheats and rule breaks to win, but hey, we let that slip.

So, a big thanks to Bangers & Mash for having us, and everyone who made it down, played silly games and signed up to the newsletter (which will keep you updated on the latest promotions and vintage trends). Remember that all the freebies had a generous 15% off code attached, which you can spend online: http://www.rokit.co.uk

If you didn’t make it, then fear not, because we’ll let you in on a little secret. The code is “BMFE47”. Just enter it at the checkout, and 15% will be deducted. Told you we were feeling generous.

In the meantime, watch this space for more Rokit events where there will no doubt be more fun, games and freebies. Until next time!


Bangers & Mash @ Proud







Bangers & Mash @ 93 Feet East

Getting Shirty this Summer

I’ve never been to Hawaii, but it seems like it’s probably the most laidback and relaxed country in the world.

Everytime I see people going to Hawaii in films and TV they are already wearing Hawaiian shirts before they’ve even boarded the plane and upon arrival they are swarmed by writhing hula dancers who place lurid flower garlands round their necks and offer them a cocktail within a fresh coconut decorated with miniature umbrellas and curly plastic straws.

It seems like the whole island is on one big holiday every day, except it is never the native Hawaiians who are relaxing but western holidaymakers, which leads you to suspect that Hawaii is actually one huge island resort which employs a slave race of natives to cater for the whim and desire of wealthy holidaymakers. Well... at least they look like they’re having fun when they’re hula dancing, or playing the yukele and singing in their traditional tongue. It’s this idea of Hawaii as a holiday utopia with its picture perfect beaches, tropical plants and colourful scenery which is encapsulated by and repackaged into Hawaiian shirts. Hawaiian shirts are microcosms of Hawaii and always have amazing Technicolor visuals which either depict people enjoying the beach and all it has to offer, or more traditionally tropical flowers in all their colourful glory.

Here at Rokit, we have a multitude of Hawaiian shirts for every taste and desire. Hawaiian shirts are the perfect shirt for the summer, their designs are timeless, always exciting and immediately indicate to everyone that you are now on vacation mode.

Men, don’t you wish you could look as cool and relaxed as our old buddy Elvis here?

Well just check out our rather generous section of men’s vintage Hawaiian shirts here and you and Mr Presley can be shirt buddies.

http://www.rokit.co.uk/index.php?page_id=40

We even have Hawaiian shirts for the ladies too!

http://www.rokit.co.uk/index.php?page_id=1000055

It is difficult to source vintage women’s Hawaiian shirts in decent sizes so make sure you stay ahead of the pack and get in there quick to secure your piece of Hawaiian history. For women we recommend you tie them around the midriff to add a bit of sex appeal and ensure a nicely fitted silhouette.

With the credit crunch affecting us this year, we’ve all had to make sacrifices and give up some of the luxuries that made life that little bit sweeter. Fear not if you can’t afford to go on holiday this year, we’ve got a fantastic idea for you. How about instead of flights to Hawaii, you simply get yourself a vintage Hawaiian shirt for around £20, put a flower garland round your neck (pinch your neighbours prize winning chrysanthemums), sit in your garden and sip cocktails, whilst all the time daydreaming about being on the tropical paradise of Hawaii. Just please try and avoid thinking about the fact that you are taking a holiday in your garden and simply focus on that smug and warm feeling inside - that you have the bought the best shirt ever.