Our story

Who we are

Ro Rai and Sanju Tamang - owners of Mero Retro

Hi, thanks for visiting and taking time to find out a bit about us. We're (right to left above) Sanju Tamang and Ro Rai - a British Bhutanese & Nepali wife & husband team; parents of a young daughter and business partners who share a passion for quality vintage, eastern retro, Fairtrade fashion and beautiful hand-crafted goods: all things that you'll find in our shop, Mero Retro, here in Dalston in the wonderful Borough of Hackney, east London.

Over time we'll be filling this site with items from our Dalston shop (and some online exclusives), starting with our very own Fairtrade organic cotton t-shirts, beautiful vintage kimonos and gorgeous sukajan jackets followed by the best of our other vintage items, designer pieces and Fairtrade handicrafts, but for now we wish you a warm welcome to our humble online home!

 Mero Retro shop sign at sunset

What's in a name?

Mero (pronounced 'mare-o') simply means 'my' or 'mine' in our shared language, Nepali (Nepalese).

Mero Retro represents our love of vintage, retro and Fairtrade fashion: vintage with an eastern twist. ?

Mero Retro Dalston opened its doors in the glorious summer of 2015 and though it's not the first shop to bear the name, it's the first shop we've built from scratch and run together as a team. (If you're curious about what we were doing before have a read of our Team bios!)

A video posted by meroretro (@meroretro) on

 

What we do

Our mission is to bring you the very best selection of beautiful vintage and retro clothing and accessories, stylish and ethically produced fashion and handicrafts - items that we love and we hope you'll want to make yours for a lifetime.

We believe that beautiful items shouldn't cost the Earth. We're committed to minimising waste; supporting the artisans who produce the handicrafts we stock and helping to promote the notion that buying high quality goods means you can - and should - buy less. We're committed to making a positive social contribution through the way we do business and through our other projects.

We source our vintage items from trusted suppliers who provide us with high quality pre-loved items that still have a lifetime of use in them. If any of our goods fails to meet your expectations we're always more than happy to exchange items for in-store credit or something of equal value. Please see our Returns Policy for more information or contact us and we'll do our best to make sure you're fully satisfied.

Our Fairtrade items, such as our Nepali clothing, come from certified Fairtrade suppliers or directly from artisans and small scale co-operatives. Working with organisations that ensure the fair treatment and payment of their workers is very important to us as we believe that high quality, sustainable goods are the future.

At Mero Retro Dalston we also offer an alterations service, so that our local customers can ensure that the items they buy from us are a perfect fit each time and so that people in our neighbourhood can have their old or damaged clothes repaired and brought back to life.

 

The future

We believe that small is beautiful and that to make something great you need to be completely focused. We intend to use this website to bring you the very best of what we have to offer - adding gradually, starting with a small selection of our beautiful vintage kimonos and our own line of Fairtrade, organic cotton t-shirts. We'll soon be adding other items such as our much-sought after sukajan jackets and more of our range of Fairtrade fashion. As time goes by we'll be adding other collections such as shoes & boots, bags, accessories, jewellery and gifts. There's alot to do, but we relish the challenge! We hope you'll join us on this exciting adventure.

❤ the Mero Retro team 

Sizing Chart

Please use the size charts below to help you determine your size. As sizing and cut can vary greatly between brands, use the charts as a general guide to compare sizes and the measurements for listed item to ensure a good fit. If you need assistance selecting the right size, please contact us at info@meroretro.com or +44 (0) 207 6866807.

Women's Clothing Size Conversion  (source: Wikipedia)

UK 8 10 12 14 16
USA 6 8 10 12 14
Europe 36 38 40 42 44
Japanese 9 11 13 15 17
Bust 34" 36" 38" 40" 42"
Waist 26" 28" 30" 32" 34"
Hip 37" 39" 41" 43" 45"

 

Shoe Size Conversion

 

UK Sizing US Sizing AUS Sizing Europe Sizing
2.5 5 3.5 35
3 5.5 4 35.5
3.5 6 4.5 36
4 6.5 5 36.5
4.5 7 5.5 37
5 7.5 6 37.5
5.5 8 6.5 38
6 8.5 7 39.5
6.5 9 7.5 40
7 9.5 8 40.5
7.5 10 8.5 41
8 10.5 9 41.5
8.5 11 9.5 42

 

Vintage Sizing and Measurements

Vintage sizing and modern sizing can be very different. Because of this, we provide detailed measurements of all vintage clothing to help you determine whether or not a garment will fit correctly. An assessment of the estimated modern size will be noted, as well as any sizes on the tag, but please refer to measurements to best determine fit.

A good way to determine fit:

* Find a similar item in your wardrobe.
* Measure it according to our measurement guidelines.
* Compare your measurements to those of the vintage item you are interested in.
* You're done. If it's a good fit, make it yours!

We do occasionally pin clothing to fit our models, so please read all measurements carefully. We do not accept returns for vintage merchandise that does not fit. If you have any questions about our sizing/measurements, please contact us at info@meroretro.com.

Measurement Guidelines

All bust, waist, and hip measurements are taken straight across while garment is laid flat. Please double bust, waist, and hip measurements.

Clothing

 

Shoulders Shoulder seam to shoulder seam
Bust Armpit to armpit, and sometimes stretched for strapless or form-fitting pieces
Waist Measured at the smallest part of the waist
Hip Measured at the largest part of the hip, straight across
Sleeves Shoulder seam to cuff; for dolman sleeves, measured from collar
Length Top of garment, from shoulder seam to hem
Rise Taken from crotch seam to top of garment
Inseam Taken from crotch seam to ankle
Swing Taken across bottom hem of garment, then doubled

 

Shoes

 

Length Sole of shoe, from toe to heel, measured on the bottom of the sole
Width Measured at widest part of the sole of the shoe, typically at ball of foot
Height From bottom of shoes (including heels) to top
Heel Taken at the very back of shoe, from floor to top of heel
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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