Looks - Your Independent Streetwear Store

Looks - Your Independent Streetwear Store

When Hachiman first began one of our main goals was to get our clothing sold in a streetwear store. Coincidentally, when we had the first video shoot with JamStudios, Aidan let us know that his friend had a streetwear store nearby who was looking to expand his collection. 

After meeting with Joe, the owner of Looks, it became clear he had visions for himself and his store. He agreed for us to have our pieces stocked on his shop floor and become an official stockist of Hachiman JPN. From that we decided to have a short interview with him to give people an insight into his store and what he does. 

When did you first open Looks and why?

I officially opened the shop in April 2018. I was working in a bar at the time and just collecting clothes to review on this average little YouTube channel. From that I decided I wanted to be self-employed and was already doing stuff in the fashion world online, so I thought just go for it! It started as something to do as I was still I was working two jobs whilst running the shop. I know Chester well, so I knew that it could work - and now here we are three years later.

How would you describe your business?

Looks is a clothing shop that specialises in brands that you can't get elsewhere. Sometimes that means high end, and sometimes it just means small independent labels that are little hidden gems.

Which brands do you sell?

We sell brands like Supreme, Palace... Off-White we sell a little bit of but that's getting more easily bought now so I’m kind of steering away from it. Carhartt, you know, you definitely can't get in Chester but I know you can get it in places like Liverpool. Again, because we’re independent we can pick and choose what we sell whereas other companies have less flexibility in that respect. If the clothing was better in 2017 then that’s what we’re going to sell. It’s just brands that you can't get elsewhere

If you could only wear one brand which would you choose?

Palace. They literally do everything. People forget that Palace make jeans, they make joggers, gloves, hoodies... as long as I didn’t get invited to a wedding, I could wear palace.

Any thoughts or advice for people thinking about going into the clothing industry?

The one piece of advice I would give is make it yourself. Do you know what I mean? Don’t go into it thinking OK, this is what everyone's wearing so this is what I'll make. Go into it making what is it you want to make. Figure it out as you go along. As far as starting a business goes, the only advice I’d have is to not put too much pressure on the business to begin with. The first year I had the shop I was doing 6 days a week in the shop and then five nights a week in a bar, just trying to not rely on the business too much. Live within your means.

What do you love about running your store?

Being your own boss. It has its own pros and cons however. You know the income varies on how busy I can make it so it's not necessarily like a steady income. But it is nice seeing it grow, with the exception of my really good suppliers that I have, when I see it grow is something that I can attribute to myself you know what I mean? So it's nice to be your own boss and reap the benefits.

Finally, do you have an end goal for Looks?

My end goal with looks kind of varies. I'd love to be a bigger shop in Chester. I can't see myself leaving Chester particularly soon because I think there is a big enough community here for me to make a living and here I'd be a big fish in a small pond. Elsewhere I’d have to compete on prices with other sellers. Not that I would even be against competition but I think the end goal that’s on the books at the minute is just get a bigger shop within Chester city. 

To check out more of what they’ve got going on down at Looks you can find them at:

Instagram - Looks_Chester

Website - https://www.lookschester.co.uk

And if you’re in the area the go check out the shop where they have even more to offer!

Address: 84 Brook St, Chester, CH1 3DN

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