Paul's Boutique
That was the beginning, our first store. It’s packed with sneakers, T-shirts, Jeans and pretty much everything else that one can wear. Because the shop is only roughly organised, it’s probably best to come with a little time and dig through the stuff. The walls and shelves are filled with toy robots, boomboxes and Star Wars Collectibles – all the stuff I wanted so desperately when I was a little kid in East Berlin and now it’s all mine!!
This store stocks sneakers from Adidas, Nike, Puma, Converse, Reebok, and New Balance, as well as used denim by Levis, Nudie, Lee, Wrangler, and Cheap Monday. You’ll also find shirts and jackets by Fred Perry, Stüssy, Carhartt, Irie Daily, and many other brands, along with vintage leather jackets, dresses, and plenty of shoes.
Goo
After wearing fucked up jeans and Converse Chucks for a decade, we found out that there’s nothing wrong with a nice suit and that girls can look pretty amazing in a dress by Alexander McQueen. Yes, I know we are a bit slow …
This little shop of ours only sells used designer brands. It stocks used pieces by Acne, APC, Miu Miu, Dior, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, McQueen, YSL, Helmut Lang, Y-3, Comme Des Garcons and many others.
Torstrasse
A lot has changed on Torstrasse since we opened our little store in 2008. The street formerly known as Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse seemed to be the one forgotten boulevard of Mitte. Loud, harsh and dirty. Now there are loads of new stores and restaurants for a hip urban crowd, rents are moving up fast and during fashion week it turns into a catwalk… Luckily the street still retains it’s rough charm and is fun to visit.
In 2018 we opened a second space on Torstrasse 70, with our friend Heikes Guitar Repair in the back.
More space, more clothing AND you can have your guitar fixed.
This store stocks Cheap Monday, Clarks Desert Boots, Vintage Dr. Martens, Rock-T’s, jewelry, sunglasses, belts, Vintage bags and jackets and and and …
Paul’s Fanshop
It took us twenty years and a global pandemic to introduce our very first online store to the world – not necessarily because we didn‘t see the signs and are caught up in the past to a degree that we refuse to try anything digital, but because the intention to start a store was based on exchange and personal interaction first and foremost.
Growing up in the city, the places we liked the most were record stores, bars, thrift stores, small music venues – the very majority of them ran independently and with great enthusiasm, each space was highly distinctive in spirit and character. That´s where we met like-minded people, made friends, formed bands, exchanged knowledge and developed our taste and personalities.
Unfortunately, we saw them vanish at rapid speed through the last decades, first in megacities like Tokyo, New York or London, then our beloved hometown Berlin finally caught up as well. Big money took over and left less and less room for creativity that wasn’t exclusively driven by economic interest only.
Don’t get us wrong we’re not opposed to making money, we are a business as well, after all. We hope though that it somehow reflects us as individuals, and that it’s fun for our customers to spend time at the stores, that it’s fun to hang out and dig for some gems.
Having said that, we obviously don’t want to replace the stores with a digital clone, but offer articles that we carefully selected over a few years for connoisseurs that might value them. We had visitors from all over the planet that equally shared our love for vintage sportswear and beyond, and hopefully this new platform of ours provides a good way to stay connected in these crazy and weird times.
Fundus/Archive
Over the years the store became a source for many stylists and costume designers, who rent and buy our clothing for photo shoots, commercials, movies and plays. To make life a little easier for them, we now have an archive. It stocks a big and carefully selected collection of vintage band shirts, Redwing Boots, denim, sunglasses, dresses, leather jackets and belts among many other things. The majority of the collection is linked to subcultures such as Rock, Punk, Metal, Skateboarding, Hip Hop or Rave, this stuff is only for rent and not for sale. It is for professional use only.
by request
Paul’s Art Rental
Like all my other businesses this one started with my passion for collecting pretty much everything that I love. In fact, it is probabaly fair to say that I started my ventures simply to justify my collecting habit. I still find hunting for things incredibly fun in a very primal way. Even more so, when you can make good use of all these things later on.
A couple of years ago we opnened the archive for clothing (for use in film, commercials etc). That was working so wel that we decided to open another one for artworks. Over the last couple of years I bought a fair amount of work that was painted or drawn in the style of important artists of the last century. They are all unique artworks – not prints, exact copies or reproductions. They are obviously not originals by the masters but they do capture certain movements and periods quite well – and can be used for films, plays, commercials, temporary showrooms etc. So for whatever purpose, when you need stylistically and historically correct artworks on the walls, we hope to have what you are looking for. (The wikilinks included are there to help the set designers with the historical context). This archive is for professional use only.
About
Opening Pauls Boutique in 2000 was an experiment …
… and it happened mostly for a lack of any other ideas from my side.
Like most of my friends I spent the 90’s in Berlin not really doing anything. I studied a bit, never really finished my courses and tried to avoid a ‚proper job‘. We were all just playing in bands, going out, you know the deal … Quite a nightmare for our parents! Life was fun and cheap, so why bother? As we all started to aproach 30, we realized that life has gotten a lot more expensive and none of us had a plan on how to make enough money for a decent living. After a decade of being broke it wasn’t that much fun anymore. I didn’t have the financial resources to open a record store, which would’ve been my first choice, but I always liked hunting for Vintage Clothing and Sneakers so that’s how it all started. It was named Pauls Boutique, just like the Beastie Boys album. I thought that the weird mix of samples and genres made a very good record and somehow I imagined my store the same way. Strangely, only few other people made this connection and instead everyone started to call me Paul! It’s a good name I have to say though, so I don’t mind – they still call me Paul to this day!
Basically the whole idea was not having a boss, hanging out with your friends, digging through cool clothing, listening to great music all day long, not getting up too early and being able to have enough time for the things and people you love without a constant struggle to pay the bills. I have to admit that i didn’t expect it to be so much hard work, but at the end of the day it’s still totallly worth it. As I had no retail experience before, it took a couple of years to establish a healthy business. I knew nothing about accounting, taxes and all that, but you live, you learn I guess.
Our shops are like our ‚children‘. They are individul and independent, we love them ,we ‚re proud of them and we try to take good care of them. It all seems bigger than it actually is, but it feeds me and my friends, so we keep doing things our own way. That’s all I ever wanted it to be and it’s not so bad at all. I really have to thank my family and friends for helping me to make all this happen and the many people who keep on shopping and hanging out at Pauls.
FAQ
Are the robots for sale? Sorry kids. All the toys and Boomboxes are part of the interior and not for sale.
Can I bring in my old clothes? No, unfortunately you cannot. Just by looking at the racks you’ll realize that we’re always operating at the capacity limit of our little stores.
Please don’t swing by unannounced with bags full of clothes.
Do I get a discount? We like to think that our prices are reasonable. The price on the tag is what we want for the item, like any other store. If you buy a lot and ask our staff nicely, you might get a little discount, same with stuff that has major damages. If you love to bargain, we suggest you’ll try the flea markets.
Is everything at the store used? For the most part yes, but we also sell leftover stock and sample collections, so a lot of items are never worn.
Can I exchange purchases or get a refund? No, the stuff is either used or heavily reduced and therefore not exchangable. Please check every item carefully before you buy it.The only exception are the new Cheap Monday Collections.
Is there any system for brands or sizes in your sneaker department? No, unfortunately there isn’t. We tried that, but after just one day it was all total chaos again. You really need time and patience to dig through the racks and eventually you’ll get lucky and find your dream pair.
Do you take orders and are you shipping? No, we don’t.
Do you accept credit cards? Yes, we do accept all major international credit and maestro cards.
Do you want to advertise the store in our magazine/blog/app….? Nope, sorry.
We do what we do for quite a long time and never paid anyone to get attention from the outside world. We believe that the store makes some kind of sense and hope that people get it for what it is. Some folks liked it, told their friends, so it grew constantly over the years slowly and organically. We don’t want to shove the store down anyone’s throat. If it’s not your cup of tea, that’s alright also. Please don’t get us wrong, we do need and appreciate your heartfelt support, we just don’t want it to be a business transaction.
Do you hire? That’s a tricky question. Of course, occasionally we need new staff, but so far we’ve managed to find staff though our friends (or people connected to our circle of friends). That makes our life easier on many levels. It’s important to us that we respect, trust and help each other while we are at work. Sometimes it’s a stressful job and it’s good to know that you can totally rely on your collegues and that you like spending time with them. So I guess we have to get know you first, before we consider working together. Please don’t send us your CV, we don’t reply to them.
Contact & Imprint
Frank Radermacher
Milastrasse 3
10437 Berlin
Tel.: +49 (0)30–44 033737
Einzelunternehmen
USt-IDNr: DE 209589088
Verantwortlich gemäß § 55 RStV:
Frank Radermacher
Milastrasse 3
10437 Berlin
Before contacting us, please read our FAQs and note that we are not buying from private sellers, we do not sell online or ship our merchandise.
Design: Krsn Brasko / www.krsnbrasko.com
Umsetzung: Thorsten Probst / www.angenehme-gestaltung.de