HWS recently embarked on a short tour to meet Baz Paterson, the owner of the Turnstyles Casual Clothing shop in Rosyth. This cool store, filled with some unique styles and quality apparel, has been on our radar for quite a while, making it an ideal addition to our terrace and subculture section. Baz is a genuinely cool guy and invites a warm spirit. The shop showcases an impressive collection of second hand terrace clothing, all expertly curated to reflect the essence of the subculture.
Hello mate, thanks for having us in. How’s things?
I’m good mate thanks.
I’ve visited the shop several times, and each visit reveals something new and intriguing or an item that catches my eye. Would you say your shop functions as a buy-and-sell shop?
Yes, absolutely, it is something we have always kinda done since we ran it from my garage conversion but that was more so with the kids clothing. For example the kids would grow out of a size 12 and trade it for a size 14. If I am being entirely honest when you first came through the door you mentioned this was an great concept it’s a hub where people can come and buy stuff, trade stuff and show each other stuff. It kind of evolved from there. However, with the amount of clothes and trainers we are going through we can’t restock it without buying from people. So, it has evolved from buying individual items to entire trainer collections or between 10 to 15 CP or Stone Island jackets at once. We are now working with a few wholesalers from whom we also purchase brand-new stock, so it is working very well.
So, when did your love of the labels start?
I would say I properly got into in the early ’90s around the Indie scene and I was also admiring the casuals that were still going about at that time. I was following what they were wearing and wanted a bit of it. I always remember probing my Dad for the gear and he telling me, ”Baz if you want this stuff, you will need to go and get it yourself by getting a job”. So, I got myself a job on the milk rounds which I did until I left school. I would earn and save up what I had to gain certain labels and a lot of the time the item would be out of fashion by the time I had saved up [laughter]. I suppose that’s how it worked though, the older casuals who hung about the pubs or the streets knew my Dad and would often hand things down to myself and my brother. We were by no means well off but my Dad was a contractor and he always tried to get us a holiday at least once or twice a year. So, on holiday where kids were perhaps buying plastic swords or cars that turned into robots and stuff, my brother and I would save our money up and get taken to the local sports shops which might be the Lacoste one, a tennis shop or a shop that sold Sergio Tacchini and spend our money. I always remember when we come back some of the young lads were always wanting to buy our stuff or swap things with us. That’s where the love of it grew as we did get some very decent stuff from our holidays some of it you couldn’t get in the UK.
As things have evolved, I remain the same person. I am a firefighter. Unfortunately, firefighters do not earn a high salary, so spending £700 or £800 on a jacket is not easy for me. As a result, I began exploring options for swapping, trading, and purchasing second-hand items. This allowed me to get what I wanted at a fraction of the price. I decided to bring this concept into my shop to make it accessible for everyone else.
Initially, I planned for this to be a local thing, but it quickly spread, and now we have customers coming from all over. Our social media platform still needs some work, but we’re making progress. I truly enjoy running the shop and appreciate the one-on-one engagement with customers. My two sons have also helped out; one of them is very interested, although he tends to dress more like an “Ultra” these days, always in black.
I believe you started this wee empire from your garage at home. How did the idea come about?
I have always been involved in buying and selling clothes and other items to fund my own habit of purchasing garments. However, when my young boy, Jasper, started going to the football, he also began wearing designer clothing, which was around the time he was about 9 or 10 years old. Like myself, he would go around the department stores and look at the prices, but then try to find it cheaper online. So, he would buy it from online platforms, even if it didn’t fit him, and then sell it to his mates and others. So, I kind of looked at the concept and thought it was a great idea. He was going around in the best of gear from an early age. I would say we kind of jumped into it together, and I gave him a fund to start and push it forward, and he gave me a decent return on it. Then I started looking into why I don’t take this any further. It was then his idea to start forming a group from lads from the football. He would zip about on his scooter, dropping things off for his mates, but then we decided to create a Facebook page, this is the page that we still have today. So, as much as I would love to take credit for something that seems to be an excellent idea, I would have to say it was stolen from my nine-year-old lad, Jasper. He has left me in the lurch, though, and he’s at the match dressed in black. I am standing here most weekends, making other people look smart [laughter].
As we mentioned earlier, what I truly appreciate about this place is it that it feels like a hub as much as a retail shop, people come here not only to browse but to connect. Conversations seem to spark among like-minded strangers. This is a refreshing contrast to the trend we often see today, where shopping is dominated by large chain stores or impersonal online purchases.
Yeah, that was the idea. I won’t mention any past retailers, but here, you can come in, have a chat, browse, and try things on without being followed around. Recently, some younger kids came in and tried on a £1,000 Stone Island jacket just to take photos. Rosyth has been great to me over the years, and since I’ve grown up here, I want to give something back to the community. Establishing a store like this in an area that has never had one before is completely different and exciting. There’s a similar concept in a nearby city, but this region hasn’t seen anything like it until now. That’s why we’re attracting so many customers from outside the town
Again, when you mention a “Hub” I genuinely don’t think that was really in my thoughts initially. I think it was during the first couple of weeks and you came in and we had a long discussion about clothes, football and music and you called it a Hub, I now totally agree. That has evolved and it has actually brought me out of my shell. I have a close network of friends, the fire service – I have a shift of 12 people and I have my family. At work, I am basically with the same people at all times and I can switch off whereas here it can be constant. I saw you come in my first couple of weeks and I felt a bit out of my depth, but over time, I evolved and started to think, “I can manage this; I can consistently talk to people.” I don’t go out as much as I used to, so through this process, I have made many new like-minded friends from buying and selling. Additionally, I’ve absorbed a lot more knowledge on the topics. I agree, you will see lads outside that give each other a nod because of what they are wearing and even then it can spark up a conversation, it’s like that trainspotting hobby [laughter]. Yeah, funnily enough we had one of the camera men from Trainspotting in here the other week buying stuff, he was a interesting chap.
The other thing I didn’t realise until recently is that it is good conversations when you are chatting to folk, but you are also helping them. It may sound strange, but it’s sometimes like a form of counselling. A few people might be struggling and they’ll come in and just sound off and then reminisce about old labels they used to wear and certain years they were about. Perhaps the kind of chat that might not be accepted in other places. Nobody would get frowned upon here if they were talking about past addictions or going through a tough time. I suppose most folk that come in are mainly working class so we relate to that, you get that personal touch as well.
If you look at many high street retailers, you’ll find rows of colours. However, here you can choose a chrome overshirt, which is a recent release, or a 1986 Stone Island jacket that costs £1,000. I often feel nostalgic when I see some of these items, and I find it hard to let them go. But Ewen reminds me that I need to think like a business owner and make the decision to sell. Just like yourself, who has come in, bought items, and sold things as well.
We always do this one, can you give us your top three trainers?
This is obviously quite tricky. As you know I like a leisure touring shoe, so I would go with …
Garwen Specials
The other two would be …
New York Carlos
Adidas Green & Orange colourway Barrowland Specials.
I believe the shop is a win-win situation for yourself at times with lads coming into sell an item that you admire yourself and would perhaps not make it onto your racks?
There has been a lot of great stuff coming in lately, and I’ve really loved it. I told myself that some of it isn’t going to sit on the shelf. I’ve found clothes I haven’t seen in years, and they’re still in good condition. However, we do have rent to pay, so we need to stay business-minded. If we’ve done well—kind of like earning overtime at work—then I treat myself. I’ve even picked up some nice Burberry tops for my partner to keep her happy. We’re also noticing that a lot of girls are coming in to buy brands that were previously considered men’s clothing. The kids shop here a lot too, so they can show off their outfits at school.
Do you have a favourite jacket of all time or a holy grail?
Well, this is another tough one. Recently a lovely gentleman came in here and I bought a load of stuff off him. He offered me a 10C jacket at very nice price. I have wore it quite a lot recently and then to add to that one certain Liam Gallagher wore a similar one a recent Oasis tour. Mine was a lighter version but his was a collaboration one with “Awake” which is a New York fashion designer. So, there has been various Stone Island jackets I have wanted over the years but never been able to afford but top of the list just now would probably be that 10C “Awake” one.
I have noticed you have had a load of the ZX600 yellow and grey original colour come into the shop, how quick do they sell?
Yeah, we actually have a pair on the shelf there from I think it was the 2006 release and they are in good condition. But the 2024 release come into the shop a lot and they go very quick to be honest they don’t make the shelves, I put them on the Facebook page. I even have a list of people wanting them and for me to contact them when they come in. To be honest, I don’t sell them at big prices. A brand new condition would be about £115 which isn’t much more than they originally came out at. Ebay tends to sell them a lot higher at around £160.
And does Baz Paterson have a favourite music album he would go to?
Aye! It might be not what you would think weirdly enough. I mean I loved the Stone Roses growing but my favourite album out the lot is the *Garage Flower* which was released in 1996 but originally recorded in 1985 but they didn’t think it was a good enough to make the market. I think that’s what I like about it, it is rough, raw, disorganised and perhaps a bit chaotic. It’s an album one that I will always play whether it’s at the Gym in the car it is a go to album for me. I like the beats, it is heavy on the drum it just feels a wee bit off centre. Folk might say you chose an album that they didn’t really want to release compared to the other ones. But that’s the fun of it for me, they weren’t happy with it, it was a bit raw and different.
Another one I like is “Hats Off to the Busker” from The View. I actually received a sample of it before it was officially released, which they sent around to record companies. I spoke with Mo, the drummer, to confirm that. Even after the album was released, I preferred the sample version because it had a rougher edge. It was similar to the album, but I always gravitated towards the sample. Perhaps that says a lot about me—I don’t really enjoy things being too perfect [laughter]. I appreciate a bit of chaos.
I also love B-sides, especially those from Oasis and Primal Scream; those hidden gems. Much like my taste in clothing, I don’t often change my preferences. When we were younger, we would go to the QMU, Barrowlands, King Tuts, The Venue, Liquid Rooms and check out bands that were still on the rise. We might have heard a couple of their tunes on the radio but not known much about them, and we’d buy £13 tickets. Then, we’d often discover some great tracks that would later become big hits.
Finally can you give HWS any INs and OUTs for this week?
INs:
Vintage Burberry
Rubicon Fruit Flavour Juice
Apologising when you have been out of order.
Smiling in a photo
Local Boozers
Acknowledgment of friends success
Standing out from the crowd
90s fit jackets
OUTs
Weight loss obsessives giving dally size updates.
Gym selfies
Lane cutters and no indication at roundabouts
Trusting politicians
Wearing black to the match!
Entering trainer raffles and extorting people by double pricing.
Thanks for having us Baz.
No worries, thanks for for visiting.
Thanks to Baz, Nadine and Derek Monaghan for the photos.
*Turnstyles Casual Clothing can be found at Parkgate Rosyth, Fife KY11 2JW. They can also be found on Facebook and Instagram*
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