I’m visiting the UK and Ireland for a couple of weeks, and I’m currently in Belfast, where later this week I’ll be hosting a design conference called Build. I took the opportunity today to stop in to a shop called The Bureau, which is right in the heart of town. It took us a while to find the place – its signage was pretty inconspicuous in the early dusk, and Belfast’s streets are largely unlabeled – but I’m glad I did.
The Bureau carries the range of products you’d expect to find in a put-together menswear boutique, from Alden and Trickers shoes to Engineered Garments and the like. They’ve also got a few more UK-oriented brands, like Nigel Cabourn and Paul Smith. Nothing’s cheap, but the clothes are well-chosen and really lovely.
The Bureau’s much more spacious than I’ve come to expect from stores of its ilk, and a bit more elegant and sophisticated than most, as well. Sportcoats co-habitate comfortably with the typical jeans and flannels. The folks who ran the place were also genuinely pleasant, which can’t always be counted on in fancy pants boutique shops like this one. This despite my having wandered in with wife and baby in tow. (Which, incidentally, is why I wasn’t able to spend as long there as I’d like.)
I shot a few pictures while I was in there – though I must warn you that I’m a hack photographer and was using my phone, and am uploading them without post-processing of any kind. If you’re in Belfast, or planning to visit (and you should, it’s a wonderful place), The Bureau is very much worth a visit.
