Minerva

The Drop interviews Benny and Dan, the owners of Exeter’s coolest men’s fashion store.

exeter shops fashion men

 

Hidden down North Street and away from the hoards of high street shoppers we found Minerva.
 
Just from the understated black exterior and simple bright interior you can tell these guys have style. Stocking a range of clothes not available anywhere else in Exeter, this is the place to go if you are sick of the generic high street brands.
 
The racks are full with a carefully hand-picked selection of clothing, ranging from printed t-shirts to coloured trousers. However it is obvious from the attire of the owners that they have a real thing for hats! Flat caps in every colour and material cover the store, Only NY being the dominant brand.
 
What was the idea behind the shop?
 
We both come from Plymouth where there is a large skate clothing scene and generally a more varied range of clothing shops. We saw a gap in the market here, we are selling stuff which you can't buy anywhere else in Exeter. Our inspiration comes from street culture, music and contemporary urban fashion and we look to American fashion, basically stocking what we like and what is new over there.
 
What was it like when you first opened?
 
We opened 11 months ago and we now beginning to gain loyal customers but as we are off the main high street, new people are finding out about us everyday!
 
Who is your target market?
 
The majority of our customers are students – either from the university or Exeter College. We try and tailor our stock to meet student budgets, for example our maximum price for a t-shirt is £30, which for the quality of the clothing is pretty reasonable. We also do a student discount as well as lots of one off discounts and giveaways on our Facebook page.
 
What are best selling brands?
 
Our best selling item is probably our black, green and white Only NY flat cap but we also think Quietlife is going to become much more popular. Our staple brand, Carhartt, which we have been stocking from day one has always been a consistent seller due to its good quality, classic basics. The California range of Vans is more highbrow than the standard classic range stocked in Office and includes shoes made with leather and suede, these have proven very popular. We also have plans to start stocking Nike Air Max’s, New Balance and some more girls clothing.
 
We asked them to put together their perfect outfit – you can see the result in the photos above.
 
Check their blog out or even better their store!
Minervastreetwear.tumblr.com
www.minervastreetwear.com