Our Story

Some of you knew us on Victoria Street.

CIRCA75 began in 2004. In 2005, we opened the doors to our Darlinghurst flagship, bringing together menswear, swimwear, underwear and the finishing touches.

The former CIRCA75 Victoria Street flagship in Darlinghurst, decorated for Mardi Gras

Our former Victoria Street flagship, Darlinghurst.

Perhaps you remember the windows. The colour, the mirror balls, the Mardi Gras displays. The way something in the window could make you slow down on Victoria Street, stop for a closer look, then find yourself coming through the door. A pair of briefs that caught your eye, a shirt you came back for, or something you hadn’t planned on taking home. Maybe you were on your way somewhere, just passing by. Maybe you made a point of dropping in. It’s lovely to think that something we put in those windows might still have a place in your memory, just as those years have a place in ours.

And, of course, Lola. Our store mascot, making herself quite at home in the window display. If you remember her, you’ll know she deserves her own place in the CIRCA75 story.

Lola, CIRCA75’s store mascot, sitting in the yellow window display wearing her striped outfit

Lola, taking her place in the window.

Looking back at these photographs, we remember more than what was in the windows. We think of familiar faces, conversations across the counter, and people who came in for a quick look and stayed a little longer. All those ordinary moments that didn’t seem like much at the time, but now mean so much. A photograph can hold the clothes and the displays, but it’s the people who bring the memories back. If you walked through our door on Victoria Street, whether once or often, thank you. You’re part of what made those years ours.

From the Darlinghurst archive

The former CIRCA75 Victoria Street flagshipRed and white striped menswear displayLola at the CIRCA75 shop doorway beside the original window brandingLola sitting on a chair beside the shop keyboardMardi Gras window lettering and menswearFragrance and grooming shelves in the former storeInside the Darlinghurst storeChristmas window with shoes and turquoise letteringRolled denim tied with yellow ropeLola resting on the green turf in the window displayThe CIRCA75 window with red balloons and Lola at the doorwayRed, white and black menswear on mannequinsArchival Tom of Finland fragrance displaySummer menswear window at CIRCA75Underwear campaign display against the yellow store wallChristmas window with a colourful sock wreathLola in the Mardi Gras window displayDenim and underwear in the yellow displayHistorical CIRCA75 sale window, an archival photograph rather than a current offer

Archival photographs. Displays and offers pictured are historical.

Today, CIRCA75 continues online. There may no longer be a window to stop at on Victoria Street, but the story hasn’t ended. Our original red seahorse comes with us, a familiar little piece of where we began, finding its place in what comes next.

If you knew our Darlinghurst flagship, we hope something here brings back a memory and makes you feel a little at home. It’s lovely to have you with us again. And if you’re discovering CIRCA75 for the first time, welcome. You’re joining a story that began in 2004, with plenty of room for new memories.

Since 2004. Still our own kind of style.

CIRCA75’s original red seahorse