vintage in london?
 

so, my boyfriend and me will be in london next week and we planned to do some shopping.. anyone knows some nice adresses to recommend? we love clothing from the 30s or 50s.

I'm not sure if it's still there, probably it is, but there was a really good shop on Holloway Road, not far from Highbury and Islington station, that sold great clothes, sunglasses and shoes at fairly cheap prices. Islington in general is good for vintage of any kind, as well as Brick Lane on a Sunday. Avoid Portobello unless you're rich.

thanks! yeah i remember going to portobello the previous time i was there and i only bought some pretty buttons.. i didn't buy any clothes on that trip, since it was with my brother and he's more of a books and records guy. now we are looking for some specific items though, so will spend at least one day on shopping.

there's a shop on cheshire st off brick lane that is a big vintage place. otherwise like marras said brick lane on a sunday. london isn't so good for vinatage though in comparison to other big cities.

and its expensive. go to charity shops you might get lucky.
go to fucking primark and buy the vintage-inspired stuff that 89% of the people will be wearing when you decide to wear it.

'vintage' in london will not be cheap. certainly not cheap and good.

i'm rarely satisfied with the cheap stuff you find in large shops, it's usually ugly and ill-fitting. the only things i still buy at h&m or shops like that are basics like cardigans. the last item of clothing i bought was a 1960s knit sailor dress for about 30 euros.

i'm usually quite happy with ugly and ill-fitting.

you can find good stuff anywhere, if you have the patience to look.

When I'm on vacation, I usually don't have the luxury of taking time to really hunt for the good stuff. I wish I did. I love to shop. Shoes, sandals, boots! <3

When I was in London, I didn't know shit from shinola about where to shop.
We went to Carnaby Street. What a disappointment.

i dread to say it but there probably are a few places in camden that have that stuff. you will have to fight through piles of pete doherty's thought.

they are all really overpriced. considering most of that stuff comes from digging donations and charity shops. so i still strongly suggest charity shops, at least when old people donate you know it's real vintage.

Try TK Maxx.

tk maxx is amazing but nothing there is vintage is it.

but FOR ONCE I have to agree, its like the best shop ever if you have A LOT of patience.

I bought a cool Levi's hooded top from my local branch of TK Maxx recently for £25. The funny thing is there's a branch of Beales next door to it selling Levi's hooded tops for £65. Beales have knocked 50% off the price of other Levi's hooded tops, but they're still more expensive than the ones in TK Maxx. :)

i bought moschino for £25 once.

i need to go have a look for some ck polos that my brother would wear.

i find tk maxx and the equivalent places in other countries kind of annoying because they never have my size! i know 2nd hand places are like that too but at least there i know most of the stuff wont fit but tk maxx i want it to fit.

I've lost count the number of times TK Maxx stocked an item I really liked but didn't have in my size. I was lucky with the Levi's hooded top. And you can forget about footwear. They never ever have anything I fancy in my size.

they dont have most sizes you want, but sometimes they do.
sometimes i just buy bigger sizes anyway, if i can.
sometimes the price is worth having it altered.
its worse with vintage.

Maybe ploesj is better off checking out jumble sales for vintage clobber.

I'm surprised Camden's only been mentioned once. Is there some kind of anti-Camden snobbery that I'm not aware of?

we were just talking about shit being overpriced, unless that's what she's looking for i wouldn't go there.

Brick Lane simply has better shops for the recessionistas.

camden is mainly for goths

there is nothing wrong with camden, except that it can be kind of expensive and more post punk than vintage.

Cloud Cuckoo Land in Islington is good for stuff from the Victorian era up to around the 50s.

If you really have to set foot in Camden, AKA ''Village For People In Their Late 30s Who Live Traumatized Because It's Not The 80s Anymore'', do yourself a favour and visit All Ages Records, the best record shop for punk/hardcore music in town.

Is there a village in London for people in their late 20s who live traumatized because it's not the 90s anymore?

Yes. Hampstead.

The Holloway Rd felt like a Groundhog Day in 1994 when I was last there (which, thinking about it, might've actually been in 1994).

or notting hill

no, notting hill is more about people who seemed to stop dead at the end of the 80s. Wendy James and Yazz territory.

Yes.

we're back! and i did find some stuff. not necessarily clothes from those eras but definitely inspired by it.. i did find one early sixties dress for 15 pounds, nothing wrong with it except for a small stain that will disappear when i alter it. i'll post pictures later.

Glad yr back! Where did you shop?

Marks & Spencers, Debenhams and Beales. :D

i've been silly enough not to remember where i went, but i found some really nice charity shops and found two short-sleeved shirt and a grey wool skirt for almost nothing. here's a picture of the skirt and one of the shirts, dress is coming up as soon as it's hemmed: