Hot Shopping Spot of the Month – Shoreditch!

London is a labyrinth of streets lined shops, stalls and boutiques. They are packed with fabulous fashion finds for Londoners and visitors alike. London Stylings intends to take you by the hand and guide you on an imaginary Google Street View-esque journey from your laptop to the best places to shop in old London town.  Our first area of choice is Shoreditch. The east end of London is known for its trendy ways - bars, galleries, clubs and a bunch of curry houses can be found on these cobbled streets and yes, shops too! 

Spitalfields Market: new and improved with Beehive and Dog Tooth Coat - yas!

It is also home of Spitalfields market. Revamped a few years ago it houses an array of foody stalls but is most famous for its fashion stalls. Many a graduate fashion student has commenced their fashion empire with a stall at Spitalfields. Gemma Shie started selling her fashion range Lazy Oaf, hand screen printed illustration based clothing. The brand is now huge and can be found in hundreds of shops including Urban Outfitters, which now actually has a branch across from the market. So if you want to grab something unique as well as up and coming grab you handbag and hat and head down there. The market also boasts a whole host of shops including Benefit cosmetics (lovely make-up!).

Curry, Clothes and Cocktails - 'Brick Lane - you had me a Curry!' 

Just a hop skip and a jump away is Brick Lane! Brick lane has stolen the vintage crown from Camden town.  Along with a mix of quirky boutiques you’ll find a vintage shop on every corner! While there are still a few pricey dresses and cowboy boots there also seems to be a renewed trend for the ‘Everything’s a Tenner!’ bargain rail. Hurrah I hear you cry! Be ready to hunt and, even more so, alter. If you have a sewing machine at the ready you are opening yourself up to a larger range of vintage clothes as you can tailor that size 16 dress to fit your body and your style. Then you can make something out of the extra fabric. Yay!

The Mecca of the vintage stores has to be Beyond Retro. It’s filled with an abundance of vintage clothing - it’s not a shop - it’s a bloomin’ warehouse! If you get off at Shoreditch High Street Overground station and head directly over to Brick Lane you’ll find yourself directly opposite this little side street, Cheshire Street, that leads to this emporium of outfits of yester year. Toddle along there and you’ll find it.  So for vintage shopping and some look no further than the not too shabby shores of Shoreditch.