Guide to Vintage Shopping - East & Central London
One of the many joys of living in London besides the restaurants, wine bars, food markets, neighbourhood boroughs and deer filled leafy parks, is the shopping. While Oxford Street, bursting with traditional retail fashion brands and bustling with thousands of people, may be what immediately springs to mind, our beloved city is also blessed with some fantastic vintage and consignment shops dotted in every corner.
Find our guide to vintage shopping in London, organised geographically to ensure you can shop with ease. Designed to give you a guide to North & West and Central & East London vintage shopping so you can shop by area and avoid long treks on the tube:
EAST
STORM IN A TEACUP, 366 Kingsland Road, Haggerston
Another favourite of mine, nestled in-between Haggerston and Dalston some of London’s trendiest boroughs, Storm in a Teacup is a cosy and sultry boutique with a killer selection of varied designers from Simone Rocha to Balenciaga, Celine, Vivienne Westwood, Balmain, Gucci, Armani, YSL, Paul Gautier, Versace, Gucci, Dior and more. On a recent trip, I was quickly distracted by a beautiful embossed feather trimmed Simone Rocha pant suit with matching 90s inspired, chunky flat-from sandals (also feather trimmed too, I might add!), which I immediately tried on and fell in love with. While the pant suit came home with me, I had to leave the beloved shoes behind. I thought the suit was well priced at £240 for both pieces, considering this brand retails, on average, between £400-£1500 depending on the item. I thought it would be a fantastic statement look for an evening event, cocktail party or even a winter or autumn wedding, if like me, you don’t see wearing black to a wedding as a major faux-pas. You will find it featured in our Stylish Wedding Guest Outfit Ideas article! I also spotted a beautiful olive green silk dress from Stella McCartney, which would have made for another beautiful wedding guest outfit but sadly the fit wasn’t quite right.
Storm in a Teacup have a good selection of menswear which makes for a change when it comes to premium vintage and consignment shop s which tend to be more womenswear focused. Find Storm in a Teacup’s online offering, HERE and find them on instagram, HERE.
Simone Rocha Suit available to rent via ByRotation
SEROTONIN VINTAGE, 194 Brick Lane, Shoreditch, E1 6SA
The infamous Brick Lane is often thought of as the mecca of vintage shopping. In my experience I have found the vintage shopping can be great, but it can also be quite varied. While I can agree it is the place for the more traditional vintage shopping which can sometimes fall into the slightly musty vintage boutique category, I found the more premium, elevated experience to be slightly lacking at times. Having said that, Serotonin Vintage quickly dispelled this chain of thought. This small, edgy vintage boutique certainly packs a punch when it comes to designers. There is a strong nineties/noughties feel to the boutique, it’s loud, GEN-Z appropriate and colourful. I spotted a great selection of graphic, cropped tees and figure-hugging dresses that would feel at home at a day party or rave, dare I say it, from Versace to Moschino, Gucci, Prada and Missoni. I also tried on a pair of burnt orange suede, high waisted trousers which I was tempted by, but decided were just a touch too snug to take home.
Find Serotonin Vintage’s online offering HERE, and follow them on insta, HERE.
NORDIC POETRY, 141 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG
Just a 2 minute walk from Serotonin, Nordic Poetry is another one of my ‘go to’ vintage shops, which as previously explained, continued to dispelled my thinking that Brick Lane lacked in premium and luxury vintage shops. Nordic Poetry has a selected but beautifully curated selection of designer brands. I was quickly taken with an original Gianna Versace, pink, slightly cropped, cardigan which was so soft to touch and worked perfectly with my trench and high-waisted jeans. They also had a pair of pink trousers that I thought would combine perfectly. Although it didn’t come back with me, it’s safe to say I’ve thought of it on many occasion since!
Find Nordic Poetry’s online offering HERE, or find them on insta HERE.
NON STOP VINTAGE
This one may be more for the lads or unisex styling, with a selection of majority high-street brands when it comes to their range. Having said that, on quick reflection and a sneaky peruse of the shop I did spot an impressive array of canvas Burberry trenches tucked away in the corner. So if you’re in the market for vintage 90s inspired Nike, Adidas or Fila hoddies, oversized patterned shirts, or a trench, it’s the one for you.
Find Non Stop Vintage on instagram HERE.
RETROUVÉ, 23 Broadway Market E8 4PH
With two locations in Broadway Market and Hackney, Retrové is an established vintage seller with a tasteful curation of pretty, colourful dresses and silk kimonos and a french-inspired, and chicly decorated boutique.
CENTRAL
CSD (Consigned Sealed & Delivered)
As far as consignment stores go, CSD is pretty up there. Just to be completely transparent, as I understand it, the difference between vintage and consignment stores lies in the era that the clothes are sourced from. While vintage shops will source pieces from decades gone by, consignment stores may be selling last season items, based more directly on the clients or consigners they receive stock from.
While there were plenty of pieces that caught my eye, the item that grabbed my attention was a stunning, tangerine orange Bottega Veneta slouchy bag featured below, which is listed at approx £1000 (compared to £2000 retail). Having checked online it is still available so please check in out, although it would break my heart if someone were to purchase it! CSD update their online offering regularly and have more product range than in store. I personally prefer the ‘in-store’ experience as I find sizing can be very varied when it comes to shopping vintage and designer, but I would recommend checking them out online if the store is a trek to get to.
Find CSD’s online offering HERE or follow them on insta HERE.
SIGN OF THE TIMES (SOTT), 5 Elystan Street, Chelsea, SW3 3NT
Sign of the Times is another consignment shop and luxury resale platform, with an impressive curation of designer, premium and contemporary brands from Gucci, Chanel and Prada, to Marni, Cezanne, Needle & Thread and Isabel Marant. On average, prices range from £100-£700 for clothing, with handbags coming in considerably higher. SOTT is also a great place to those looking to sell luxury designer or premium brand items, offering a limited deal of 70% commission on selected brands and a ‘pick-up’ service within 15 mile radius of their store. Details are explained in their ‘How to Sell with us’ section.
Check them out online HERE, find them on instagram HERE.
OUT OF THE ORDINARY (OOTO), FENWICKS
OOTO have a permanent space at the historic establishment that is Fenwicks Bond Street, with a selection of iconic pieces, from the Tom Ford sequin gown worn by Rihanna on the cover of Vogue in 2016 to Alexander McQueen’s tartan from the 90s. Owning a piece of fashion history however comes at a price, you can expect price tags to be over the thousands however the sophisticated curation and exclusive space reflects the quality of items and gives its buyer the ultimate luxury vintage experience.
For more specific items or personal styling appointments, you can make an enquiry with OOTO. They have a boutique located nearby for private appointments.
