As London Fashion Week kicks off this week, I thought it was about time for a post on vintage style.
There are few things DD and I like better than dressing up, though I have to admit a bouffant hairdo can prove problematic when DJing (headphones and all that). Oh, how we suffer for beauty.
Although dressing up isn’t compulsory at most of the nights we play at, it’s a big part of the fun. And the most fun part of the whole process is – of course – the shopping. What fun is ordering a Pink Ladies jacket or Elvis wig online compared to spending a day rummaging through racks of vintage treasures, followed by tea and cakes with your friends? NONE, I tell you.
Here’s some of our favourite London-based and online shops. It’s by no means exhaustive, as I intend to add to this post as I visit more shops and get more time to write them up properly. (I’ve left out the ones that concentrate mostly on 80s vintage because, well, I hated 80s fashion the first time round and time hasn’t mellowed me any.) If you have any suggestions, please feel free to post them in the comments and I’ll add to this list.
And here’s a little gladrags-inspired mix for you to listen to while you drool over all the vintage treasures. If you download it from the little “down” arrow and you use iTunes, it’ll show titles and photos for each of the tracks. NEAT.
Vintage Hire / Buy
Blackout II
51 Endell Street WC2 (020) 7240 5006 Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Rd tubes
Mostly women’s, though they have a good selection of hats for men. The shop is small, but everything in it is carefully selected, and thus packed with treasures. I bought an incredible 1940s tea dress to wear to DD’s wedding, and a 50s choker to match in here. You won’t find many bargains in here, but when you consider that a £80 dress from Topshop will be dishrags by this time next year, the same amount spent on a frock that still looks fabulous after 60 years doesn’t seem so bad. If that’s still too dear, they do also hire.
Modern Age
65 Chalk Farm NW1 (020) 7482 3787 – Chalk Farm or Camden tubes
Camden’s overrun with tourists nowadays, and as a result the prices in the shops have increased due to spiralling rents, but Modern Age does hire as well as sell 40s-70s styles with a great selection for men too.
Vintage Shops
Beyond Retro
110 Cheshire Street, E2 (020) 7836 5678 Whitechapel or Liverpool Street tubes; or 58 Great Marlborough Street W1 (020) 7434 1406 Oxford St or Tottenham Court Road tubes
Massive shop tucked away in railway arches just off Brick Lane, much beloved of the Shoreditch art school types. They can go a bit quantity over quality – last time I went there were truckloads of awful 80s floral dresses – but there’s still plenty of 50s and 60s gems, with tons of accessories. It’s also very reasonably priced. Also check out Hunky Dory vintage and Rokit nearby.
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