Thrift shopping is a lifestyle.
Honestly, some people (especially older people) often tend to associate thrift shopping with something dirty, but really, don’t listen to them. A lot of the best clothes you will find are often only available through vintage shops — a lot of old designs that will not be available in any stores you frequent, but will be exactly up your alley.
Additionally, if you go thrift shopping all of these clothes will cost you times and times less than what their real retail price would be. And that’s a wonderful bonus — especially for those of us who are trying to save up a little.
Thrift shopping is also extremely big in London. So without further ado: here are some of the best locations for vintage shopping in the wonderful capital of the United Kingdom.
One of the best thrift shopping locations in London, Atika offers a giant selection of both clothing and homeware.
Selling the most stylish items you can find out there in the vintage areas of the fashion department, it is considered one of the most popular and good thrift stores in London — so much so that they have an online store.
And it’s not far from Brick Lane. Of course.
55-59 Hanbury St, Spitalfields, London E1 5JP
One of the most iconic thrift shopping locations — everything is on Brick Lane, after all — the Brick Lane Vintage Market offers a giant selection of things, from wonderfully revamped old clothes to really stylish and handmade new items that are relatively cheap, really.
A big space in the very heart of Brick Lane, this market is sure to be worth your time. It neighbours with a lot of new, indie clothing and accessory stores, as well as delicious places to eat at, too, so dedicating a whole day to exploring Brick Lane might be a good idea. A couple of hours will surely not be enough.
85 Brick Ln, Spitalfields, London E1 6QL
Another one of the fancy thrift shopping locations with their own online shops, Reign Vintage, located in Soho, the very heart of London, offers a very wide selection of a lot of different styles — anywhere from cute, 50s dresses with flowers on them, to denim, to resell items from big name brands, sold at very reasonable prices.
12 Berwick St, Soho, London W1F 0PN
Yet again — very popular, very wide selection and with its own online store, Beyond Retro is iconic not just because of its immensely wide selection, but also because it’s international — it has two stores in East London (one of which is yes, of course on Brick Lane), one in Soho, a couple in other cities and several stores in Sweden.
Its selection fits to most styles: anywhere from the bright neon to the mature office worker. This iconic thrift shopping location is sure to leave an impression on you as soon as you walk in.
110-112 Cheshire St, London, E2 6EJ
92 -100 Stoke Newington Road, London, N16 7XB
58-59 Great Marlborough St, London, W1F 7JY
Located in Soho, this thrift shopping location claims to have the biggest collection of bags and shoes amongst the UK’s vintage shops. It is difficult to check, but the numbers they have are indeed very impressive.
Absolute Vintage is a well-established store that Londoners sure adore, for a good reason.
15 Hanbury Street, London, E1 6QR
Unit 2, 114-118 Commercial Street, London, E1 6NF
Overall, thrift shopping is a very large part of the UK’s culture, with its immense population of students, both domestic and international. It’s an incredible way to be fashionable for less, and to give life to older clothing instead of being complicit in the fast fashion epidemic.
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