London Shopping Guide

Quirky and Vintage

London is renowned for its unique yet personable sense of style. What sort of style? Well that all depends on what part of London you visit.

For great quirky, vintage one-offs the East is where it’s at. With so many vintage stores offering affordable prices you’ll be walking out with more than just a smile on your face. On and around Brick Lane you’ll find it hard not to stumble across the great amount of pre-loved stores selling clothes from all over the world. Down Shoreditch you’ll find great independent stores stocking local and international designers; even a quick browse will subside your shopping craves.

Up North, Angel offers the cute Camden Passage which ironically enough is not in Camden at all. There you’ll find more than just vintage clothing stores (see Shock n Soul); there are also plenty of antique sellers with beautiful watches, broaches et al.

Hop on bus route 73 and once at Soho’s Carnaby Street you’ll find more savvy independent designers where quality is of the upmost importance.

High Street

Down Carnaby Street punters will also find high street retailers, and if you walk back toward Oxford Street the stores only continue to increase in volume and capacity.

Oxford Circus is the haven of the high street shop. The flagship Topshop store stands tall with four levels of retail therapy. Continue walking to find Selfridges, John Lewis, H&M and the list goes on. This is one place where you could spend all day.

Westfield shopping centre

If the weather is misbehaving it’s best to take a trip to West London where you’ll find the biggest shopping centre in our fair city. The recently opened Westfield Shopping Centre is home to 255 high street stores which will have you giving your card a bit of exercise if you’re not careful. For everything under one roof, including supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, Westfield should be at the top of the agenda.

Don’t forget, for great supermarket prices check Tescos and Morrisons on a Saturday at around 7pm!

Markets

It’s no secret that London is packed to the brim with weekly markets, and with so much on offer the favourites really are up to personal opinion. But for fast and cheap Asian food and affordable leather Camden Market is your best bet. For amazing local food fresh from the farmer’s field there’s no place better than Borough Market and for beautiful flowers to brighten up the room head to the East’s Columbia Flower Market. Picture being wedged in a slow moving crowd, flower vendors either side of you, the high pitched scream of prices float above you. It’s a beautiful sight and for once the smell is complimentary. Come around 4:30pm when the sellers are packing up for discounted flowers!