Penny Blood's Black Book » Vintage

Bang Bang

Penny Blood — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:07:07 +0000

I’m frequently drawn in to Bang bang by a cute pair of Chanel flats or a Vivienne Westwood jacket that I kid myself will be in my price range, they are after all second hand. That’s the problem with designer vintage, they charge you more than what the item cost brand new for the privilege of wearing something that isn’t made anymore. Oh but of course I forgot, that makes it totally worth it. I always justify buying expensive second hand clothes by reminding myself and everyone else that I’m merely keeping my carbon footprint spotless by re-cycling and not patronising the slave trade in Indonesia by buying clothes made in Italy. Bang bang is all about second hand designer, but is reasonable low-rent so you may find something affordable it’s not all about jeans, t-shirts and leather jackets which despite the fact there are racks and racks of them you’ll never find a good one.

http://www.myspace.com/bangbangexchange

9 Berwick Street, London W1F 0PJ
020 7494 2042
Monday – Saturday 11am-6.30pm Closed Sundays

21 Goodge Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 2PJ
020 7631 4191
Monday – Friday 10am-6.30pm Saturday 11am-6pm Closed Sundays

East End Thrift Store

Penny Blood — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:06:35 +0000

There is little point really in reviewing vintage shops, (I might as well just list them) as they are more of less all the same and stock the same stuff depending on the trend. If leather jackets, lumberjack shirts or old t-shirts with baseball team logo’s on them ever go out of fashion most of these places will close down. Past the Turkish kebab shops and the fried chicken, past the 99p shops and dodgy guys lurking by the corner hawking drugs and stolen mobile phones and down a cobbled alleyway, you’ll find The East End Thrift Store. It’s a good one mainly because it’s in the middle of nowhere so you have plenty of room to browse and it’s cheaper than the better located ones.

http://www.theeastendthriftstore.com/

Unit 1a Watermans Building, Assembly Passage, Stepney, E1
020 7423 9700
Monday – Sunday 11am-6pm

Shock and Soul

Penny Blood — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:05:23 +0000

http://www.shockandsoul.co.uk/

100 Islington High Street, London N1 8EG
020 7359 1490
Monday – Tuesday 11am – 7pm Wedneday 11am-8pm
Thursday – Saturday 11am-5pm Sunday 12pm-6pm

Radio Days & What the Butler Wore

Penny Blood — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:04:34 +0000

When it comes to vintage I think London trumps any other city. Well yes every vintage store sells the same stuff like it’s all sourced from some giant warehouse in the sky but at least it’s all somewhat affordable. LA used to be cheap, not any more, New York is so expensive you’d be better off shopping at American Apparel, to hell with being original, Paris is good but the stores are tiny, full of French people who won’t get out the way and you have to have some seriously strong biceps to root through the clothes crammed in within an inch of their life. Radio days has a great collection of all things vintage, kitchenware, accessories, knick-knacks, shoes, clothes and so on. It’s been here a long time and the owners are seriously dedicated. It has that vibe of somewhere you’ll just know you will find something great, even if it is a pair of mustard brown Chelsea boots a size too small.

http://radiodaysvintage.co.uk/

87 Lower Marsh Street, Waterloo, London SE1 7AB
020 7928 0800
Monday – Saturday 10-6pm, Friday closed at 7pm

Rokit

Penny Blood — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:03:31 +0000

I’m standing outside Rokit in Covent Garden, pacing back and forth deciding whether or not to go in, I could just have a quick look, I doubt there will be anything I want, well what’s the point of going in then? Well there might be something I want, something that would infinitely improve my life as I know it, I have no problems though, my only real problems are financial. I head straight for the faux-fur and there it is, a leopard print coat, a la Kate Moss. I try it on and it’s perfect, but I really can’t afford anything new right now, I haven’t worked in days….. hmmm but I’ll never see one quite so perfect again will I? If it’s £25 I’ll get it, if it’s £40 I won’t. I look at the price tag it’s £65. So of course I buy the coat, I wouldn’t be complete without it. And anyway the seventies throw back shop assistant has been circling me the whole time I’m in the shop he likes it he also looks like an extra from a Russ Meyer film. Where do they find these people?

http://www.rokit.co.uk/

101 / 107 Brick Lane, London, E1 6SE
0207 375 3864 / 0207 247 3777
Monday – Friday 11am-7pm Saturday – Sunday 10am-7pm

225 High Street, Camden, London, NW1 7BU
0207 267 3046
Monday – Sunday 10am-7pm

42 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2 9H2
0207 836 6547
Monday – Saturday 10am-7pm Sunday 11am-6pm

Rellik

Penny Blood — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:24:53 +0000

When I asked if I could take a photograph I got a grunted reply of “urgh people are always asking us that” , the main reason anyone comes here is for the “super elevated gillie” platforms with 9-inch heels and 4-inch platforms from Vivienne Westwood’s 1993 fall-winter Anglomania collection that Naomi Campbell fell over in, of which they always seems to have a pair of. Actually they have a lot of Vivienne Westwood stuff. Vintage is a word that gets banded around way too frequently as lets face it most ‘Vintage shops’ are in reality merely second hand shops but due to its vast collection of great vintage designer stuff, Rellik is definitely worthy of the title. I think the greater attraction though is the spectacular Trellik tower next door. It was designed by Erno Goldfinger in 1972 and is truly my favourite building in London.

http://www.relliklondon.co.uk/

8 Golborne Road, North Kensington, London, W10 5NW
020 8962 0089
Tuesday – Saturday 10am-6pm

Absolute Vintage

Penny Blood — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:24:14 +0000

This is my main go-to place for bags, boots and shoes. There are a lot of shoes and this is when being arranged by colour can be useful. Despite the fact that slouchy leather boots your mother wore in the 70’s is a trend that I feel should have died out circa 2006, Absolute Vintage does still seems to do a roaring trade as it’s always busy. Its pretty big and like Beyond Retro covers pretty much everything and staffed by little Japanese girls. I have many a good find from here most of which were practically un-wearable before I bought it, but I love to collect clothes, I buy things I will never wear but at least if I own it then I can in years to come pretend that I used to where it all the time. This includes a pair of lovely Frank Thomas biker books a size too small and a native headdress from Papua New Guinea inspired from a shoot in Dazed and Confused.

http://www.absolutevintage.co.uk/

15 Hanbury St, London, E1 6QR
020 72473883
Monday – Saturday 11am – 7pm Sunday 11am – 7pm

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Beyond Retro

Penny Blood — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:23:45 +0000

An awful lot of fuss is made about Beacon’s Closet in New York, it’s supposed to be a big deal that all the clothes are arranged in colour rather than style. I personally don’t know many people who go out shopping for something orange rather than those that say go looking for a dress or a leather jacket. Anyway when it comes to Vintage I could name several places that would easily beat Beacon’s Closet, Beyond Retro being one of them. It’s somewhat vast and you need a lot of patience to root through it all. It covers everything from old prom dresses to lumberjack shirts and vintage jackets but needless to say there are lot of old t-shirts and flimsy nightie style dresses that no one should ever wear but like always with vintage shops if you put in the time and root through the rails something usually comes of it.

http://www.beyondretro.com/

110-112 Cheshire St, London, E2 6EJ
020 76133636
Monday – Wednesday 10am – 7pm Thursday 10am – 8pm
Friday – Saturday 10am – 7pm Sunday: 12am – 6pm

58-59 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7JY
020 7434 1406
Monday – Wednesday 10.30am – 7.30pm Thursday – Friday: 10.30am – 8.30pm
Saturday 10.30am – 7.30pm Sunday 10am – 6pm