Fashion shopping in London
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TopShop & Topman
Topshop is the ‘It’-store when it comes to high-street shopping. Encapsulating London’s supreme skill at bringing catwalk fashion to the youth market affordably and quickly, it constantly innovates by working with young designers and celebrities. It’s the store that famously runs the popular Kate Moss collection. It has an entire floor dedicated to accessories (hair clips, tights, sunglasses, you name it). And if the store’s five floors intimidate you, you can book an appointment with a personal shopper.
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Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie’s signature wholesome look (denims, jersey tops, cosy knitwear, perfectly tailored cotton shirts) doesn’t seem to wane in popularity, despite the relatively high price tag. This shop is busy from the minute it opens its doors, and at weekends queues for the till snake through the ground floor. The store itself is more nightclub than classic retail: loud dance music, dark, moody lighting, overpowering perfume and topless hunks greet you at the entrance.
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Stella McCartney
Her sharp tailoring, floaty designs and accessible style and ‘ethical’ approach to fashion (no leather or fur) is very of-the-moment. This three-storey terraced Victorian home is a minimalist showcase for the designer’s current collections. Depending on your devotion and wallet, you’ll feel right at ease or like an intruder.
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Vivienne Westwood
The ex-punk who dressed the punks and created the punk look now says that ‘fashion is boring’ and that she disagrees with everything she used to say. Always a controversial character with a reputation for being a bit barmy (she flashed her privates to the paparazzi after receiving her OBE), Ms Westwood is, thankfully, still designing clothes as bold, innovative and provocative as ever, featuring 19th-century-inspired bustiers, wedge shoes, tartan and sharp tailoring.
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Urban Outfitters
Probably the trendiest of all chains, this cool American store serves both men and women and has the best young designer T-shirts, an excellent designer area (stocking Paul & Joe Sister, Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label, Hussain Chalayan and See by Chloé, among others), ‘renewed’ secondhand pieces, saucy underwear, silly homewares and quirky gadgets.
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Burberry
The first traditional British brand to reach the heights of fashion, Burberry is known for its innovative take on classic pieces (bright-coloured trench coats, khaki pants with large and unusual pockets), its brand check pattern and a tailored, groomed look. You’ll see a lot of its catwalk pieces ripped off by high-street shops.
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Urban Outfitters
Another great outlet of this ubertrendy chain.
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Laden Showroom
The unofficial flagship for the latest Hoxton street wear, Laden was once ‘London’s best-kept secret’, though a raft of celebrity endorsements have made the showroom’s reputation soar and the large number of independent designers it stocks much in demand. A perfect one-stop shop for both womenswear and menswear.
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No-one
This boutique, brought to you by the same people as hip nearby drinkery Dreambagsjaguarshoes, can be found inside the Old Shoreditch station bar. It’s all ultrahip, with fashion magazines, quirky accessories and shoes, and stocks Cheap Monday, House of Dagmar and new labels for women and men.
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Beyond The Valley
An original boutique, ideal to discover new fashion talent, with clothes, jewellery, accessories and artwork on display inside the lovely shop. The Side Room, at the back of the shop, is a conservatory-style gallery space where small exhibitions regularly take place.
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Lulu Guinness
Quirky, whimsical and eye-catching British designs (the Japanese love them), from small evening bags resembling bright lips to fun umbrellas and cosmetic bags.
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Burberry Outlet Shop
This outlet shop stocks seconds from the reborn-as-trendy Brit brand’s current and last season’s collections. Prices are around 30% lower than those on the high street. Service can be brusque.
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M
Aquascutum
Despite the store’s modern look, Aquascutum’s mackintoshes, scarves, bags and hats remain traditional. For men, this means classic gabardine; for women, the look is straight lines, classic fashion and natural beauty, as worn by the super-rich.
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Ted Baker
The one-time Glaswegian tailoring shop from Glasgow has grown into a superb brand of clothing with elegant men’s and womenswear. Ted’s forte is its formalwear, with beautiful dresses for women (lots of daring prints and exquisite material) and sharp tailoring for men; the casual collections (denim, beachwear etc) are excellent too.
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Emporium
Each piece is individual at this lovely vintage shop (unisex), where glass cabinets are crammed with costume jewellery, old perfume bottles and straw hats, while gorgeous jackets and blazers intermingle on the clothes racks.
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Paul Smith
Paul Smith represents the best of British classics with innovative twists. Super-stylish menswear, suits and tailored shirts are all laid out on open shelves in this walk-in closet of a shop. Smith also does womenswear with its sharp tailoring for an androgynous, almost masculine, look.
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Sting
The new kid on the fashion block, the Sting is a ‘network of brands’: most of the clothes it stocks are European labels that are little known in the UK. Spread over three floors, you’ll find anything from casual sweatpants and fluoro T-shirts to elegant dresses, frilly tops and handsome shirts.
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Joy
Joy is an artistic blend of high street and vintage: there are excellent clothes, from silk dresses for women, fabulous shirts for men and timeless T-shirts for both, as well as funky gadgets such as a floating radio duck and dollar- and euro-shaped ice cube trays. Conventional shoppers abstain!
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123 Bethnal Green Road
Housed in a grand, corner building that dates to the late 19th century, this three-floor store brings together designs by Dr Noki and the house collection 123, both of which comprise original and striking pieces using recycled materials. You’ll find further rails on the ground floor along with homewares, and there’s a cafe and bar in the basement.
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Carhartt Outlet Store
You’ll find hoodies, sweats and jeans at this outlet of the street-wear label, as well as a small selection of similar brands. It’s tucked away on a residential street, under the railway arches just north of London Fields station. Ring the bell to get in.
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