HIT REWIND
VINTAGE & ANTIQUE
LASSCO
LASSCO – or, to give it its proper title, the London Architectural Salvage and Supply Co. – forms the backbone of Bermondsey’s bustling Maltby Street Market. Marked by its glowing ‘Aloha’ entrance sign, this cavernous warehouse offers ample browsing opportunities, from coffee sack cushions to a magnificent assemblage of door knobs. Don’t forget to check out the floors – LASSCO has been salvaging timber since the nineteenth century.
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41 Maltby Street, SE1 3PA.
020 7394 8061
VIVIEN OF HOLLOWAY
For those who wish they were born in a different era, Vivien of Holloway provides the perfect 1950s time warp. Vivien has been trading her rockabilly reproductions since the tender age of eighteen, and her Holloway Road pin-up parlour is filled with full-skirted froufrou frocks, wiggle skirts and pedal pushers. She also designs alternative bridal wear starting at just £89.
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294 Holloway Road, N7 6NJ.
020 7609 8754
TOBIAS AND THE ANGEL
This charming shop in the heart of Barnes Village sports an unusual inventory of antiques, from oil can lamps to Staffordshire ceramics, and displays them in a cosy, uncontrived environment. Its own furniture range is made to measure from its workshop in Surrey, plus it’s a dab hand at whipping up a scatter cushion or cat doorstop from its hand-block-printed fabric.
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66 White Hart Lane, SW13 0PZ.
020 8878 8902
WHAT THE BUTLER WORE
Established in 1995, this ingeniously named shop has taken great care to maintain its reputation as one of the capital’s most popular vintage shops. Specialising in fashion from the 1960s and 1970s, its hits include Mary Quant inspired minis and floral flares, while for the blokes there are psychedelic shirts and sharp Mad Men-style suits.
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108 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AB.
020 7261 1968
THE OLD CINEMA
Housed in a former Edwardian picture house, The Old Cinema is billed as London’s only antique, vintage and retro department store. Attracting a high class of international interior scourers, the variety of treasures in this family-run emporium is ever changing and is particularly well-versed in kitting out home studies thanks to its wealth of Italian leather swivel chairs and mid-century desks.
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160 Chiswick High Road, W4 1PR.
020 8995 4166
THE PEANUT VENDOR
Specialising in mid-century furniture that combines style and substance, The Peanut Vendor has grown from a tiny boutique to a sizeable store. Bauhaus and Hollywood Regency are among the key schools of design influence with Art Deco mirrors, G-Plan sideboards and French floor lamps, while little luxuries include great coffee at its in-store café.
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6 Gunmakers Lane, Gunmakers Wharf, E3 5GG.
020 8981 8613
GONNERMANN
With a skew towards mid-century, Scandi-minimalist and industrial designs, this striking furniture shop in Highgate has been a favourite with interior designers and tastemakers since 1992. Founder Julian Gonnermann is an expert when it comes to retro Danish furniture for twenty-first-century homes, filling his shop with Grete Jalk sofas, Ole Wanscher armchairs and 1960s Teak sideboards.
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408-410 Archway Road, N6 5AT.
07973 310 406
BLITZ
Choosing between vintage shops around Brick Lane is like trying to decide what to order at your favourite curry house. But Blitz is a contender for the top spot. Its sprawling two-storey warehouse may be daunting, but the layout is so easy to navigate even the laziest trawler will find the 1990s slip dress of their dreams. What’s more, everything is cleaned before it hits the floor.
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55-59 Hanbury Street, E1 5JP.
020 7377 0730
WILLIAM VINTAGE
Shopping at William Vintage is far from your average thrift shop rummage. William Banks-Blaney (aka the King of Vintage) has dressed a who’s who of red carpet regulars, from Amal Clooney to Rihanna, from his vast collection of museum-worthy vintage pieces. Specialising in statement gowns and evening coats, Banks-Blaney believes that vintage looks its best when paired with modern-day accessories. Along with well-known fashion houses, from couture by Dior to Chanel tweed suits, his edit also champions lesser known names from bygone eras. Take William Travilla, who designed costumes for Marilyn Monroe including that iconic ivory dress, and Louis Feraud who was beloved by Brigitte Bardot. As such, you won’t find any bargain bins here – typical buys can be anywhere in the region of £200 up to an eye-watering £25,000.
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2 Marylebone Street, W1G 8JQ.
020 7487 4322
PELICANS & PARROTS
At number 40 Stoke Newington Road, collector of curiosities Juliet Da Silva stocks her shop with fine vintage threads sourced in Italy. A few doors up at number 81, her partner Ochuko Ojiro mans the homeware outpost – Pelicans & Parrots Black – which treasures stylish antique furniture and artefacts. Together, their taste for the weird and wonderful makes for one of Dalston’s most eclectic shopping opportunities, whether you’re after a 1980s Moschino jacket or a Bamileke wall hanging from Cameroon. If you fancy a Pina Colada after your perusing, the duo also run a subterranean rum shack called Below, which is hidden beneath its furniture shop – though you have to find it first. Tip: the secret door in the neighbouring Hang-Up Gallery might be a good place to start...
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40 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7XJ.
020 3215 2083
