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Compiled by Katie Dailey, Maggie Davis and Dan Jones
We’ve distilled a top 50 list and roped in a panel of celebrity shopping and style experts to pick their favourites
Vintage doesn‘t always mean cheap. But we think it should. So we‘ve ...
As bargain hunting becomes a national sport, what better time to go to a...
Don't throw it away - get it fixed! In these economically and environmen...
Until Sun Jul 1, Design MuseumA retrospective of shoemaker master Christian Louboutin's work, examining the evolution of the French desig...
Selfridges is once again opening up its rooftop terrace - but this time, there's a distinct lack of water. ...
Until Sat Dec 22, Hoxton StreetCovering only a small part of one of London's quirkiest streets, Hoxton Street Market is supposedly open Mo...
Until Fri Jun 1, Harvey NicholsAs if a rendez vous at the Fifth Floor Terrace of Harvey Nichols isn't delightful enough, a clutch of Briti...
Until Sun Dec 23, Upton ParkWalk out of Upton Park tube station and turn left: Queen's Market sprawls out to your right. This is arguab...
Ross Barry and his sister Michelle Goggi are part of a textile dynasty – an east London family business called LMB, with a history of recycling clothing and wholesaling vintage. Searching for a small site to open their first store, they discovered something more exciting – 123 Bethnal Green Road, a huge Grade II-listed building looming high over Brick Lane.
After a two-year renovation project, this August they opened their vintage and sustainable fashion store to wide acclaim. Look out for pieces by Noki designer JJ Hudson and accessories by Judy Blame.
Stockholm conceptual fashion and design brand Acne opened on Dover Street this August with a beautiful store that is just as clipped and clean as its collections. It’s a skinny, fourstorey ex-gallery with artfully placed accessories, men’s and women’s clothing, Acne’s optical illusion furniture and its core denim in all manner of clever washes.
But if you’re thinking all this conceptualism might seem a little dry, just look out for the brand’s leather aviator jacket, priced at a lip-biting £1,035 – who says the Swedes don’t have a sense of humour?
The clothes might be a little on the twee side (exactly how many bows can you get on one top?) but we are still head over heels about Anthropologie’s interiors-focused 10,000-square-foot store on the King’s Road.
Opened in March, it’s situated in the stunning Antiquarius building (formerly home to the antiques market) and sells an inspiring mix of homewares and fashion that has been attracting a new tribe of smart shoppers to this end of the famous street. Come here for hardto- get labels from Denmark, France and, er, Wales. Emphasis here is on femininity with a sense of humour.
A cathedral to geekery, the exposed brickwork, big old oak tables and stone floors make this Apple’s most inviting store (it is also the world’s biggest). There are separate rooms – set out over three storeys – devoted to each product line.
And it’s the world’s first Apple store to feature a Start Up Room where staff will help set up your new iPad, iPhone, iPod or Mac, or transfer files from your old computer to your new one – all for free. This is the kind of futuristic store you dreamed about as a kid. If you were a nerdy kid.
Despite having a name that sounds ominously like a sex club, Darkroom has snuck into our list (even though it technically opened at the end of December last year) and it’s perfectly placed on the brilliant Lamb’s Conduit Street, and fashion accessories are displayed against black walls and lampshades, with the space doubling as a gallery for exhibitions, interiors and collaborations.
Regular readers will know Labour & Wait is a fondly thought of old flame of ours. It’s so good at sourcing tasteful, timeless and genuinely useful bits for the home, and presenting them in a friendly way, that we not only want to shop there, we’d go as far as living there if they’d have us.
So you can imagine our delight that it’s opened up sunny, spacious new premises in an old pub on Redchurch Street, with much more room for its glorious brand of aesthetically pleasing mops, enamel bread bins and stylish ladles that will last a lifetime.
With about twice as much floorspace as the original Cheshire Street shop (which will now only open on Sundays), it is adding more sizable stuff, such as sturdy German enamel washbasins (£130) and a wider range of traditional British workwear, to its wares.
May saw the opening of the palatial Louis Vuitton Maison, designed by New York’s Peter Marino and stocking only rare and exclusive Vuitton pieces. Complete with a Men’s Club Area, gigantic changing rooms and a chic ‘Librairie’, which sells Brit art books, this shop encompasses every aspect of the jet-set lifestyle.
Still, we like nipping in just to gawk at the sumptuous shop interior complete with Takashi Murakami installations (pictured), stacked monogrammed cases and well-coiffed customers.
Having opened its doors at the beginning of London Fashion Week, Lucy in Disguise is hands down the biggest celebrity store opening of the year. Lily Allen and her half-sister Sarah Owen decided to channel their love of vintage fashion into a store. And the jaw-dropping surprise is that it’s actually quite brilliant.
The 3,000-square-foot store in King Street, Covent Garden, is done up in the style of a sprawling bachelorette apartment with rails of pretty party dresses and bell jars housing rare accessories lit by retro chandeliers and a pair of pink neon lips. High-quality vintage – from froufrou ’50s prom dresses to pieces by Chanel, Ossie Clark and Biba – sit alongside Donna Ida denim and Lucy in Disguise-branded candles, T-shirts, screen prints and Samsung laptops.
Allen’s celebrity will be Lucy in Disguise’s obvious draw, but the glittering stock, branded accessories and slick retro interior will genuinely delight.
We first visited Machine-A with London style blogger Susie Lau (www.stylebubble.typepad.com) who picked the avant-garde Soho boutique as one of her favourite shops in London. With a 2010 name change (the store used to be known as Digitaria) and revamp, owner Stavros Karelis has created a boutique in the vein of (now defunct) Pineal Eye.
Shopping here is a slightly unnerving experience, but once you navigate past the often controversial window displays, you’ll find some of the most conceptual – and challenging – design in the capital.
Mary Portas’s hugely successful pop-up shop of last June in Westfield London was the beginning of an ongoing project with Save the Children. Lending her shrewd eye to the charity’s network of shops, she helped rebrand one of its existing west London sites this May. It’s more boutique than bargain basement, and its popularity has been extraordinary.
It’s had donations from labels Acne, Stella McCartney, Agent Provocateur and Paul Smith, plus celebs including Lauren Laverne, and has possibly the UK’s only charity shop waiting list: its vintage Chanel bag collection (from £699 each) has become a cult favourite with the posh shoppers of Westbourne Grove.
Stylist, illustrator and DJ Fee Doran is better known as her alter-ego (and fashion label), Mrs Jones. After a long career of dressing celebs – most recently Florence Welch and Cheryl Cole – this June she opened up her private studio as a shop.
It was already a popular hangout space for music industry insiders, but now you can browse Doran’s ephemera-filled studio, from her own collection, ‘Backstage’, to furniture and knick-knacks, or book an appointment with a resident hairstylist. You can even commission Doran to create a bespoke outfit.
Fighting off Tesco for a site in one of London’s most independently spirited neighbourhoods, The People’s Supermarket is a project close to the heart of celeb chef Arthur Potts-Dawson and ex-Marks & Spencer executive Kate Wickes-Bull.
The duo have rallied the local community into buying into the scheme – literally. Although anyone can shop at the store, full membership (which scores you a 10 per cent discount and a say in how the shop is run) will cost you £25 and four hours per month working in the store.
What you get is fresh, locally sourced (when possible) supermarket fare, dirt cheap and airfreight free; new jobs for locals; and all profits going back into the business.
Proving that simple ideas are the best, Browns has recently opened a boutique selling what it calls ‘the staple items you can’t live without’. The idea is that you can come here for all your wardrobe essentials, albeit luxurious ones.
You’ve been looking for the ultimate Breton top? How about the melt-in-the-hands cashmere version by Vince, at £140. Or the perfect cotton T-shirt? Try a James Pearse, from £55. Other brands include Burberry Brit, Carven and Ruffian Bodyline.
In June, partners Jess Collins and Oli Stanion opened their vintage-store-ona- shoestring The Vintage Emporium, on Brick Lane back-alley Bacon Street. With clothing from the Victorian era through to the 1950s, its vintage timeframe is tighter than that of nearby rivals, but all the better for it. We love this relaxed emporium with its café (complete with bright yellow 1960s Gaggia coffee machine) and top-notch merchandising. Oh and the naked life-drawing classes – now that’s a sight to behold as you sip your herbal tea.
In February this year, a new concept boutique opened on Ledbury Road with a somewhat rare philosophy – to bypass well known luxury labels and showcase the work of young designers instead. A portion of retail space is rented out to each fledgling label, and in turn, they get snapped up by stylesavvy west Londoners – and gain business advice on how to grow their brand.
Owners (and partners) Samir Ceric and Zoë Knight have excellent style credentials (Ceric is an art gallery owner and Knight is a lauded accessories designer who has worked for big names like Anya Hindmarch and Stella McCartney at Chloé) and the pair have already garnered a prestigious Walpole Brand of Tomorrow award and a pop-up shop in Selfridges.
After reading below I made a special trip to Conmigo’s Boutique on Worship street and found the most perfect dress at a price I could afford, amazing for a unique design. Unbelievable service, worth every minute of my journey, I will be back, thank you Conmigo!
I also found a very well appointed boutique with clothes which, despite being individually designed are very competitively priced. We're talking mid-high street price range despite the luxurious fabrics. Owner very helpful too. Apparently award winning designer from St Martin's with a very personal service. Try it out - Conmigo Fashion - 93 Worship St.
Found a lovely new boutique, Conmigo at 93 Worship St, great style, individually designed and wonderful service.
The best new shop is Visibility Lighting in Hampstead - Flask Walk. The small shop has truly unique vintage pieces, Italian classics and contemporary fittings. I had my whole house lighting scheme designed and installed by them. They also have great Christmas lights.
A NEW shop with the most beautiful display and unique range of stunning wrapped gifts, NUTSHELL 168 Muswell Hill Broadway, Muswell Hill, definitely worth the trip.
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