Going to London

[Little lady]

Hi Ladies of the Fedora Lounge!

Late in october I am going to visit London (second time going), and I'd love to get some tips on where to go to shop, or any other suggestions


I am in particular interested in a place that sells vintage or completely vintage looking cat eye frames. I wear glasses everyday, and I'd love to get a more stylish pair.
I know of website that sell them, and regularly window shop there, but I really need to try them on to see what shapes, colours and sizes suit me.

I would love to hear what your favourite places in London are!

 

[hellsbellslolly]

Hiya, I hope you have an awesome time during your stay. I don't know any specific eye wear shops I'm afraid. But you could try Camden? Shops, gosh there are so many. A good place to go if your in need of brunch or afternoon tea is here.
http://www.drinkshopdo.com/Drink,_Shop_&_Do/Drink,_Shop_&_Do_—_Home.html in Kings cross

what sort of stuff do you like? country living usually do a lovely xmas fair around that time in Islington - ottolenghis in the high st neat by do awesome food

 

[Little lady]

Thank you hellsbellslolly, the place you linked to looks very nice. I'm not really sure what I enjoy, but food wise vegetarian, and I do drink plenty of tea. Also, being here I guess you can tell I have an interest for vintage fashion (mainly 1940/50's to early mad men like 60's), I like old music and new rockabilly stuff, and I like old movies. I'm not sure if this is what you where refering to?

I'm a practical traveller more than anything. Travelling usually makes me stressed but if I get done usefull things, I'll be happy with the result when I get back, and can relax again. I appriciate strange things, like how easy the subway makes getting around, or how convenient it is that I can understand the language and make myself understood fairly well, though there certainly is room for improovement on my side of it.
Knowing I am this way, I have planned some christmas gifts to buy (so a christmas fair sounds like a good thing to try to find some more , and a visit to Bravissimo. I like well fitting bras, and also retro like things such as stockings and full cut panties, but also underwear in general. If there is a great vintage clothing shop or two to add to my list, that might be interesting, trying on instead of ordering over the internet, maybe I might find a dress. Where I am, there really only are second hand stores.
A good place to shop vegan shoes might be interesting.

I briefly visited Cameden the last time I was in London, but I picked the wrong day to do it, there where so many people. I loved to see how the "normal" looking people where the odd ones in the crowd. I really enjoyed the peek.

 

[Miss Sis]

I' d suggest you go to Portobello Road market on your trip. If you go on a Saturday, it is very busy, but all the shops, arcades and stalls are open. Prepare to spend most of the day there! Loads to see - a real experience and LOTS of vintage. (EDIT: A few places are open on Fridays but not many and the rest of the week there is only the food stalls, so you need to go Saturday.)

At the Ladbroke Grove end of the market is the What Katie Did shop inside the Portobello Green Arcade, selling vintage style underwear. The address is: 26 Portobello Green, 281 Portobello Road, London W10 5TZ and their website is http://www.whatkatiedid.com/

 

[Kate O Potato]

Just outside London in St Albans is Robert Roope opticians, which is the home of Retrospecs. If you plan to visit, note down some frames from their website that you want to try and they can get them from their stockroom. If you turn up without a clue, they have too many frames to just bring out the lot!

I'm not a great fan of the obvious London stores like Beyond Retro, but I was drawn into Lucy in Disguise the other day... until I saw their price tags!

For fun, vintage-esque food, I love Ed's Easy Diners, which are 50s themed, complete with mini-jukeboxes.

Enjoy!

 

[Saint-Just]

You might want to have a walk around Broadwick Street in Soho.
From a history point, there was a water pump which John Snow identified as responsible for the 1854 cholera outbreak, using analytical and statistical methods for the first time to identify the source of the disease.

And then you could walk to the shop at number 6
Although it is very fashionable, there is a 60s connection since this shop was where Vivienne Westwood's son created his label

:eyebrows::love:

 

[Little lady]

Miss Sis Portobello road market sounds great! I have been to what katie did before, and shopped online, not a lot of their stuff fits me well, I love the stockings though. It's neat that they do higher denier stockings also, not many do, the French knickers/tap pants are interesting too it would be nice to try them on.

Kate O Potato I love the internet, I was able to check all of what you mentioned! I knew the retrospecs website before actually, they do inteed have a lot of frames. Lucy in disguise seemed over my budget too. Ed's easy diners looked frightening to a vegetarian at first, but I found out they do have options made for us too I was able to determin there are trains going to St Albans. I'm really going to be in London only, so if there are any options there, that would be better, but maybe I can make the visit possible.

Saint-Just I must admit to not knowing what label he made before clicking the link, I do know the brand though, I don't live under a rock all the time There is a more direct connection though, the have stockings, even with back seams. Haven't tried them, but I believe I've heard they are good. I guess this is a side note, but since we're talking about it sort of. Some places sell stockings that are rebranded (which is annoying since you might already know your size and the fit, but can't use that to your advantage), which I think they are doing, they look like they might be selling Cervin's. I do wonder if it is so.

 

[LinaSofia]

Walk down towards Brick Lane, there are lots and lots of vintage shops there. I had a terrible argument with my boyfriend the last time we were there because I just wanted to look and look and look and he got really bored... bear that in mind if you're travelling with a boy!! Deposit him at a cafe nearby .

 

[Miss sofia]

Or a record shop!!

 

[LinaSofia]

yeah, much better!!

 

[Saint-Just]

We have a few day care centres in London (although this photo was taken elsewhere)...

 

[W-D Forties]

When I used to live in London we used to spend almost every weekend at Greenwich Market, which (at the time) was ace with lots of vintage stuff, cheaper and not as crowded as Camden. It may have changed since, but it's still a lovely place to spend the day anyway. 'The Observatory' on Greenwich High Street used to be a great place for vintage fashion, if it's still there of course!

 

[Little lady]

Saint-Just: Hilarious ^^

LinaSofia: Google seraching vintage and brick lane definitely looks great

W-D Forties: Thank you for the tips

 

[KatieD]

Tamar has opened a shop specialising in vintage frames 3 doors down from us at What Katie Did. Although his site features his fashion stuff he does have some great '40s and '50s frames and can fit prescription lenses. 2 of the girls in our boutique have bought great frames from him.

http://www.wearehq.com/2011/06/lunetier-vintage-and-contemporary-eyewear/

If you're going to Portobello Friday is the best day for vintage!

Katie

UOTE=Little lady;1300229]Hi Ladies of the Fedora Lounge!

Late in october I am going to visit London (second time going), and I'd love to get some tips on where to go to shop, or any other suggestions


I am in particular interested in a place that sells vintage or completely vintage looking cat eye frames. I wear glasses everyday, and I'd love to get a more stylish pair.
I know of website that sell them, and regularly window shop there, but I really need to try them on to see what shapes, colours and sizes suit me.

I would love to hear what your favourite places in London are![/QUOTE]

 

[Philip Adams]

If you like tea, then after your shopping you may want to try: http://www.vintageemporiumcafe.com/

Enjoy your trip and don't forget to let us know how you got on!

 

[Little lady]

It's nearly time for me to leave, so thank you everybody for all the nice ideas! I won't be able to read any new posts before going, so this is the end of the query for me. (Feel free to continue this thread, if anybody else wants to use it to ask for ideas, or anything else related.)