Market Mania

Rosanna and I have been busy hitting all the vintage markets here in London. We miss working with Looking for Lola and this trip has been just what we needed to get our creative juices flowing. Watch out for Looking for Lola updates coming very soon! In the meantime, here is the ultimate vintage shopping experience!

SPITALFIELDS MARKET

We decided to grab a bite for some energy at this charming place called Lila's Shop.

Loved the quaint, cozy vibe of the place!

This girl has it made. She looked so chill, just knitting and waiting for her cherries and her cordial.

Eggs with sage

Polish meat platter, Cheese platter, Pheasant eggs

This all made for a great meal! Simple, rustic and delicious!

Read more after the jump!

Disclaimer: Picture-heavy post follows.

After lunch, we walked to the market proper. While we did find some booths selling interesting vintage items, a lot of the stalls were also selling Bangkok clothes at London prices! Naturally, we had to pass those up. All in all, Spitalfields wasn't exactly our favorite but here are the booths that were still pretty cool.

A lot of the stalls were selling costumes and paraphernalia. Sailor, soldier, they had it all!

Littlemissr and I goofing off instead of shopping

PORTOBELLO MARKET

After a disappointing trip to Spitalfields, we knew that we had to drop by the institution that is Portobello. Luckily, we went on a Saturday so P was able to come with us.

Amazing mounds of vintage jewelry! You have to weed through some tourist crap they have out though, Rosanna will attest to this.

This shop had the most amazing Native American jewelry!

Headless street acts

Treasure trove of vintage bags! I loved all the old lady purses. Check out the barrel bag on the bottom left corner.

There was a separate area for the vintage clothes. The selection is a hundred times better than at our local ukay-ukays but the prices are astronomical! The proprietors know their vintage and designers well and they value the uniqueness of the clothes instead of seeing them just as second-hand or used items.

They had beautifully embellished jackets that I went crazy for! Those fetched for around P5,000 at some shops.

Another great buy in London are the prints! They have lovely wall art that would look good in any room. Portobello carried a lot of these antique map prints and vintage fashion magazine pages. All in all, it was a great stop, a definite must-see when in London.

BRICKLANE MARKET

Sunday was Bricklane day for us. In terms of size, it's definitely dwarfed by Portobello. The prices of the vintage are much more manageable though and the area had a really nice vibe.

Pop-up shop

Found a really pretty 70's sun dress on this rail for only 5 pounds! Not bad!

I really love how they value the story behind the clothes and don't see them as another person's garbage. Although all that value isn't helpful to my wallet!