Fara is not as popular as Oxfam, and this is probably due to the fact that the books and clothes…read moreshop is really dusty, dark and a little off putting when you look at it from the street- whenever I go in there I always get the impression that I'm the first one to have gone in all day, as the staff usually look pretty surprised and then rush at me like it's their one chance to serve a customer! However, Fara does have some great clothes, and I've even found a few designer gems in the piles of clothes I've rummaged through, but if you're not prepared to sift through endless piles of second hand goods, then this isn't the place for you. The staff are helpful- as I mentioned before they are very attentive, but generally in a good, not intrusive, way. In addition, the kid's shop down the road is even nicer- much more bright and organised than the original shop, and with even more bargains. Overall, Fara is a really cheap charity shop, and if you can brave the piles of bric a brac, you can come away with some real gems. And it's all for a good cause, so it's guilt-free shopping!

From the owner: FARA Charity Shops sell a wide range of well selected, high quality and good value items in our…read moreshops across London - all generously donated by FARA supporters. Filled with designer/high street men's and women's clothing and accessories, books, media, bric-a-brac, and small furniture, our shops and friendly shop teams raise funds for FARA's vitally needed programmes helping some of Romania's most vulnerable children and young people. Donations always welcome. Open seven days a week.

I'm not a great charity shop shopper, really - I haven't got one of those waifish frames that crap…read moreclothes hang well off. But I do like this one. It's in support of the Notting Hill Housing Association, and we've given a lot to it over the years - and maybe it's because it's local that it has good stuff - last week I found a really fantastic suit, perfect fit, for £20. Probably belonged to someone dead, come to think of it. Or someone who got even fatter than me. I guess this doubles as our local second hand bookstore, too - in that way that bookstores are being replaced by charity shops. And it has a good range of VHS and DVDs, and all kinds of pretty things for gifts.

Old Hat is *the* place for vintage menswear / vintage men's suits. It's a great shop. My boyfriend…read morewas always moaning that East London and other vintage shops just don't have really high class, proper matching suits for *all* sizes (he's quite slim and not a big tall buff guy, if you know what I mean but not a whippet either), he always finds it hard to get fitted suits that are vintage. This place is now his mecca. The attire is proper gentlemen's clothes / suits and something a little more special than some of the trash in East London or the cheap nonsense in Central London. If you are a man and a fan of vintage clothes, this should be your first stop - these guys pride themselves on specialising on vintage suits and they really are the best I've found.

Does what it says on the tin…read more This Aladdin's cave of an emporium, just North of Putney Bridge is a great place to get second hand clothes. Especially good if you want to get things like Morning Suits or DJs. There is a lot of stock, so you may have to search for what you need. Go and have a browse around if you have a spare minute or two. They also do alterations. I still have the wedding outfit I got from there, and it has paid itself back many times now. This is the second hand part of David Saxby (http://www.qype.co.uk/place/preview/uk-2231579-david-saxby-fulham-london) a couple of doors away

Pretty Choicy. Part of the ever-brilliant Buy-Sell-Trade lot in Notting Hill, this is their…read morevintage and second hand clothing emporium. I rate it. Because, they actually choose and promote their best stock. So whereas with other vintage or retro shops, this only stocks really nice items. Which means it's pricey, but I think worth it. This shops sells mens' stuff, womens' stuff and jewellery. And I actually just like coming in to browse. Think I've only ever bought anything in here, and that was a fit pair of lambretta leather shoes. But whatever, they sell choice old gear... highly rated

In spite of the large size of the shop, nothing much really stood out the few times I've browsed…read morethe racks. Yes, it's fairly neatly laid out with clothes vaguely organised by colour, but the range isn't really great. Fair enough, it advertises itself as a retro store more than a vintage one, but, still, with clothing primarily from Karen Millen and Almost Famous, I'd still think this place is misrepresenting itself. If you're looking for proper, fairly decent quality retro/second-hand/possibly vintage, you should take a short walk to Pembridge Road where a much better selection of shops can be found.

As a bona fide vintage fan and sometime purveyor, I'm almost ashamed to have only discovered the…read morelegendary London Vintage Fashion Fair earlier this year. Taking place every 4 - 5 weeks at the great Modernist Hammersmith Town Hall, The Vintage Fashion Fair is where celebrities, stylists and many of London's overpriced vintage boutiques go to get their vintage wares. For a first timer the fair can be a little overwhelming, with dozens of knowledgeable sellers offering vintage fashion, accessories and textiles dating from Victorian times to the eighties and early nineties. Prices, predictably, are not cheap, but then this is high-end vintage. An original full length seventies Janice Wainwright dress will set you back around £100, a vintage Yves Saint Laurent jacket around £250 and original costume jewellery by the likes of Kenneth Jay Lane and Givenchy starts at around £50. My only criticism is the changing room situation. Although my reticence about stripping in front of dozens of other shoppers has decreased a little over years of buying at sample sales, the incongruity of trying on sixties Parisian couture in a town hall's toilets was not lost on me. Nevertheless, this hallowed fair is definitely worth a visit. Even if only for a browse because its friendly, charming sellers and magical atmosphere make this much more than a vintage shopping trip, The Vintage Fashion Fair is an experience.

This is a great place to go if you want vintage fashion away from Brick Lane, as the fair is quite…read moreestablished and usually has some great finds if you know where to look. It's not the cheapest place to buy vintage, but it is usually of a high standard, so you end up saving time by not having to trawl through so many piles of junk. Some of the sellers really know what they're talking about and have beautiful clothes. The reason I haven't given this five stars is that because due to the fact that it's indoors, it can feel a little crowded and chaotic, but as far as vintage fairs go it's comparativeley well organised, and the crowds are inevitable.

If you're sick of Westfield's rampant big name commercialism, TRAID offers you a very different…read moreoption just one street over. It's the new chain of charity shops, and focusing entirely on wearable items. You can even pick used shoes here - not everyone's cup of tea, but becoming more and more acceptable. It's about 2/3rds for women, so finding something decent for guys is not so easy. Prices are obviously very low, but not quite as low as traditional charity shops. At least your cash is going somewhere good. I'm not sure I'll return, no matter how good the business model is. I didn't find it any better than a typical Oxfam and it's a far reach from the for-profit vintage/used clothing stalls in Camden. It's somewhere in the middle and until I blag a true bargain here I'll be recommending it, but not frequenting it.

I like the idea of Traid. It's not really like the usual charity shop / thrift store. They pride…read morethemselves on selling good vintage clothes and giving the money back to the environment. Traid stands for "Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development". A worthy cause. More info can be found on their website. The actual stock in here varies from shop to shop and I've found that Traid on Uxbridge Road is one of the worst. I would rather just give the money to them direct instead of buying anything in here as the clothes are just awful and pretty much the same as any cheap charity shop. Not their best store, there aren't many in London but this one doesn't fit the bill...

What a great find! I found this store while wandering the streets of Portobello, away from the…read morecrowd. This store is located at the end of the street. They have some great vintage coats, purses, luggage bags, and BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS!!! I say BOOTS BOOTS BOOTS because I've never considered buying a pair until I came to this store. When I saw the mass amount of vintage boots this store had, my mouth dropped! It was amazing. I kept thinking, "Now I'm really going to look like a Londonian (do they even use the term Londonian?)" I was happy with my vintage boot purchase. I loved it and it was way more comfortable then most of the shoes I had. The people there were really nice and they helped me pick out the best one. They were very welcoming which made my visit even better. I asked if I could take a picture of the place and told them I'm a Yelper. They didn't know what a Yelper was until I explained to them my job description. HAHA! Keep in mind this YELP was still being established in the UK when I visit back in Feb 2009.

I walk downstairs in 282 Portobello Rd, "The Antique Clothing Shop". I browse a while, and come…read moreback up. Snobbish shop lady (I think it was owner Claudia Vispi): "Downstairs is out of bounds, (mutters) f*cking hell" Me: "I didn't realise it was out of bounds, sorry. But no need to swear." Lady: "Well, you freaked me out!" Me: "I didn't do it on purpose. The stairs weren't cordoned off so that wasn't clear to me, at all." Lady: "Well, it's clear to me" Well, glad that's cleared up then (!) Obviously, that's meaningful to the customer who comes into the store with ZERO information about your store layout. Oh, and note to self: "freaking out" a lady in a shop is legitimate grounds to be sworn at. Shame really, because the shop is nice.

I stopped into this little shop while I was strolling around Hammersmith, not expecting much. The…read morecool music playing in the background created a funky browsing atmosphere. The bags near the door begged to be tried on my shoulder. While I awkwardly attempted to see myself in a small and awkwardly placed mirror, one of the girls behind the counter graciously pointed me toward the dressing-room mirrors. (+3 points for conscientious and helpful service.) I browsed around the clothing selection and found the more vintage stuff at the back (with some truly enviable pieces for sale at pretty reasonable prices perhaps due to the shop's location outside of London proper). The middle of the store contained some more contemporary, though by no means mundane, stuff. Everything was well priced. I was quite impressed with this charity shop, as it seemed filled with more funky and vintage items than it did with patterned jumpers from the wardrobes of those with questionable fashion sense. I was moved to buy a cool faux snake-skin bag. About a month later I thought I was being mugged on High Holborn. It turns out the strap on the bag just broke. That's probably not Traid's fault. (P.S. As of the submission of this review, the Yelp information states the store is in Covent Garden, but it is in Hammersmith, as evidenced by the the obvious W6 postcode.)

I am such a fan of Traid, initially because it was almost next door to where I used to live…read more Secondly, they arrange their clothes by colour, which I used to do as well (until I started doing it by style). It is such an easy place to browse and more often than not you will find some second hand clothes that you wonder 'Why did they get rid of this?' As they say 'someone's trash is someone else's treasure'. Trousers, jackets, sweaters, skirts, dresses, bags, hats, shoes, shirts, t-shirts, everything to wear and at good prices. When there is going to be a change in their stock they begin having massive sales were everything in the store is £4, then £3 and finally £1! O.k so most of the good stuff is already gone when that happens but if you really take your time you will find something. Take a look at their re-made label, they give second life to old garments by re-designing them in really basic but effective ways. For instance, and old black sweater updated with some lace trimmings on the shoulders, for £25. Finally, Traid is a charity committed to divert waste from landfill and fund sustainable development projects in some of the poorest regions of the world. An excellent reason to shop here. Honestly.

We had the best time shopping here, great selection, the staff was extremely helpful and we left…read morewith tons of great items.

From the owner: FARA Charity Shops sell a wide range of well selected, high quality and good value items in our…read moreshops across London - all generously donated by FARA supporters. Filled with designer/high street men's and women's clothing and accessories, books, media, bric-a-brac, and small furniture, our shops and friendly shop teams raise funds for FARA's vitally needed programmes helping some of Romania's most vulnerable children and young people. Donations always welcome. Open seven days a week.

I went here during my weekly voyage to the Portobello market this weekend. From the outside it…read moreseems to be a real treat; photos of past customers Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Victoria Beckham etc cover the windows, and there is a doorbell system on the door which means you cant just stroll in from the street. After a five minute wait outside in the freezing cold we were eventually let in to what is essentially a small room with women's apparel and another tiny room behind it with menswear. The clothes are amazing quality and not just reams of eighties gear like you find in the market, there are some lovely 1940s and '50s pieces here. It is so expensive though, the bag and dress that I liked were each £150 so i swiftly made me way to the door. Its expensive but if you needed something really special this is a good place to go.

One of A Kind is my favourite vintage store on Portobello Road. And Notting Hill. Actually, it's…read moreone of my favourite vintage stores in town. Sure, the doorbell system is a bit wanky, but with clothes like this, it's easy to see why they need to monitor who comes in and out. The shop is tiny - but they have packed it with more stuff than you could believe could fit in such a small space. It's got an absolutely superb range of vintage things - from 1920s sequinned flapper dresses to some phenomenal 80s snakeskin boots. Sure, it's pretty expensive but some places have to be, right? Last time I was here, Kate Moss was also browsing. Only difference was she could afford to buy things, whereas I could not!