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.

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.

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

This is a funny little place in an odd location. Not sure…read morehow they survive as this is mainly a residential area. On the few occasions that I visited the shop I was alone in the shop. They stock an eclectic mix of vintage-style furniture and accessories. It's a lovely place and I hope it's here to stay.

a good place to get old-skool furniture at a reasonable price the old stuff doesnt fall apart!…read moretake note ikea!

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!

I'd loved the store first off they work with nonprofit so why are you spend your money? You also…read moreare helping others. The selection was great. They had a wide variety of items and they had stuff in size!!! The cost or value was definitely great and the items had carefully been selected. I truly enjoyed the checkout clerk. He was so kind and helped us out as my friend had bought some shoes and just chatted us up while we were in the store making us feel even more welcome to continue shopping and spend some money kind of sad I didn't get this red full length faux fur coat, for 50 pounds. I should've got it.

It's an undeniable fact that not all Oxfam's are created equal. And this one is arguably top of the…read moreheap. It is also a fact that charity shops in salubrious areas generally turn up the best finds, and Oxfam Kensington High Street goes a long way to proving this supposition. Vintage seventies Balenciaga sunglasses for £20, second hand Dior and Yves Saint Laurent pieces and some great premium high street clothes, I've found them all here. This is one of my favourite Oxfams in the capital, a place where charity shops are generally so popular and talked about that by the time you get there all that's left is the Dotty P. Go and go regularly. You never know what you might find.

Portobello Green is so good that I hesitated before posting it. Located under the motorway, it's…read morethe poorer, yet more stylish sister of Portobello Road Market. You can paw over old junk and bric-a-brac laid out on tables, or rummage through racks of re-styled vintage furs--that's what designers call it when they cut the arms off. Clothes and accessories by young designers are also for sale. Across the street, a group of sellers hold a guerrilla market out of suitcases and easily collapsible racks. Even junkier junk can be had for pocket change.

Like every tourist, this is the place to check out on the weekends. Nothing is a bargain, but cool…read moreto look around. The food stalls are sceptical and you'll still want to try. The main road is closed but the cross roads can still be active, so be careful. If you come too early, there will be plenty of cars loading and unloading. I like coming earlier because the foot traffic is far less.

Selection is spectacular!! When in London head over not to be missed! Found many one of kind…read morevintage pieces that are truly special :)

It's funny, had this place been in the US, it would have been called a consignment shop - here its…read morejust buy/sell. From the outside, I didn't expect much. Inside as a different story. Amazing selection of high end items, from Chanel to St John - all in excellent condition. Had it not been (what felt like) 9000 degrees outside, I would have tried stuff on. My gf picked up a lovely leather jacket that still had the tags on it for pennies compared to the original price. In the area? Don't pass this place up.