Brick Lane: London’s vintage shop haven

We head to Brick Lane to see why it’s labelled as London’s vintage shop haven, check out charity shops and speak to locals.

Transcript

00:00When it comes to second-hand shops in London, one place springs to mind ahead of any other,

00:08Brick Lane in Shoreditch. This long road in East London is littered with charity shops

00:15selling vintage second-hand clothing and has gained a reputation for being one of the trendiest

00:20places in the capital. It really is a melting pot of cultures here and it's obvious from

00:27two things, the food but also the clothing. When it comes to fashion there's American

00:33styled leather jackets, vintage football shirts, saris and more jeans than you can dream of

00:39and everything else in between as well. As you come onto Brick Lane from the north end

00:46you're greeted immediately by vintage shops and that trend continues all the way down

00:52the road. Brick Lane's position as a vintage haven is built on its rich past. The rich

00:58melting pot that is the east end has meant the street has had a colourful history, very

01:04much reminiscent in the clothing on offer today. The landscape that has become iconic

01:09has its beginnings as early as the 16th century, twisting and turning right up until the present

01:16day. Flea markets have slowly evolved into specialist sellers while gentrification on the

01:23east has turned it into the icon it is today. And in somewhat of a twist the attempting to bring

01:30East London into the future has turned Brick Lane into a time capsule best expressed through its

01:36vintage shops. But what do locals and tourists think of this road now? Is Brick Lane a second

01:42hand selling institution? Yeah no you can get spending sometimes you have to look a bit you

01:48know here and there because you don't want to go to every shop and get stuff but there was one shop

01:51that closed down unfortunately but they did a lot of like sales and stuff and they had a lot of like

01:56vintage but also thrifting scene was really good but overall like there's a leather shop as well

02:01it's called Bashir and Sons they do good leather shops and from different places around the world

02:05so like I think that you get the money's worth as well. It's a great way to

02:13express yourself find a new way to express yourself and the culture is also very great

02:19like the mixed races and just the internationalness of it as well. I don't know I think I've got mixed

02:26feelings a little bit like it's a pretty exciting place to be sometimes I suppose it feels like

02:31there's a bit of a buzz about it but I think it can be a bit intimidating I think it's like

02:36this expectation to kind of be cool enough for it and stuff like that and you don't always feel

02:41like you quite measure up but no I think it's a nice place it's unique you know it's a lot more

02:46interesting than certain other corners of London I think but yeah it can be fun to have a little

02:51browse see if you find something cool and there's some charity shops as well that kind of have a bit

02:56of like a vintage vibe about them now as well.