Hunky Dory Vintage

On 226, Brick Lane, one can find the store pictured on this entry: Hunky Dory.

It's a little shop that sells second-hand clothing. As you enter, on the left, you'll find men's clothing, and to the right, women's. The shop is small (it's basically what you see on the picture) so there isn't a huge variety of items, but the ones that they sell are pretty cool (which is not always the case in vintage shops) and affordable. I always thought second-hand clothes would be really cheap, but this year I've found out I was wrong. Of course a lot of things are not expensive at all, but the ones I like the most (such as corduroy blazers) are quite expensive! Anyway it's understandable, since what they sell is most of the time in very a good condition.

Personally, as I told you, I'm a fan of the men's blazers you'll find on the left and the little box full of bowties close to the window.


The staff is also very nice and the changing rooms are not too small. All in all, it's a cozy shop, and it is much more attractive than the other ones on that street (and there are a lot!).

Basically, if you like thrift shops and vintage clothes make sure you check Brick Lane and the surrounding area, especially Spitalfields Market (on Thursdays), but I'll talk about that in another post.

Peace!

Any Amount Of Books

Dear friends, I'm back home after a pretty cool year abroad, and really happy about it (though I do miss London). But I still have a lot of things to talk about here, so let's go.

We've already established (at least I have) that bookstores are the best thing ever, and if they're beautiful, then it's even better. In this case, we're not talking about the prettiest bookstore in London, but it's located in a very nice area (namely Charing Cross Road), where one can find many interesting (and often cheap) bookstores... and in this case, it is basically because Any Amount of Books is a second-hand bookshop.


This bookstore's catalog is available online on their website, but as I saw when I went there, they have a lot of different books from a huge variety of genres. I even found a couple of plays from my Modern British Theatre After '56 course (and for only 2 pounds!). Aside from having hundreds of second-hand books, they have books that are otherwise quite hard to find (although I don't suppose any of you are looking for rarities...) (but hey, who knows), and, what I found most odd and funny, leather books to decorate the house! So if you're looking to redecorate your house and want to emulate Dumbledore's office, this is the place to go (although beware! for each book costs between 10 and 15 pounds).


To sum it up, it's a pretty cool place. Also, they open from 10h30 to 21h30 every day, something quite uncommon in this city where everything usually closes around 18h!

P.S.: Since this is my blog... I will promote myself! A friend and I recently built a simple website to show my photography... You can check it out here. I hope you like it!

Brick Lane Coffee

Dear Internauts of the new decade: today, June, 5, is a beautiful day and I turn 22. Just thought I'd let you know. And while I listen to Toundra, I introduce you to the Brick Lane Coffee.

Now that summer's on its way (although in London you never now), this café comes in handy as you can either go in to avoid the heat or stay outside to enjoy the sun.

Brick Lane Coffee is a really small café that is, as its name indicates, located on 157, Brick Lane. It seems that it used to go by another name as part of a chain of cafés that closed in 2009, but apart from the name change, the café is still pretty much the same.


On the inside, which, as I mentioned, is not especially big, you will find sofas, chairs and tables that are slightly KITSCH (at least when I went there they were), and there's usually quite a bit of people. The coffee is allegedly good, but I can't prove it since I'm not really into coffee. But I can tell you that the hot chocolate (with or without soy milk) is pretty good (and boiling, so be patient my friends). You can also find different kinds of sweets like muffins, cookies, etc. It may not be different than any other café, but I like that it's small and doesn't belong to a big chain. Also, it's in a really COOL area.


Maybe now that the weather's warmer you won't want a hot beverage, but I'm sure they have ice teas and stuff like that now. So there!

Koenig Books

Dear friends of the world wide web, today is a windy day and I am home listening to Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens. Not bad!

Today I will talk about a nice bookstore located in Charing Cross Road, a street in the city centre full of pretty interesting shops and bookshops. Its name is "Koenig Books" (sadly the link is only in German) and you can find it on 80, Charing Cross Road. The nearest tube station is Leicester Square (so, for example, you could go browse through the books after you have lunch at Tokyo Diner...).


The store you see on the pictures is the one located near Charing Cross, but there is another one, the first one to open in London, in the Serpentine Gallery (although I've never been there), the closest tube stations being Lancaster Gate and South Kensigton (where you can find all the awesome museums, like the NHM, which I'll talk about in the future).

This library specializes in art, namely design, architecture, and photography, so if you're looking for literature, you'd better go to the second-hand bookstores found a few meters down the road (I will also talk about these in future entries). Anyway, it's a pretty cool store and you're sure to find interesting things. As for the prices, I'll tell you when I check them out, since the last time I went I didn't spend much time in it. I'm the best guide, I know.


And that's basically it. Charing Cross Road and the surrounding areas are awesome, so be sure to go when you visit London!

Cath Kidston

Cath Kidston started a little business in 1992 in Holland Park, London. At the time, she would sell vintage fabrics, wallpapers and other objects that reminded her of her childhood. The store had quite a success and gradually the business started to grow, which prompted Cath to start making her own fabrics and homeware. Since then, her business has only thrived and she now has "merely" 28 stores all over the world including some in Ireland and Japan. She also sells women's clothing and accessories (purses, bags, etc.).


This is a picture of one of the shop windows of her store in 51, Marylebone High Street, which may help you get a hint of what her products look like. As you can see, she relies heavily on dots and flowers, which may be sometimes a bit corny, but generally, it rules (or so I think).

Anyway, I highly recommend you check her website so you can get a better idea of what she sells, and maybe you'll see something you like or find a store close to your home.

And, speaking of nice fabrics, my friend Martatu has recently started an online etsy shop where she sells little purses she has made herself with carefully chosen fabrics. She also recently finished a collection of dresses with prints of white rabbits and arctic foxes. ARCTIC FOXES!!!


Peace.