Lady Bird & The Top 5 Thrift Stores in London
Preview by Jack Foley
LADY Bird, Greta Gerwig’s a must-see coming of age comedy, follows a wildly opinionated and adventurous woman as she navigates her way through adulthood trying to find her true identity.
In a scene towards the end of the film, in a local store ‘Thrift Town’, Mother (Laurie Metcalf) and Daughter (Saoirse Ronan) are looking for a prom dress. Of course, they are bickering throughout the scene, with Lady Bird taking her mother’s disapproval as a personal attack on her fleeting individuality.
Until, suddenly, they are both stopped in their tracks as they gaze upon the perfect dress. It is moments like this that encapsulate the genuine dramatic essence of the film; lasting emotional scenes and lovable protagonists.
To celebrate the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release of Lady Bird on July 2, 2018, we round up our top 5 thrift shops in London, ranging from barmy to boujee.
Lamas Pyjamas
Lama’s Pyjamas is a popular thrift shop ran by the London Buddhist Centre. Located on Roman Road, just down from Bethnal Green station, it is an easy find. All their profits go to support the work of the LBC, located nearby, which does outreach work in schools and runs meditation and yoga retreats for mindfulness and depression.
All the full-time staff are practicing Buddhists, so it is unlikely you will find any stressful shoppers running around this store…aaand breathe. Not only do they support a great cause, they also support a huge amount of quality clothing from brands such as Topshop, River Island, and high street favourite Pull and Bear.
They regularly hold 50%-off sales which include everything in store – so not just one rack of flannel shirts that no-one wants. After filling your boots with some bargains, why not hop on the 309 bus for a few stops and head to the next shop on our list, the East End Thrift Store…
East End Thrift Store
A few minutes walk from Stepney Green Park you will find our next choice, the East End Thrift Store.
Now this will be heaven for any keen thrift shoppers out there but a nightmare for anyone whose heart is not truly invested. This store is more of a warehouse and will require more treasure hunting skills than anything else on our list today.
So, get ready to put your Salvation Army hat on, grit your teeth, and dive into a pile of sweaters that smells like your late Grandad to find what you’re looking for.
The big sell about this particular store is the ‘fill-a-bag’ deal, where you fill a Tesco sized plastic bag full of garments for only £10! Or, if you are feeling extra gritty, get back in that pile and fill up an Aldi sized bag-for life for a money-spinning price of £20.
A top tip for those who can’t hack the musky aromas of this shop, there is an adjacent warehouse where ‘Assembly Vintage’ is located. This shop is the polar opposite; nicely labelled, neatly sorted clothes – be prepared to spend a little more than bargained for here.
There you go, two stores for the price of one, what more could you wish for.
Traid
A short walk from Camden station, right by the popular haunts of the Black heart, The Worlds End, and Brewdog; Traid is in the perfect location for that person who wants to celebrate thrifty purchases in style.
Expect extremely helpful staff, colour co-ordinated racks of clothing, and garments that have been ‘revamped’ by Traid themselves to save them from the trash.
They really do not miss a thing here, and as a charity they are committed to diverting waste from landfills and providing sustainable alternative development projects. Every month, Traid will have huge clear-out sales throughout their stores, and with two more stores in Clapham and Peckham, this means you are almost guaranteed for a bargain; with most items of clothing dropping down to £4 one week, £3 the next, then going all the way down to £1 by the end of the month!
The Camden store especially houses a lot of funky, vintage items that are always cheaper than expected.
St. CYR Vintage
In-between chalk farm station and Camden Lock you will find our next choice tucked in by the horse tunnels market. One of our harder finds on the list, but worth the adventure, is St.CYR.
In the unlikely event that you can’t locate the store, the opportunities within a 10-minute walk will fill up a hearty day of shopping no matter. Firstly, this store is hands down the best organised of our picks (more so than Traid even), with vintage clothes ranging all the way from the 1920s up to the 90s, all perfectly categorised in corresponding decades and sizes.
CYR also comes with a few extra perks over the others listed thus far; it is home to a lovely array of old books and vintage jewellery, tucked in at the back of their store.
Atika
Formerly known as popular thrift shop Blitz, in Brick Lane, Atika opened in April this year as a rebranding project to market the stores expansion.
If you are a fan of high end labels over uncle Barry’s cardigans, then you will be a fan of Atika. Atika houses quality clothes from the likes of Burberry and Armani to Tommy Hilfiger and Levis. If you can’t find anything that tickles your fancy, then they always have retro brands such as Reebok, Fila, and Adidas stocked, dating back to the 70s – with all clothing cleaned, steamed, and pressed before hitting the shop floor.
If these brands don’t wet your lips, then Atika have their very own brand ‘Remix’ stocked exclusively in this store. For us, Atika feels like more of a fashion-flagship project than simply another thrift store. Just look at their website; which appears as a mix somewhere between a fashion blog and a Tumblr page.
If you are feeling up to more thrifting, around the corner is both Spitalfields market and Brick Lane market; more than enough to make any hipster froth at the mouth.
Lady Bird is available on Digital now and will be on DVD and Blu-ray from July 2, 2018.