Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Posted By:
Daniel Kramb
Photo:
Christina Theisen
East End Thrift Store
You could be forgiven for
taking this second hand clothes outlet for just another
every-guidebook-has-it-by-now (because it's oh-so-trendy East
London, darling), hopelessly overpopulated and annoyingly
overpriced vintage rip-off a la Brick
Lane. But you couldn't be further from the truth.
This fantastic place hides, quite successfully, in a Mile End side street (a
dingy alley, more like) and has managed to retain everything that's great about
a second hand clothes shop: it’s dirt cheap--most things go for less than a
tenner. It's shabby; home, as it is, inside a stripped down former warehouse.
It's full of well-picked stuff, from original hats to unusual belts to second
hand designer dresses. That means that, browsing here, you will never lose the
sheer excitement that comes with knowing that, yes, you WILL find that truly
one-off item no one else will have. It's all helped by spontaneous in-store
parties: there's nothing like a Thursday night spent browsing shirts and
skirts, bottle of beer in hand, before, clutching to your bag of purchases, you
settle on their sofa to watch the others perform their very own little catwalk
show in front of you.
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