You might remember, not so long ago I did a post about Lamb’s Conduit Street, one of London’s best kept shopping secrets. Well, I thought I would keep the theme running and feature another one of my favourite shopping streets.
Camden Passage is an area best known for its antique market, and there is no doubt that this small street will certainly serve up plenty of art deco trinkets and one-of-a-kind jewellery, however what I think really makes this place unique is the collection of the independent shops scattered around the cobbled streets.
The narrow passage has a number of particularly good vintage shops, including Annie’s, which has beautiful flapper dresses and vintage French lace, Fat Faced Cat which has high quality men’s, as well as women’s, vintage, and Cloud Cuckoo Land specialising in 50’s & 60’s cocktail dresses
Just next door to Cloud Cuckoo Land is local-favourite The Wearer, a curated collection of some of the best independent UK jewellery brands, run by Rachel Richards who has a brilliant eye for original design. Her pieces are really unique, yet still affordable, making them perfect gifts.
But perhaps in recent years, the shop that draws more people to the lane than any other, is Loop, a small yarn store with an increasingly worldwide reputation. This shop, run by Susan Cropper, has a vast range of hand-dyed yarns as well as vintage and handmade haberdashery. Perfect for an inspiring browse, its front window display alone is worth a visit!
Once you’ve finished shopping, a nice place to relax is the beautiful little Austrian café called Kipferl – their apple strudel is legendary and its light-filled interior is the perfect place to unwind after a day of meetings.
Finally, one place you can’t leave without visiting is ‘Paul A Young Chocolatiers’. Specialising in developing unique flavour combinations, the shop was voted as one of the top 10 chocolate shops in the world. It offers the perfect gift for a loved one, or as often happens, yourself!
The passage leads on to Essex Road and Upper Street, two other good shopping streets; Essex Road for independent designers; Upper Street more specialist high-street chains.
The market stalls are certainly worth visiting at Camden Passage, market days are Wednesday and Saturday, but for me, the real charm lies in the independent boutiques. In fact, I think a lot of people come to the passage for the market, but return for the shops.
