Absolute Vintage

I really just don’t care for this store and for me being a Vintage lover that’s bad!
I find this store absolutely dark
absolutely cramped
absolutely packed
absolutely generic in their colours.
Too much shoes and bags especially when the shoes don’t cater for my big olé feet.
I will continue to walk pass you until absolutely improve!

They have a
variety of shoes. There are shoes in different colours, sizes and styles. They also have a remarkable amount of
bags in different colours and in good quality considering the fact that it’s all
second-​hand items.

This is an impressively displayed and curated selection of vintage (& vintage inspired clothes).
You need time, patience and above all, not be allergic to dust/​mold/​old sh*t. I came here by chance, just ambling around Old Spitalfields market area. The store has large ceilings and a large space to accommodate the bunches of clothes/​items. Some wonderful displays are actually hung from the walls and a beautiful display of scarves adorn one wall.
Clothes are organized by colour. Very few items are organized by time period (1920s-​50s if I recall correctly). Shoes and purses are in abundance — but I never buy vintage shoes so I quickly dismissed it. I bought 2 cute vintage inspired dresses for super cheap.

I’m sure there’s good stuff in here, but I can never find it because it’s so packed with junk. Wool sweaters, Levi’s denim shorts, fake leather bags and shoes are 90% of the stock. The prices are pretty standard but considering all the time and effort it takes to dig through everything, they are not worth it. If you’re very patient, maybe you’ll find something

This is my favorite vintage store. Last time I bought a vintage floral shirt and vintage Bruno Magli midheel shoes from here. They are perfect for spring. I adore this vintage heaven.

I have to give this place 4 stars only because I’m a tourist. You have to stop in if you are in Brick Lane. It’s the place to go if you’re from the States and want British vintage. With all this said there are a few disappointments to the place.
You have to go early and be in the mood to vintage shop since there is a lot of crap. The best items are on the walls and say ‘not for sale.’ I mean talk about being a teaser.
The best vintage are the accessories and the fun British hipsteresque sales team with great attitude are a lot of fun. The prices are good. Give a little attitude and look cute and styling and you’ll get what you want. Don’t go in designer duds or go in you jammies. You’ll get snubbed.

M was inspired by a couple of things in here, so naturally wanted to snap a photo.
But M failed to turn off the flash and the staff here weren’t too happy with M.
I fell in love with this 1920’s black handbag… I really wanted it but the handle had a boo boo.
I don’t like buying vintage when there’s already an issue. I could get someone to fix it, but it’s the handle and this problem seem like it would been an on-​going problem.
They had other handbags, but this style suit me the best.
Ugh!
Shoes…I am a germaphobe, so I definitely skipped on these vintage goods.

Dubious quality, they’re cagey about giving receipts (!). Prime location on brick lane gives them large flow of uniformed brick lane tourists.

I first went in here because I saw the ridiculous number of shoes displayed. Huge selection, and they have a lot of good stuff, but several things are a bit too overwhelming.
1. The shoes are organized quite well, but everything else seems to be kind of a mess and randomly located. A ton of tangled purses I can’t be bothered to sort through, although I’ve seen quite a couple that I like.
2. Price really isn’t that great compared to a lot of other vintage shops. I’d say that most of them are fairrrly reasonable, but I’ve also passed on plenty of things because «wtf, I’m not paying that much.»
Whenever a place feels too messy, combined with the uncertainty of a good price, I can’t really be bothered to spend too much time in there. But if you’ve got patience. a virtue I completely lack… dig in.

I have to agree with Catherine H and say that the reason you come here is for the shoes, boots, sandals, courts, platforms and more. I bought a pair of blue suede courts with a ridiculous gold buckle on the top here for £25 — rip of, but I do love those shoes.
I really want to like this place more, it’s a great location and they organise the clothes in a size way so it’s easier to find stuff but I have to say, apart from the shoes, I’ve never bought a thing from here. Shame.
They have a smaller selection of designer vintage goods which are hard to spot and expensive but totally worth it, in my shopping opinion that is. Overall I do like this place and I will make it a destination shop, but mainly because I know that Beyond Retro is within walking distance and I can grab myself a bagel close by.

Absolute nightmare! Please spare yourself the pain of going into a shop that clearly shows they don’t give a damn what the sell. Yes they have the shoes with the shoes and skirts with skirts, but the general way the clothes are displayed is such a mess, its not the most inviting way to make anyone shop. An don’t get me started with the prices, you CAN charge a little more for a vintage piece, if: its in good condition, has a designer label, and is displayed in a proper manner. I went in twice thinking I was overreacting the first time I went in, but the second was the same. I wont come in ever again.

Echoing other reviews Absolute Vintage is a great shop if you have a bit of time to spend finding yourself a great vintage bargain. Some of the stock is amazing and in great quality but other items could do with a bit of TLC before returning to the shelf. I found a great little clutch from here a few months ago which was silver sequined and as kitch as they come. However, when I got it home and started filling it up for a night out I realised that it still had loads of receipts stuffed in to the pockets. Although it was quite interesting to get an insight into the previous owners life (total alcoholic, all she/​he bought was vodka and crisps) I couldn’t help but think this is the kind of thing the shop should have taken out when they were first checking the items.
My boyfriend also hates me visiting this shop because he claims there is nothing for men. It’s quite true actually, the male stock is very limited and doesn’t seem to get much rotation.
Nonetheless, Absolute Vintage is always worth a visit if you’re looking for something a bit different or if you have a fancy dress party to go to. They have plenty of one off items and the staff are fun and helpful, if a bit too into the ‘scene’.

I love this place because everything is arranged in size — with vintage it can all be hard work and lets face it – it is much easier just to see your choices and go for it –
No fuss no muss just start trying
A really good layout and lots of space to see and wind around the room — with a small lounge area and a bag section and some clothing — you can easily spend time here.
There are also alot «special» cases scattered with «not for sale «signs — these seem to be the real vintage pieces —
— but do not fret there is plenty to try and buy…

Another in a stream of vintage clothing stores which are always on the increase in this area. Absolute Vintage is located about 30secs from Spitalfield Market and less than a stone’s throw from Brick Lane’s Up-​Market. It’s easy to spot with its large-​windowed white exterior.
This place, more than any other retro store I’ve come across, seems to primarily focus on shoes with hundreds of different styles scattered about the shop. In addition they have a large range of rather funky sunglasses. The mens selection in here is rather dissapointing but for women the selection is only surpassed by Beyond Retro located on nearby Cheshire Street.

This place is heaven for anyone who loves their vintage. They have an amazing amount of bags and shoes in every colour under the sun and the quality of the goods is always good considering they’re all second-​hand goods. They have some cool dresses but you have to have a root through the masses of clothes. They have a huge box full of scarves and some cool belts as well. I usually only manage to buy accessories from here because I don’t have the patience to trawl through everything.
The prices are really reasonable, usually between £12 to £30 for bags, £3-£10 for scarves, £20-£30 for shoes and the clothes vary anywhere between £15 to £30. I love this shop and I definitely recommend it as one of London’s best vintage stores.

If you love vintage clothing this is the store for you! The rails are full to the brim with the most amazing selction of clothing! I love wearing dresses, and this place is perfect for dreses for all occasions! I bought a gorgeous black sequined knee length dress last christmas for only £18 pounds! It’s been such a great purchase — utilised for parties, fancy dress and work dinners. The shoes are also incredible with different colours and styles many barely worn at all.
It is situated in the busy chaotic world of spitalfields meets bricklane. A huge glass façade with fantastically dressed mannequins drawing you into the shop. The staff are very friendly and will give you an honest opinion if you ask them to. Piece of advice; Saturday and Sunday are hectic and quite stressful, during the week is the best — you feel like the whole shop is your dressing room!

The fist thing you notice about this place is the huge amount of vintage shoes there are on offer. They range in price, from moderate to really dirt cheap!
Once you’re done browsing the masses of footwear, you can move to bags, accessories and finally, perhaps, the clothes! As far as the clothes go… they’re OK. I’ve never been overly impressed with the quality of the vintage here and I’ve never come away with anything really awesome from this place as far as that goes.
This is an ‘absolute’ (!!) must if you are in East London but it’s definitely no the cream of the crop for sure.

This place used to be the haunt of celebrities, so it must have been good, yeah?!? Kelis waz ere etc. And the walls still celebrate these hallowed visits…
shame it’s gone downhill in recent times, most of the clothes aren’t actually vintage anymore, just modern replicas. That’s ok, but it doesn’t have that vintage smell — vintage smell lovers will know what I’m chatting about…
There’s still some quite nice items. But these days, it fails to compete with the others, the clothes aren’t as interesting as Rockit, nor as cheap as Beyond Retro. But It’s ok. Worth a look in.

This is definitely the best place for vintage shoes. The choice is endless! There are shoes in every colour, every size, and from all the eras. The shoes are also very affordable considering an average pair of heels will only set you back £15.
Second in line are the bags. They also seem to come in every colour and size. Most of them come in leather and are once again, priced very generously.
And last but not least, there are the clothes. I have never actually bought any clothes here. Personally, I think that they are not arranged in the best way and generally a bit messy or stained. I have flitted through the Menswear before though, and found it easier to navigate and generally better in choice.
But really… it’s all about the shoes here!

There is a photograph on the wall of Absolute Vintage of one of its staff embracing pop icon Kelis in this, East London’s biggest — and some might say best — vintage shop.
A veritable warehouse of vintage, Absolute Vintage is located just a hop, skip and a jump away from Spitalfields Market and nearly opposite the gorgeous Golden Heart pub.
Boasting over 1,000 pairs of vintage shoes, Absolute Vintage specialises in accessories from roughly the fifties to eighties and a somewhat limited collection of vintage clothing mostly dating to the seventies and eighties.
Most items are priced below £75 with more premium vintage being the preserve of Absolute Vintage’s sister boutique, Blondie, just round the corner. Particularly good is Absolute Vintage’s collection of vintage heels by the premium brands of yore like Rayne and Charles Jourdan.
I’ve bought countless pairs of shoes and boots from this famed vintage shop whose popularity has surely reached its apogee having been featured in the likes of British Vogue; which leads me to a warning.
These days it’s wise to approach Absolute Vintage with caution on a Sunday, the area’s busiest day, unless you fancy a scramble for vintage gold akin to the hysteria on the first day of the Selfridges sale.