Upper St, Islington
Start at Highbury & Islington tube, exiting right past The Famous Cock, and you’re on Upper St. Scamper on for 5 mins, staying right for #196 Sefton Menswear / 7226 7076 / sefton fashion.com / stellar fella stack, #193 Folklore / 7354 9333 / shopfolklore.com / with mod sustainable homeware, and cool kitchen gadgets at #190 Gill Wing / 7226 5392 / gillwing.co.uk / plus the label’s jewellery offshoot at #182 / 7359 4378 / gill wingjewellery.co.uk. Quick sidestep down Barnsbury St for designy nest-featherer Aria / 7704 6222 / ariashop.co.uk, then carry on up Upper St, either crossing for dishy deli doyen #287 Ottolenghi (see Lunch) and manly must-browse #286 Albam / 7354 1424 / albamclothing.com / or scooting right on Almeida St, home to the ace Almeida Theatre / 7359 4404 / almeida.co.uk / and its vibey café-bar. Cont. along Upper St and turn left at Jigsaw into Cross St for lovely lingerie at #65 Tallulah / 7704 0066 / tallulah-lingerie.co.uk; #54 Wild Swans / 7354 8681 / wild-swans.com / for the best Scandi togs in town, and cut a rug at #52 Tribe / 7226 5544 / tribe-london.com. Back on Upper St head left and nip into #294 Diverse / 7359 8877 / diverseclothing.com / for stylish gal and guy garb, while opp. is #137 Abigail Ahern / 7354 8181 / abigailahern.com / with pretty homey tidbits. March on a few blocks and spot Islington Green on the left, amble past The Slug and Lettuce and cross over Essex Rd. Ahead and right is darling antique alley Camden Passage / camdenpassageislington.co.uk / best on Wed & Sat. First up is #33 The African Waistcoat Company / 7704 9698 / africanwaistcoatcompany.com, then #33 Paul A. Young / 7424 5750 / paulayoung.co.uk / crafts naughty chocs, #14 Piers Rankin is an heirloom silver mine, and next door at #12 Annie’s / 7359 0796 / has wispy vintage gowns. Nip left into Pierrepont Arcade for a good ol’ rummage, then back on Camden Passage peruse lifestyle loveliness at #13 Smug / 7354 0253 / ifeelsmug.com / and quirky concept crib #120 Studio One Twenty / studio-one-twenty.com. Tidy!