My friends used to say what the hell, no way, until they saw what you can get at Frock Me Vintage Fair.
Me and my friends love a root around the charity shops on the Kings Road in Chelsea, especially at the top World’s End end where there’s a great men’s section in Oxfam, cancer research and the Trinity Hospice shop where I’ve found, Hackett, pinks shirts, Churches shoes and a pair of handmade Arthur Sleep shoes for about forty quid.
Once a month in Chelsea Town hall there’s a vintage fashion faire that attracts sellers from all over the country and although the customers are predominantly the well heeled ladies of Chelsea, I used to get dragged there by my mother and older sister, it’s been going for quite a few years these days guys about town are going in to buy everything from jackets, old well made and hand made shirts, scarves, hats, shoes and my favourite big vintage cable and fisherman jumpers. There are boxes of great expensive sweater to root through. Some are expensive but you get pretty good at haggling with the traders when you’ve been a few times.
It’s £8.00 to go in, a bit steep I know especially for students (discounts available online and in advance) but if you are planning on buying a couple of items it’s worth the price. They also have pre purchased tickets online with student concessions for a little bit less £5.00 if I remember rightly which gets you through the doors when they open at 11am and stops you having to wait and queue for buy on the door tickets.
If the early bird ticket sales are high you may have to wait to go in because of capacity limitations and fire safety restrictions.
Like most students who don’t shop in Uniqlo I go to Oxfam quite a bit, buying most of my wardrobe there and I was interested to see an old actor Richard E Grant, he played the Dad in Saltburn talking about buying his audition outfit for Withnail and I (it’s a really old film my Dad likes, the only reason I know him) and getting the part.
I can really relate to looking unique, I don’t really like the fast fashion thing and know I prefer to buy secondhand. The clothes you get are better and cheaper for a start.
If you don’t know where Chelsea Town Hall is, it’s up from the Firestation, down from the IVY and opposite the Bluebird on the Kings Road.
At the moment the guys shopping are definitely out numbered by the women, especially the straight guys but it means no competition to buy the best men’s clobber.
Frock Me vintage faire in Chelsea is on the first Sunday of the month, but they change venues, Chelsea, Kensington and Victoria so the next one in Chelsea is December 6th 2026.
Doors open at 11am.