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Categories: Fashion, Farmers Market [Edit]
The Old Truman BreweryAldgate East (District, Hammersmith & City)
Sun 10:00 - 17:00
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:( I think the secret is now out. I used to go to this market when I was living in London two years ago. I just visited today and there were so many people there! I don't remember the Sunday UpMarket being so crowded a few years ago!
Anyway, I'm glad the market has maintained its less-commercial feel. A lot of the jewelry and clothing designers truly sell unique products. The style is also a bit edgier than what you'll find at other markets in London -- it's definitely got the East London vibe.
The food here is also quite interesting and good. We had some Sri Lankan food which was delicious. I wish there wasn't so much space taken up by the Chinese food stands because the food at the other stands (Jamaican, Tibetan, Japanese, Moroccan) are so much better.
My god, this place is dangerous. I go here with £40 pounds, telling myself I won't buy anything more than that..and what happens? I end up borrowing excessive amounts of pounds from my friends to buy that special one-off bracelet. This, my friends is an accessory haven!!
You know you've seen those feather hairclips and headbands from Headmistress, but never get em because they're too 'expensive'. Wrong decision. I finally learned one day, that you cannot live with em! They are more than worth the £15/2 clips, £20 for a headband, and £22 for the headdress--and ladies, the moment after I bought this headdress, I was getting compliments left and right, still get them each time I wear it.
Other notable stands:
Custom Made: featuring the cutest little coin purses with Matryoshkas (little russian dolls) and owls on them, along with some cute necklaces
Uncommonly Beautiful: All 'one-off' bracelets and necklaces made by piecing together parts of old ones to create darling new ones!
Along with jewelry, there are also tons of vintage and new clothing stands, as well as an array of ethnic foods such as mexican, spanish, malaysian, etc.
You will spend hours here, sifting through different stalls, but the best ones are in the main room...also check out Backyard Market for vintage teapots and you'll never know what you find along Brick Lane's floor market
Listed in: London Favorites!
Etsy, Brick and Mortar
Sunday UpMarket in Shoreditch/Spitalfields is the coolest way to spend time on a Sunday. Take the tube to Liverpool station, and it's a short walk to the Upmarket, where you will find the greatest selection of homemade, handmade and vintage items. And the food? The most incredible collection of fresh prepared foods-- Thai, Sri Lankan, Chinese, Peruvian, and on and on. Nice informal environs, plenty of room to move. Definitely a great place.
Lovely little indoor/outdoor market. Bustling but not obnoxiously crowded like Spital Square, in part due to efficient use of the indoor and outdoor spaces. Great food selection with an emphasis on South and Southeast Asian cuisines like Indian, Sri Lankan, Thai, Vietnamese, and Malaysian. For tasty banh mi (Vietnamese hoagies), check out the Mon Me stand which just opened last weekend. It's run by a pair of young Vietnamese-Australian ex-pats, one an accountant and the other a lawyer. I also spotted other intriguing food choices like Moroccan, Mauritian, and Ethiopian, the latter of which is one of my absolute favorite cuisines.
There's a nice selection of clothing and other stuff too, I suppose, but I focused on the food while my wife checked out everything else.
This market is one of my London favourites! All packed perfectly into one building (very handy for when it is raining out) and full of fun stuff, funky people and FOOOOOOOOOOOD!
The market stalls sell all manner of clothes (both new and vintage), shoes, bags, jewellery, bits and bobs. The back part of the market has a big selection of yummy foods. I LOVE the Japanese vegetable-pancakey-thingies that for some strange reason taste like In-n-Out burgers to me....SO.DAMN.TASTY. You can buy many different types of food from these stalls including Thai, Ethiopian, Brazilian, Caribbean (and many others) as well as salads, cakes, crepes, smoothies etc. All for between £3-5. Mmmmmmhhhhhhmmm.
Some things I have bought from this market include:
1) a broken necklace for £1 that is now one of my favourites, despite the fact that is it missing a clasp and so I hold it together with one of those little tiny silver chain things that they use for dog tags.
2) a gnome brooch for my friend I love Peter (named after the Jumbo Eats wrap).
3) a piece of Alexander Henry fabric with half naked hunks on it.
This market is fun, and right in between a lot of other fun stuff. A pretty perfect place to hang out on a Sunday afternoon.
(There is also a ukulele shop across the road from here - go and check it out if you fancy a strum, or just want to make your hands look bigger).
Listed in: Gimme FIVE (on the side)!
was very excited at the prospect of shopping this (even scheduled trip as to maximize sundays), but the vintage selection could've been better. one dealer on the ground floor (middle inner) who had a great eye and awesome finds for decent prices, but other than that, portobello's (no surprise) the better market for vintage fashion. mostly etsy type/handmade stuff here.
Listed in: london, pleasure little treasure
I'm a fan of markets in general..but you squeeze this much good tasting food in one little room and it tops the list.
Yeah yeah they have clothes and jewelry etc..but i never usually make it that far. I come here to gorge on all my far far away foods that I can't always get..and for less than 5 quid! I'm a huge fan of the Ethiopian food booth...the one slightly to the right as you walk in.
Just make sure you get a drink with that..once i made the mistake of delving in with out water in hand...lets just say i went back 5 minutes later with tears and snot streaming down my face begging for a bottle of water.
After I regain the feeling in my taste buds I buy a big fat, rich, chocolaty brownie for 2 pounds. its enough to share..but sometimes the little fat kid in me just has to go it alone.
About time I pony up on my Sunday Upmarket review -- one of London's best un-kept secrets.
I have no doubt that Sunday Up is the epicenter of London fashion. Unless you are sitting in a designer's basement during the creative process, this is your first touch to the trends that you will undoubtably see in Top Shop 6-8 months from now, then Primark in a year, then New York fashion week in 18 months ... then JC Penny's summer 2014 Summer catalogue.
Each week provides a 'come-to-God-esque' spiritual awakening moment and I swear it never gets old. As I look and touch and mosey through the market stalls, I am faced with doubt. Nothing is familiar, nothing resonates, and frankly I just don't get the hype. So I leave empty handed only to lust and dream about one particular item that I saw: that massive gold belt, or, or, the t-shirt with a hand stitched collar. And I realize that it is the one single item I have been missing my whole life. It will complete me! It will give my wardrobe purpose.
Most Sundays I don't even get past the delicious food vendors before I'm tearing back through the aisles and grabbing the last jacket on the hanger before a Primark-spy rips it away only to rip it off.
Go.
Buy.
Support.
Represent.
My spiritual fashion awakening happens on a weekly basis each Sunday, fittingly enough.
Join me, won't you?
Listed in: 5 Star London Experiences, Toting tourists?, London Markets, London Shopping
I've probably eaten food from every stall in this place. Tibetan. Moroccan. Ethiopian. Thai. Japanese. Caribbean. Mexican. Take your pick. Then mosey on over to some baked goods -- cupcakes? brownies? cheesecake? Check. Check check.
The strategy is to start eating first, then shop, because then you'll prevent yourself from buying too much clothing as your gut will probably make you feel too self concious to buy as much as you would otherwise. I'll pass on that dress... and that shirt. BUT then you'll find some awesome stalls of handmade jewelry, pieces by independent artists, vintage items, and whatnot. And when that's all over you can continue on Brick Land and further ravage your wallet. This is just the starting point.
Listed in: When I think back on London...…
I vas at zhe market today darlings, und let me tell you zhis- if you are not at zhe market on a sunday, zhere is something very wrong vith your head.
It is unbelievable! I ardly know vhere to begin...but ok, ere goes.
people, people everywhere! trendy little bobbed hairs, scruffy little long hairs, scary little never been vashed all zheir lives hairs- zhese ones are normally trying to sell you zhe stolen bikes.
You can get foods from all around zhe vorld- japanese, chinese, indian, cupcakes, mexican, thai, european, pancakes...anyzhing you like!
but you must pick your stand carefully darlings und I vould avoid zhe mo mo's as zhey sometimes contain strange ard particles zhat ve cannot identify...
und is all else fails you can always go to zhe bagel shop. (zhe yellow one is slightly cheaper, but zhe vhite one is better...! vorth zhe extra 10p)
My favourite part of zhis market is zhe rare occasion zhat a man ve ave nick named 'Jimmy' (because of his resemblance to zhe late Jimmy Henderix) jams vith zhe omemade drumkit guy, und it feels like ve are right zhere at voodstock! I also enjoy zhe strange man who dresses entirely in golden lycra, und zhe local 'standing man' who just growls at zhe tourists ven zhey pass by.
Zhe stalls are full of treasures und trinkets, zhough some of zhe vintage is beginning to become a little bit pricey. Zhe best bargains are on zhe street its self, vhere people come from miles around (vell, bethnal green really...)to sell zhe contents of zheir vardrobes for 50p. Brilliant.
You must all go darlings, it is a vonderful day for all!
B.Bx
Listed in: Best Eastend Haunts!!
Yes. Yes. And another Yes Please!
I love to shop. It's the reason there is squeezing room only in my closet and probably the reason I don't own a home, but let's not think about that. Let's just keep the focus on the really important things in life like cool stuff to buy and the Sunday UpMarket.
In a very large old brewery space is vendor after vendor selling everything from adorable handmade jewelry, to vintage clothing, to designer t-shirts, to mangled and then redesigned dresses and even lights to string across your bedroom. Basically, this market has it all and it's the land of bartering, a skill which I adore so very much.
During my time here, I bought said lights to string across my bedroom and I finally found a leather jacket that fits!! I've been searching for this for a good 2 years now and everyone I've tried on makes me feel like a Cinderella step sister in search of her fashionable Prince. But now, the search is over because I have found it and it is perfect!
The only bummer about this market is that it is only open on Sundays, other than that, get your butts over to this place because there is lovely stuff to be found!
Listed in: London Shopping
If you want to talk to the people who made the things you buy, go to Sunday Up. It's still refreshingly original, compared to neighboring Spitalfields, which, unfortunately, has gone a bit mainstream this past year.
The fashion is still fresh. Last time I was there, my shopping companion bought a shirt from a guy who told us he changes his designs every couple of months because people like Top Shop and Primark copy them.
Listed in: Markets
This place is a hipster's paradise. Home made handicrafts, vintage clothing booths, and trendy art everywhere. The booths are wonderful to stroll through, but I wonder if I will ever buy anything. Most of the clothes are cheap Chinese imports, but do keep your eye out for good reliable vintage and well-made recycled clothing. There are plenty of unique treasures to be found. I've never seen so many booths and stalls in three blocks in my life.
The food is something everyone can enjoy! Most stalls only charge around £4! Do yourself a favor and don't spend your money all in one place. Rather, sample and share with your friends. There are plenty of things to try!
One lazy Sunday you should definitely try to make your way to the Sunday UpMarket at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. No matter what sort of food you have a yen for, the Upmarket is guaranteed to have it, plus trigger inexplicable yens for food you never knew existed: slow cooked Caribbean-Middle Eastern fusion soup, deeply flavourful Mexican mole, Punjabi curries rarely seen outside India - just to name a few.
After your tour of the world via cuisine, check out the rest of the market stalls with their array of alternative arts, fashion, and crafts. The market's indie vibe is very much in sync with the Brick Lane neighborhood, and die-hard shoppers can happily while away the rest of the day darting in and out of hip boutiques. Try Luna and Curious for well-chosen vintage finds and Public Beware Co. for more unusual trendy threads. Don't miss turning down Cheshire Street to discover a bevy of tucked away delights.
When I was a child my hometown had an annual festival called 'Panorama'. The premise was straightforward, but also quaintly chaotic, and very much an expression of its time: social clubs, cafes, restaurants and private homes were all opened up as ethnic pavilions. You bought a pass and for the duration of the night you could travel from place to place, sample cuisine, sample drinks, and all around have a delightful time.
My favourite part about the Up Market is this aspect: there is plenty of reasonable vintage and 'unique' handicrafts to sift through, but the food is the thing. Whereas typically I don't get too excited about food stands, these ones I thrill at. It's a bit overpriced for the portions, but if I'm feeling flush and peckish it makes for a really great alternative, vegetarian Sunday lunch.
The Sunday Upmarket on Brick Lane is so much fun to walk through. Its the kind of stalls filled with random and cool designs that makes window shopping so much fun. But you still get the bustling and more intimate feel of an open market, and can chat with the designers who often make the work themselves.
But its not the shopping I come here for! Its definitely the food. Some of the best lunches to be found in the area on the weekend are here. Its less expensive than Spittalfields nearby, and made by local families. There is a range of stuff on offer, but I love the Ethiopian wrap made with layers of lentil, veg and sour bread. Yum.
I went here by myself one day, and started chatting to the family who runs the stall. We ended up drinking lovely Ethiopian coffee and chatting for almost an hour. Its always fun, even on a rainy Sunday!
Now I live on Brick Lane, so the Sunday markets are my usual entertainment as I try to find myself a little treat to take the edge off my hangover and give me hope for the week ahead.
The Sunday UpMarket boasts an amazing array of all things unique and quirky, with lots of young independent designers holding stalls. There's also lots of vintage clothing and jewellery stalls, and lots of rather random art/design stalls which are great for gift buying and the like. To be honest, I do love the idea of the Market, but it's always so crowded one can barely move and I end up having to leave within twenty minutes to get some air. That said, there's some great bargains to be had, and some really great food to be eaten.
Sunday UpMarket is the slightly less high profile equivalent of heaving Spitalfields Market; similarly taking place every Sunday but instead housed within the historic Truman Brewery.
Will stall-holders selling fashion and accessories and art and with a lively area packed full of food stalls, Sunday UpMarket is definitely worth a visit when walking from Spitalfields to Brick Lane on a leisurely Sunday.
My prize finds from Sunday UpMarket include a vintage Leonard Paris silk dress for £12, original eighties Ray Ban Wayfarers for £20 and too much vintage costume jewellery to mention.
Every Sunday I have a certain routine for my Brick Lane tour. My route always starts from the Sunday UpMarket that it is located in the beginning, well actually on half way of Brick Lane, but splitting the two different sides of the road so it is easy to continue the journey along Brick Lane from there.
I find Spitalfields market so commercial, I tend to skip the whole market and stick to UpMarket instead. It is very lively and small market in a car park (throughout the week )space, just a nice place to hang out. I usually shop for jewelry and print t shirts and the freshly squeezed juice is my Sunday life saver. It is just good fun browsing around as there are many local designers and artist selling random creative stuff.
If you are hungry there are also lots of food stalls where to choose from, my favorite is the one that makes sushi!
I usually go here with my girlfriends to rummage through the vintage clothes on a hangover Sunday but I brought my boyfriend here last Sunday and even he enjoyed it. He hates shopping so with him I didn't go too much further back than the food up the front but there was so much fresh food to choose from. We went for the Brazilian stall on the far left as you come in and had a meat and bean stew for £4. It was so tasty and fresh, nothing dodgy added. We also sat down in the centre of the food stalls and watched the people next to us play that weird board game that is like table snooker. It was such a nice way to while away the afternoon, and delicious too.
Housed within the Old Truman Brewery, the Sunday Upmarket has over 140 stalls selling everything from vintage & contemporary clothing, jewellery, vinyl records, as well as a huge selection of food & drink stalls.
It's so busy I always have to take a deep breath and prepare myself for the crush as people from all over London, and probably the country, descend on the market every Sunday.
I spend most of my time rifling through the vintage clothes stalls, and then heading straight for one of the food stalls for sushi, or noodles, or even a home made cake.
The market organisers like to think of themselves as supporting artists and designers, so you can find plenty of stalls with artists selling their wares, secure in the knowledge that the money is going directly to them.
Now that Spitalfields has inked it's deal with the great shiny chain-store beast, the Upmarket remains the area's best bet for cheap and cheerful Sunday bargain meanderings. Housed in what is a big indoor car park the other six days of the week, the space can boast a great variety in stalls and goods. There is a strong tendency for independent fashion designers to showcase their wares here, with excitingly unpredictable results. The Rajastani leather bags are worth a gander if their stallholder is in the country, as are the many vintage clothes stalls dotted about. Minus points for the massive, filthy bins located right beside the front door and food area. Pluses for the communal backgammon dining tables, the Greek Salad and Spanish food stalls, the weirdo Dad in the tight lycra top serving you mango lassis, the toiletry facilities (v. rare in a street market) and the general sense of chaos.
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