Notting Hill’s Garbstore is one of the best-known and best-loved retailers in West London. Since it was founded in 2008, the store has gained a reputation for its broad selection of brands, which covers everything from Brain Dead and Pop Trading Company to Japanese labels such as Kapital and NOMA t.d. As well as its multibrand offering — which also includes womenswear under its The Couverture sister store — Garbstore also stocks an eye-catching range of homeware products and its three in-house labels.

East London stalwart Goodhood has firmly established itself as one of the capital’s must-visit locations with its menswear, womenswear and homeware offerings. The retailer features a wide array of brands ranging from staples such as Dickies, Stüssy and Stone Island to high-end labels including Marni and various COMME des GARÇONS brands. Additionally, Goodhood is a key location for sneaker releases and its own collaborations with some of the brands from its roster.

When Malmö-based Très Bien announced it was opening its first international location in London, people across the city were understandably excited. Unfortunately, the grand opening in March 2020 coincided almost exactly with lockdown measures coming into force across the country. Since then, the Très Bien London store has been disrupted with subsequent lockdowns, but will reopen on April 12. Visitors to the Soho store should expect a diverse selection of brands ranging from Prada and Craig Green to Nike and adidas. Additionally, the store features Très Bien’s eponymous line, including its recent ATELJE project, and its Sun Buddies sunglasses label.

Covent Garden’s The Vintage Showroom isn’t just any old vintage store. In fact, it’s part of one of the biggest archives or rare and historic men’s clothing in the world. Flick through the rails of weird and wonderful garments from decades gone by. Here you’ll find things like unusual army surplus pieces, vintage sailor’s smocks and much, much more.

This emporium is a shrine to Japanese designers’ love of midcentury American style. The two-storey shop and café imports menswear from vintage-inspired western jackets to horsehide bombers and Cuban-collar shirts. Cult brands such as Stevenson Overall, Buzz Rickson’s and Full Count jeans top the bill. The coffee’s good as well.

Thom Browne’s iconic gray twill suiting, alongside a wide array of the designer’s ready-to-wear goods and leather accessories. Two enormous storeys of Browne’s signature mid-century office aesthetic: metal slat blinds, polished marble floors and walls, fluorescent tube lighting, and furniture from legendary designers like Dunbar by Edward Wormley, Paul McCobb, Jacques Adnet, and Maison Jansen. For the purest expression of Thom Browne’s inimitable, always-in-style vision.

Palace’s indelible, sleazy-cool mix of icy tracksuits, graphic tees, and skateboards. Built inside a former strip club, the interiors of Palace’s London flagship feel like the bad guy’s house in a ‘90s Michael Bay flick. Marble-tiled floors, tufted leather seating, an enormous flatscreen TV, and the grill from a Rolls Royce hanging on the wall. As hilarious as the product descriptions on Palace’s webstore are, it’s infuriatingly tough to purchase their goods online. Save yourself the frustration, get your hands on the stuff in person, and say hello to the life-sized Queen Elizabeth photo on the wall of the dressing room.

Everything from the Nepenthes brand universe—Needles; Engineered Garments; South2 West8; and collab shoes made with Hoka, Sebago, and Tricker’s. An historic, 1800s building, full of French antique lighting and cabinetry, scented by Nepenthes’s in-house Purple Haze incense made on Awaji Island in Japan (definitely buy a box if you visit). One of the newest Nepenthes outposts is an essential stop for fans of Americana, Japanese craftsmanship, and Old World charm.

The best and brightest from the global fashion arena, with an emphasis on designers that land firmly on London’s bleeding edge—Nicholas Daley, Kiko Kostadinov, Martine Rose, and more. The future of in-person shopping, in a context that’s more East End gallery than Knightsbridge department store.Experiential retail is a hackneyed term, but Brown’s proves there’s hope yet for the genre. Don’t let the highfalutin installations fool you: There are no kindly docents here, only an expert roster of in-house stylists ready to help you discover labels you had no idea existed.

Everything from artwork and ceramics to furniture and clothes from Paul Harnden and Geoffrey B. Small. A multidisplinary space that feels like a home, except all the roommates are at the top of their craft. Where else can you buy handmade furniture, vibe out to a hi-fi sound system, buy handmade clothes, and eat at a Michelin-star restaurant?