Brick Lane is full of history and contrasts. It exudes a quaint, tatty charm that belies its trendsetting aspects. Look hard enough into its so-hip-that-it-hurts shops and you may just find the next designer du jour! I made my first pit-stop at BenDay, a bespoke jeweller who turns gems scoured around the world into precious designs that are guaranteed to capture any heart.

The display at Frockbrokers next caught my eye and before I knew it, I stepped into a store right up a fashionista’s alley. Apparently, Frockbrokers stocks day and evening wear from new designers personally picked from London Fashion Week by the owner. I actually went through the spoils, piece by piece… I couldn’t stop! My stops at Brick Lane included:

- Cutting-edge underground label, Son of a Stag which stocks designer labels only found in Brick Lane and Milan. Had a nice chat with the owner and learnt that the previous owner, who was Dutch, had a surname of the Dutch equivalent of ‘stag’, hence the shop’s moniker! Fun facts like these just endear me to the stores and make the shopping experience all the more memorable.

- Laden Showroom, where Victoria Beckham is a fan, I was told! The outlet represents over 76 up-and-coming designers and trust me, you’ll be amazed at what you can find here.

- One of its kind, Junky Styling, is another cannot-miss, believe me! Here, it seems, they breathe life into old drabs and it’s amazing how artfully they do this. I tried on a pink corset and skirt set that was a suit in its previous life and totally fell in love with it! I must bring my pair of old jeans to see what they can do with it the next time I head this way.

- Absolute Vintage was recently listed as “one of the world’s 100 shops you have to visit’ by a local daily. Managed to pick up a few vintage buys for myself. Heard from the owner that the items are imported from all over, mainly the US. This place definitely serves as an inspiration to quite a few top stylists and magazine heavyweights, and I can see why.

- Eastside Books, a charming bookstore I chanced upon on my walkabout. It is one of the few remaining independent bookshops and the right place if you wanna read up on local history.

On my way to Spitalfields market, I walked right into Queens, which is such a fun and kitschy shop! Its owners had started off with a stall in the market before taking off and moving into their own brick-and-mortar store. Famed for supplying gifts to Sir Elton John’s parties, here’s the place to find over-the-top gift ideas for any person, even if he seems to have everything…

Walked around the markets for a bit before plonking my weary self into a chair to tuck into a hearty cottage pie. Spitalfields really is the kind of place where it pays to look beyond the norm.