Muzman on 13/12/2009 at 03:19

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Yeah, but they have more of some things than others. Camden's really several markets but when they're all going they kinda merge into one and take over the surrounding streets. It has a little bit of everything, but is most famous for goth boots I guess.
Portobello Road was a similar story, only a bit more upmarket and is most famous for second hand knick knacks and antiques.
Petticoat lane is traditionally a clothing market, tons of suits and luggage out in the street on the day.
Spitalfields is a fairly upmarket permanent kind, with lots of little clothing stalls and arts n crafts etc.
Brick lane is a shopping high street really.

If you really couldn't move around much on the day and you wanted some options the East End is probably your best bet. I have no idea exactly what you're looking for or exactly where to find it but there's a big subcontinental presence there. They're mostly devoted to selling suits to anglos on Petticoat lane, for instance, but someone around would probably have other stuff nearby and Brick lane, Spitalfields and Petticoat lane are all close together (practically beside each other by my standards).

SubJeff on 13/12/2009 at 11:21

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don't sell 'shrooms no mo

Firefreak on 13/12/2009 at 19:55

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Thanks again for the hints so far;

As for the type of shop, I'm more interested in shops to go into rather than street stalls.
(Plus: We've got plenty of Bollywood shops in Vienna as well - that's not what I'm looking for ;) )

Following your hints, various links, cross referencing homepages and what not (you know the drill) I've narrowed it down to (http://www.green-st.co.uk/) Green Street, mostly because I could see some of the shops online and read some user reviews on (http://www.qype.co.uk/uki12-london-plaistow/categories/28-fashion-in-plaistow) Qype. ((http://www.daminis.co.uk/) Daminis is one of the shops there that got my attention for example.)

Brick Lane still sounds interesting to be an experience, but I typically only find information about various (http://www.bricklanedirectory.com/) restaurants, not (asian) clothing shops.
Yet it's only about 10 underground stations away from Green Street, so that could be my plan B.
Do you know any homepage of Brick Lane, similar to the one for Green Street?

Which brings me to the general issue: Time. Landing at about 8:30 am in Heathrow, it takes me about 1 hour and 20 minutes to Upton Park using the tube. With the flight back going at 7:30pm, this leaves me an effective window of 10am-5pm on Green Street (considering to be at Heathrow again at 6:30pm) -- So, there's not much to stray from. (Power-Shopping!)
Which direction is better with a cab? Or is the underground always the safe route?

Another question: Is there some general rule for closed days between Christmas and New Year? I'm considering either 28th or 29th of December to be the day.

Tonamel on 15/12/2009 at 03:34

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(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqY1lHJYIgY) Now I know what's going to be running through my head for the rest of this evening.

belboz on 16/12/2009 at 02:28

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shopping in london is for mugs, as the prices there are between 10 percent and 25 percent higher than the rest of the country, and generally stuff gets cheaper the futher north you go, plus people get friendlier the futher north you go.