Karlie and Princess Julia open The Amwell Street Knocking Shop

Last night I went to the preview of Karlie Shelley and Princess Julia's new place The Amwell Street Knocking Shop.  A fantastic pop-up shop open until Sunday 26th June selling vintage and archive clothing by their friends and lots interesting things from their personal collections.  

The lovely Karlie Shelley

My wonderful friend Princess Julia

There's label and non-label vintage from all eras.  Everything's at knock-down prices.  I saw three or four dresses I'd love.  The most expensive one was £70, reduced from the designer's original price of £495.  There's all sorts of hats, bags, costume jewellery, random accessories and vintage books from Maiden's Noah Crutchfield.

There's archive and vintage from Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Pam Hogg, A Child of The Jago, Joe Corre, Ben Westwood, World's End, Lanvin, Robert Carey Williams, Margiela, Noki, Preen, Lanvin, accessories by Judy Blame, hats by Piers Atkinson and Mich Dulce and an array of vintage from Felicity Hayward, Josh Quinton, Lauren Webb, Yasmina Dexter and Pinkie Love.

63 Amwell Street is in a lovely area full of Georgian terraces and squares known as Finsbury.  It's two minutes from Angel, Islington.

I turned up and realised I'd  forgotten to put my camera chip in.  Luckily I told photographer Brett Walker (far left) how senile I'm going and he saved me by producing exactly the right camera chip from his jeans pocket.  Thank you Brett.

It's a lovely place to have a vintage shop and there's nothing like it nearby

Princess Julia.  This made me think of a picture from 1980 of Julia outside PX in Covent Garden

The fantastic Christos Tolera

These two are fabulous - Josh Quinton and Felicity Hayward

Singer Ronnie Wise and DJ Jeffrey Hinton in the shop's back garden.  It even has plastic flamingoes

Art Director Daniel Fico and Photographer and DJ Rob Gardner

Naddy Sane and Rebecca Hegarty

The guests ended up at the pub opposite, my old local and Shane Macgowan's favourite boozer - Filthy McNasty's

I lived in Myddleton Square right next to it for years

I had a quick cider with my gorgeous friend Phoebe Arnold, Fashion Director of Ponystep magazine

Phoebe shows me the Pam Hogg leather dress she's just bought for £120.  It looks amazing on.  Her sunglasses are a present from Mandi Lennard

DJ Nathan Wilkins.  I love his Dries Van Noten jacket

Brilliant stylist Kim Howells

The fabulous milliner Piers Atkinson

Let's have a little look around...

There's all sorts of one-off's on that rail

I love Piers Atkinson's cherry headpiece

And it comes in pink or yellow

I really wanted to get this out of the window and try it on but there was too much going on.  I can't resist a hat

They even cater for cat lovers

Some great vintage books

There's plenty of shelves to rummage through

One of Pam Hogg's amazing catsuits

Even the basement kitchen is cute.  And there's more downstairs

I thought this was the changing room with all the curtains but it's actually a screening room.  They're currently showing Today is Boring (Tree and Adam Carr) with a guest curator and refreshments.  There's Straight Up Day with i-D Online where customers can either wear purchases from the shop or as they come and be put on i-D Online.  Other events will include Life/Fashion drawing classes, Sami Knight's vintage hairdressing salon and appointment only portraits with DJ Alpha Deluxe on Saturday 28th May.

I popped in to see the girls on this afternoon on my way to get some food from M&S and had to try  on the cherry headpiece

Photograph by Naddy Sane

Who can resist shopping with the fabulous Julia?  London's most glamorous shopkeeper!  Do visit if you can, it's well worth a look for something different and unusual and they have new stock coming in all the time.

The Amwell Street Knocking Shop

63 Amwell Street

London

EC1R 1UR

Opening hours until 26th June 2011

Friday 12pm - 8pm

Saturday 12pm - 8pm

Sunday 12pm - 8pm

Weekdays by appointment

Telephone - 020 7833 5512

Hope you're having a brilliant weekend xxx