On the first Saturday of my trip across the pond, Sophie took me to a vintage shopper’s mecca: Brick Lane. We took the central line to Liverpool street station and made our way towards the famous street. On our way we stopped off at Spitalfields Market, a tourist destination I had read about in the TimeOut London 2011 pocket guide I had brought with me. Expectations high, I approached the covered market with excitement. However, after a few minutes spent wandering through the booths I was ready to leave. Everything I saw was either cheaply made, or served no obvious purpose. Feeling discouraged, Sophie and I headed towards Brick Lane hoping for some inspiration. The scene around us was constantly moving and changing; teens hung out on street corners playing music, vendors beckoned passerby inside their shop, while curry carts spread their scent around the street. I was immediately intoxicated by the vibrancy around me. Pulling me from taking in my surroundings, Sophie tugged my arm and pointed. She had spotted the first of many vintage shops.We wandered in and immediately started rifling through the racks. Sophie is the best kind of friend to go shopping with. While she is looking for herself, she will also be thinking of what looks good on you, and will pull pieces that she thinks you should try on. After twenty minutes, our arms straining under the pile of treasures we had found we dumped our collective piles inside the dressing room and began to sort through. A sixties floral print dress and some cropped silk tops for me; a sheer lace top for her, and leather shorts for both of us. We inched our way down the street, stopping to take pictures of the street art, skewers of meat, and the various people around us. By the end of the day we were exhausted but happy, our arms full of our vintage purchases and our stomachs full of street meat.