Every trip to Upper Street demands a visit to the lovely Labour of Love, full of unique, sophisticated but kooky fashion
Labour of Love
93 Upper Street
London
N1 1RQ
020 7354 9333
www.labour-of-love.co.uk
info@labour-of-love.co.uk
Who: Francesca Forcolini
“We opened in December 2003. I was a knitwear designer and had a label with a friend of mine, we had 20 stockists worldwide. It was really nice, very hand crafted and hand finished – a real labour of love. My partner and I split up and I thought it’d be nice to have my own shop. I wanted to move away from heavily marketed labels and try and offer something a bit more individual. Not trend-led, but garments that can hold their own in design, quality and character. Most of the people who come into the shop seem to be quite creative people, with their own style. It’s such a niche shop and for that reason it really works on a word of mouth level. People like it and will come back with their friends. I design all the pieces for my Labour of Love label. I just sell it in the shop so there isn’t a massive mark-up. It’s quite classic with a twist, quirky and humorous. There are some circus-inspired pieces! We do a trench coat every winter in different fabrics. It’s got an inverted pleat in the back which buttons through, very 40s with squared off shoulders. It sells really well. And then we have a Christmas slapper style dress – it’s very low-waisted. And we also do a really nice front-frilled shirt that I saw copied in Topshop last week – they’ve got scouts everywhere! The ballet shoes we’ve stocked since we opened, they’re one of our best-selling things. I think it’s because they actually are ballet shoes, not copies. It’s a very small company in Milan that makes them, just for us! We’ve got people who collect them. There’s a lady who runs a flower shop in Clerkenwell who has about ten placed on her stairs. And very exciting, we’ve got our own line of jazz shoes coming in next week – they’re like flat dance shoes with two tiny little lace ups with a round toe in green, red and gold.”
What: A unique, quirky fashion boutique up Islington way. Owner, designer and buyer Francesca has a fabulous style – slightly retro, strong lines and all with a humorous twist which is borne out in every item in the shop. Designers stocked are not the heavily marketed kind, and won’t necessarily be names you know, but definitely names you will want to have in your wardrobe after seeing their designs – Swedish London- based designer Ann Sophie Back, Danish designer Peter Jensen, shoes by Maloles and Buddhahood. Prices – Laura Lee starts at about £30 to the highest at £600 for a Manish skirt or dress. Francesca also stocks a small selection of her favourite books and CDs (this is where we found Subversive Cross Stitch!).
Why: Go for the best ballet pumps in town. Made especially for Labour of Love by a small ballet shoe company in Milan, these are the real (most-gorgeous and desirable) thing. The sweet little pumps come in a gorgeous array of colours, from sunny bright yellow, to piercing blue and dazzling metallic gold (£49). All the accessories are on the very desirable list too – from the sequinned flower headband to the best-selling unique jewellery from R Jewellery (Vivienne Westwood’s head of jewellery's own line).
Where: Closet tube is Highbury & Islington. Come out of the tube and turn left down Upper Street and it’s just over 5 minutes walk on the right hand side of the road.
When: Mon-Wed 11am-6.30pm. Thurs 11am-7pm. Fri-Sat 11am-6.30pm. Sun 12.30-5.30pm.
