All The London Charity Shops The Costume Team Raided For Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy
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12 hours ago
To kit out our favourite romcom heroine for her next adventure, costumer designer Molly Emma Rowe went to some of London's best preloved destinations. These are the charity shops that made Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.
When it comes to Bridget Jones and her personal style, images likely come to mind of short skirts, cropped cardigans, enormous pants and (very much not tangle-proof) long scarves. She’s one of cinema’s more quirky heroines, for sure, but that doesn’t make her any less of a modern style icon. ‘She’s always just a little bit off with what she puts together,’ laughs costume designer Molly Emma Rowe. ‘You can’t really tell what it is, but it’s slightly off.’ Her eclectic sense of fashion in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, the costume designer goes on to tell C&TH, is the result of many trips to the charity shop.
‘When we are costuming a show, my team always looks in charity shops,’ she says. ‘They are a great resource for us, especially as it means you get a mix of designer and high street from different times. It’s always more authentic than going to the high street and just buying from what’s in the shops right now to costume a character. Especially since the pieces are pre-worn, so we don’t have to make them look worn.’
Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy © Universal Studios
Rowe is a big believer in giving characters (and real people) a fully lived life through their wardrobe. ‘You can make wardrobes feel timeless if you mix in pieces from charity shops, as it’s like having a real wardrobe that you have collected over the years,’ she explains. ‘Then, if you add in true vintage you add another layer of time and reality.
‘I think these layers of time create a more realistic overall look to a contemporary show, and it hopefully becomes aspirational as we aren’t saying fast fashion is the way forward – we’re saying that in reality we do dress like this, and it’s good to see that reflected on screen.’
The London Charity Shops That Made Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy
While Rowe mentions visiting a number of different spots throughout the UK capital, there’s one area that she really gravitated to: Hampstead. ‘The charity shops in Hampstead were a starting point as this is where Bridget lives in our story,’ she tells us. ‘I wanted to find pieces we could try, and see if they worked – thankfully, loads did!
‘We would often look around here to shop for Bridget so that we could put some brands in,’ she continues. ‘But Renée [Zellweger] always emphasised that while Bridget has nice things, she’s not obsessed with brands and logos and fashion and things like that. If something wasn’t right, Renée would say “too chic.”
‘We would often go to Mary’s Living & Giving [known for its designer preloved pieces]. A few times Renée would point out something she wasn’t sure about and I’d be like, “I know, but it’s from the charity shop in Hampstead, so Bridget definitely could have found it.” And she’d laugh and say, “Okay, fine.” It was really fun to think about how and where the character would shop.’
Mr. Walliker (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy © Universal Studios
Some of Bridget’s most notable looks from Mad About The Boy come from these charity shops, notes Rowe, including ‘the navy and camel deco pattern Whistles cashmere cardigan that Bridget wears throughout the film… recently someone said they remembered having the same cardi years ago, which was really cool.’
Below, the costume designer shares her list of London charity shops she visited during the making of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy:
Mary’s Living & Giving (Hampstead)
The first Mary’s Living & Giving was set up almost 20 years ago, back in 2009, by retail royalty Mary Portas OBE. Since then, it has expanded to 26 locations across London and Edinburgh. Curating luxury and designer finds across fashion and accessories, these shops support global charity Save the Children.
Address: 64 Hampstead High Street, Oriel Pl, London NW3 1QN
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Cancer Research (Hampstead)
A stalwart of the British high street, Cancer Research shops are filled with little treasures from across the decades (although you might need to do a little digging).
Address: 75 Hampstead High Street, London NW3 1QX
Octavia Foundation (Hampstead)
You’ll be able to spot an Octavia Foundation store by its cherry red exterior. Another London favourite, these stores stock high quality designer and vintage pieces you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.
Address: 33 South End Road, London NW3 2PY
All Aboard (Hampstead)
One of the oldest charity shop chains in the UK, All Aboard was founded by Stella Lucas MBE in 1978. Across its 22 stores, All Aboard houses a huge selection of preloved goods – with sales helping provide grants for research projects, learning programmes, hospital equipment, outings and respite for terminally ill children and residential care for the elderly.
Address: 224 West End Lane, London NW6 1UU
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Mind (West Hampstead & Highgate)
Another high street champion, Mind is another great spot for charity shopping. Ramble through the shelves in search of a bargain, and rest assured that proceeds from your shopping spree are going directly to the UK’s biggest mental health charity.
Address: 236 West End Lane, London NW6 1LG | 329 Archway Rd, London N6 5AA
Boutique by Shelter (Highgate)
Housing and homelessness charity Shelter has a string of boutiques dotted across the capital, filled with high-end high street steals, designer gems and vintage one-offs (as well as an impressive selection of homeware, books, DVDs and CDs).
Address: 52 Highgate High St, London N6 5HX
Peaceful Solutions (Kensal Rise)
You’ll find a bit of everything in a Peaceful Solutions store. Set up by Centre for Peaceful Solutions (CPS), a charity that aims to reduce violent conflicts within families, communities and organisations, these shops are dotted all over the city.
Address: 79 Chamberlayne Road, London NW10 3ND
FARA Charity Shop (Islington)
‘Discover some surprises amongst the bricolage and BE anyone you want to be,’ notes FARA on its website. The charity, which helps vulnerable children and young people in Romania, fills its shops with a fun selection of retro, designer and high street finds. (So there’s something for everyone.)
Address: Angel House, 28 Pentonville Road, London N1 9HJ
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More Secondhand Spots The Team Went To
Alongside the above charity shops, Rowe and her team went to a number of consignment and vintage stores. These weren’t just in London, either. The costume designer notes that she also checked out shops in Kent and Warwickshire – as well as a few spots even further afield in the US.
Some of the London spots include:
- Portobello Market (London W11 1LJ) – ‘ I am from West London, so it’s my go-to all the time.’
- Rellik (8 Golborne Rd, London W10 5NW) – ‘My absolute favourite. Fiona is the BEST!’
- Found & Vision (318 Portobello Rd, London W10 5RU)
- The Vintage Showroom (20 Buspace Studios, Conlan Street, London W10 5AP)
- Mae Vintage (West London, by appointment only)
- Vintage Threads (82 Berwick St, London W1F 8TP)
- Reign Vintage (12 Berwick St, London W1F 0PN)
- What Goes Around Comes Around (Unit 32, The Stables Market Chalk, Farm Road, London NW1 8AH)
- Designs NW3 (60 Rosslyn Hill, London NW3 1ND)
- Kensal Vintage (Kensal Vintage, 54A College Rd, London NW10 5ET)
For other UK stores, Rowe visited:
- Breuer & Dawson (7 King St, Margate CT9 1DD)
- Urban Village Vintage (92 High St, Henley-in-Arden B95 5BY) – ‘Bridget’s Barbour wax jacket came from here.’
- Messina Hembry (online)
And then in the US, she sourced pieces from:
- The Dig (1121 Abbot Kinney Blvd Ste 2, Venice, CA 90291, United States)
- Resurrection (8006 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046, United States)
