What makes an It Girl? Is it the hair? The voice? The sense of humour? The inexplicable je nais sais quoi that you just can’t put your finger on? The answer is: all of the above, duh! But even with all of that, no It Girl can truly exist without being well dressed. People just wouldn’t buy it.
So, there lies the next question: exactly how is an It Girl so well dressed? Where are the It Girls shopping? Or are they even shopping at all? In a world of stylists, pre-planned paparazzi shots, and meticulously planned red-carpet appearances, celebrity style has never felt more out of reach. Dressing like an It Girl used to be hard enough (the Chloé Paddington bag remains firmly on our wishlist, twenty years later), but at least Alexa Chung used to wear Topshop every now and then.
Yet, behind all the smoke and mirrors and hurried emails between frazzled stylists and pernickety brands, there still remain some very real brick and mortar shops that serve our favourite celebrities. Celebrities who physically go to those shops and scan the rails, try on the garments, and pick out the clothes themselves. And one of them happens to be in east London, just a stone’s throw away from Shoreditch High Street station: Nordic Poetry.
The vintage designer boutique has become as much of a destination for It Girls as Chiltern Firehouse (RIP) or Sushi Park, with countless celebrities playing dress up within its telltale pink walls. Recent buyers include Charli xcx, Lily Allen, Gabbriette, Alex Consani, Naomi Campbell, Myha’la, Lourdes Leon, and Alexa Chung. It doesn’t get more “It” than that.
Success didn’t happen overnight. Founded in 2007 by Swedish stylist Ameli Lindgren, Nordic Poetry was “just me with a rail of curated vintage pieces and a strong belief that vintage could sit alongside high-end fashion,” Lindgren says. The boom in archival fashion on red carpets has undoubtedly helped her cause, drawing celebrities from all over the world to her boutique in search of rare and hidden finds — Tom Ford-era Gucci, Galliano’s Dior, vintage Prada.
“Nordic Poetry started over a decade ago as a small vintage boutique with a focus on curation rather than nostalgia,” Lindgren explains. “From the beginning, my goal was to challenge the perception of vintage, to position it as something aspirational and luxurious rather than purely secondhand or retro.”
Lindgren had no prior fashion experience, working instead at nine-to-five office jobs, but she was inspired by memories of her mother reselling clothes at Swedish vintage markets. Meanwhile, Lindgren would run off and hunt for treasures – an early skill which has paid off in droves when it comes to sourcing garments for Nordic Poetry.
“I source from all over the world,” says Lindgren, who has maintained control over the sourcing process despite Nordic Poetry’s increasingly high profile. “From private collectors, archives, dealers, and often directly from individuals with incredible personal wardrobes.”
First came the stylists and artists, then the models and musicians. “I didn’t have any celebrity connections before starting the brand,” she says, “so everything grew through authenticity and word of mouth. That’s something I’ve always been proud of, that the interest came from people genuinely loving the pieces and the energy behind the brand.
“Lily Allen actually bought from us in the early days,” Lindgren reveals. “Charli and Gabbriette have been frequent visitors over the last year [...] What’s lovely is that they all come to us both for big events and for their personal wardrobes.”
So, what makes a garment worthy of entry into the Nordic Poetry canon? “It has to have attitude! A certain confidence and edge,” Lindgren says, “but also timelessness. I’m drawn to pieces that feel fashion-forward, no matter the decade they’re from. It could be a sharp-shouldered YSL Tom Ford jacket, a slinky Galliano dress, or an unexpected streetwear piece from the early 2000s, as long as it tells a story and feels relevant today.”
As someone with intimate knowledge of It Girls’ wardrobes, Lindgren also has a few tips on what everyone’s already buying — (“There’s been a huge interest lately in early 2000s and ’90s pieces, eras defined by attitude and sex appeal”) — and what they will be buying next (“We’re also seeing a rise in interest in Japanese designers — pieces by Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto, plus a growing appreciation for understated luxury, Jil Sander, Helmut Lang, DKNY, Armani”). So get investing. Or, better yet, pay Nordic Poetry a visit and take comfort in the It Girl stamp of approval.
