Have you ever wanted to know how to be a proper east London girlie? Well, this starter pack will help you get on your way to be the coolest girl in town and get the full look of one of these girls.

Now, as a girl that lives in east London themselves. I can fully vouch for some of these things, and yes some of these are essential to my life too. when you walk around London you will spot most of these thinsg and it can become a fun game.

1. Number one, shoes. Now it’s important you’ve got the right footwear on because you’ll be café hopping and mooching around the book shops on Broadway market and inevitably end up in a cute pub which will charge you nearly seven pounds for a pint, so you need to make sure your feet are in some comfy shoes. The first pair are some classic Birkenstock Boston clogs, preferably in the taupe colour, these will go with any outfit and will feel like you’re wearing slippers all day long. Second on the list are some adidas trainers; sambas, gazelles or the spezials, any of the above and you’ll fit right in.

2. Secondly some headphones are a must. Now this is a London essential, but it completes the east London girl look. You need a way to listen to your podcasts on your hot girl walk or on the commute to work, and noise cancelling headphones are the way forward. Some of my fave podcasts at the min are; Life’s Your Bitch and It goes without saying.

3. Have you heard of a girl dinner? Well, Perello olives will make an appearance within an east London girls’ diet that’s for sure. For some reason these olives are everywhere, and you can’t get away from them. I haven’t actually tried them myself so maybe I’m not a true east London gal.

4. A cute tote bag to fit all of these essentials in. A tote bag is essential in everyone’s lives in my opinion, but a cute one makes all the difference. They can elevate your outfit but being able to shove everything into is such a win.

East London, good squish, goes without saying, life's your bitch, samba, East London coffee — An East London girl starter pack - 2023

5. House plants. To be a true east London girl, you will need at least five plants in your life, preferably ones you have bought from Columbia Road flower market, but any house plant will do.

6. An overpriced beverage, an iced latte or matcha will do. If you want to make it vegan, it will most likely be even more overpriced with the additional charge of dairy free milk. But will this stop us from getting a silly little coffee every so often? No, it will not, we need fuel for our hot girl walks.

7. A sandwich from a cool independent bakery is on the list. It has to be full of fillings and you would’ve probably waited in a que for at least 20 minutes to buy one, but they are fully worth the wait.

8. Lastly on the list, If you are in east London, you will most likely see the girls wear some oversized hair scrunchies. These are a must have accessory, especially if you can get hold of a Good Squish one but any big frilly hair scrunchie will do the trick to achieve the look.

So now you know all the essentials, you are fit to walk the flower market on a Sunday and fit in with all the cool girls. Chuck on a long flowy skirt and some ribbons on your outfit and you are good to go (if you have a small dog too this will add some bonus points to the look).

Phoebe x

Some examples of the items mentioned throughout this post:

An East London girl starter pack.

Let’s go shopping