Exploring fashion, art & design in Copenhagen

Two things I really wanted to do during my second visit to Copenhagen were to go shopping, and to visit museums. I didn’t get to do either of those things on my last trip, which is quite frankly criminal considering Copenhagen’s reputation for design and style.

For this visit, I came prepared with a list of vintage shops I wanted to check out, as well as a few design and interior stores.

I also had a bunch of museums and galleries on my list, but unfortunately only had time for two. I guess I’ll just have to visit again…

Copenhagen design shops & vintage stores

A really good thing about shopping in Copenhagen is that many of the shops are in the same area, making it very easy to visit lots of them at the same time, in between coffee stops, of course (check out my favourite Copenhagen coffee shops and cafés here).

Had it not been January and had I not been on a very tight budget, I could’ve spent a lot of money.

Frama Studio Store at Apotek 57

This beautiful shop is set in an old pharmacy (“apotek” means pharmacy in Danish) with the incredible original featured inside, like the wooden shelving and drawers, and the most beautiful ceiling I’ve ever seen in a shop.

They sell homewares, candles, toiletries and more. Gabi and I spent a little while in there smelling everything, trying out the roll-on perfumes and hand creams. It’s a lovely place to be, and I’ll definitely be back one day to buy some toiletries and hang out in the adjoining café.

Ferm Living Boutique & Showroom

I have a few much-loved Ferm pieces, so I wanted to visit the showroom while I was in town, mostly to admire all their beautiful homewares. The shop is really big and gorgeous, and the sunlight streaming in made everything look delicious.

Studio Arhoj

You can’t go to Copenhagen and not visit Studio Arhoj, even though you can buy it all over the place these days — there’s a shop in Bristol called U Studio which sells lots of Arhoj pieces (and they also sell Studio Arhoj online if you’re not local). It was nice to pop in and be able to see things being made, however it was chocka with tourists.

HAY for cool design homewares

HAY is another brand that is popular all over the world now, but I had to visit their creative headquarters as I was passing. HAY House is full of incredible homewares and lifestyle items, so simple and colourful. I wanted one of everything.

PRAG vintage shops

I think there are 6 PRAG vintage shops… but I only went in two. The first one I went into was the Nørrebro one, on Nørrebrogade, where there were a few other vintage shops, but PRAG was my favourite one I went in – loads of cool stuff, and not expensive either.

(I am annoyed that I didn’t check my map to see that Lagune and Baubau were nearby, just off that street, but oh well.)

I really liked the layout in the PRAG shops — organised into different sections and colour-coded too. I tried on a few lovely things while Mike sat on a perfectly-placed bench, and bought myself a really nice black silk shirt.

Carmen Copenhagen vintage store

This one wasn’t actually on my list, but I stumbled into it (almost literally, as the door is down a few steps) and really liked what I saw. It reminded me of my favourite vintage shop in Totnes — Revival — packed full of interesting old things.

OSV Second Hand

A very cool curated second hand clothing store, with multiple locations across Copenhagen.

The independent shops of Jægersborggade

This street was recommended to us by a friend, as there are lots of beautiful independent shops, from booze shops, jewellery, vintage, homewares — there’s a bit of everything! On Google Maps it’s described as “a hip street for shopping & gourmet dining”.

It starts right by Assistens Kirkegård — the cemetery where you can visit Hans Christian Andersen’s grave, which is a beautiful place to walk around.

I highly recommend just taking a walk along Jægersborggade and seeing what you find. We went into 2 very contrasting vintage shops — a Japanese vintage shop which was all very neatly and beautifully displayed, and one which was crammed with loads of stuff, with no apparent organisation. Both perfect in their own right.

Other recommended design shops & vintage stores in Copenhagen

Aesop – gorgeous skin, hair and body care products
BauBau – curated vintage & secondhand menswear
Decades – vintage clothing shop
København K – vintage store
Lagune – apparel, footwear, lifestyle
mfpen Store – extremely cool clothing store
Milou Milou – curated new and preloved clothing, handmade ceramics, and thoughtful design
New Mags – bookshop
Norse Projects – very cool Scandi clothing store. I think it’s all men’s but I would wear a lot of the pieces!
Quirky Lane – vintage shop
Stilleben – homewares, tableware and home textiles
Super – book shop with very cool branding
Thrift Planet – “a modern vintage shop”
Wasteland – second-hand clothing shop

Use the navigation in my sidebar to jump to my map with all of these places (and more!) pinned >>>

Galleries & museums to visit in Copenhagen

Designmuseum Danmark

When I visited Copenhagen 10 years ago, one of the things I was sad to miss out on was the museums, especially the Design Museum.

Danish design is extremely cool, and being able to learn more about not only the furniture design (and go through the famous chair tunnel), but also pattern design, fabrics, clothing, homewares, and all sorts.

I don’t want to share too many photos, as I want you to experience it for yourself, but it was a very inspiring visit, and I would definitely go again.

I’ll just finish on this dress as I am absolutely obsessed with the top and would love to try and make something similar, sans sleeves.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

This was one of the plans I was most excited about — taking the train north to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which is in a beautiful location, right on the coast.

With both beautiful rooms to explore and a gorgeous garden with sculptures (including a few by one of my favourites, Henry Moore), you could easily spend a full day here, and I would recommend getting there at opening time before it gets really busy.

It was a really perfect daytrip out of the city, and it far surpassed my expectations too. I absolutely loved it, and I will be back.