London's Shopping Districts

London's Shopping Districts

Shopping Districts

Brompton Cross

Brompton Cross is the name given to the nexus of Chelsea, South Kensington, and Knightsbridge, where the areas merge around Fulham Road. The neighborhood's luxury stores—and shoppers' spending habits—can rival those of top shopping areas like Knightsbridge or Bond Street, but the stores here are more unique. Anchored by the art deco Bibendum building, the area has high-end shops including Chanel, Armani, and Paul & Joe. Beyond fashion options, top design stores Skandium and Divertimenti, there are plenty of places to grab a nibble, from the Admiral Codrington gastropub to the charming French restaurant and café Aubaine.

Camden Town

A metropolis of crafts and vintage-clothing markets spreads from Camden Town Underground Station all the way to the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm. It began around the rough-and-tumble of canal-side buildings known as Camden Locks—still the most hectic fun. Every kind of alternative style—retro, Goth, New Romantic, New Age, punk, hippie, "Annie Hall"—is catered to. [f26]This is the place to see London street fashion "on the hoof." Art, home furnishings, antiques, and bric-a-brac are in abundance as well. It's less frenetic midweek.

Chelsea

The King's Road, from its beginning at Sloane Square west to Vivienne Westwood's World's End shop, is where Chelsea promenades—especially on bright weekend days. The Duke of York Square is an enclave of fashion, jewelry, home decor, and beauty boutiques with several good cafés. Among the many independent shops, some originals—like R. Soles for cowboy boots—have been around for decades. And no other London street has such a concentration and variety of shoe stores—everything from popular British chains to Manolo Blahnik's original Chelsea shop, just off the main drag.

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a great place to wile away an afternoon. The restored 19th-century market building houses mainly high-end clothing chains and good-quality crafts stalls, but head off to one of the surrounding streets for even more options. Long Acre is packed with High-street chains, and Floral Street, Monmouth Street, Shorts Gardens, and the Thomas Neal's mall on Earlham Street have trendier clothes and independent boutiques like Koh Samui and Full Circle. The area is good for people-watching, too, and make time to stop for a coffee break at the superb Monmouth Coffee Company.

Kensington

The northern end of Kensington Church Street is a magnet for serious collectors of fine antiques, especially china and glass. And don't be afraid to duck into the little side streets for a changing selection of boutiques. Kensington High Street is a smaller, less crowded, and classier version of Oxford Street, with clothing chains and larger stores at the eastern end, ranging from Zara, Topshop, and FCUK to Warehouse and Massimo Dutti.

Knightsbridge

Harrods dominates Brompton Road, but there's plenty more, especially for the well heeled and fashion conscious. Harvey Nichols is the top clothing spot, and there are many expensive designer boutiques along upper Sloane Street. Narrow Beauchamp (pronounced Beecham) Place houses a hodgepodge of beauty salons, posh dress shops, home furnishings, knickknacks, and such specialist collector's items as antique maps and globes. The kinds of restaurants favored by ladies who lunch—including the late Princess Diana's favorite, San Lorenzo—are tucked in between every few shops.

Marylebone

Between the Oxford Street of Selfridges and John Lewis and the main, east-west artery of the Marylebone Road, this fashionable quarter is full of one-off shops that Londoners love. Marylebone High Street has recently emerged as one of London's best shopping streets for fashion and housewares, and is also full of top-class food shops and restaurants, including the highly respected Providores and Tapa Room. Try Matches for designer labels, Brissi for housewares, and don't forget Daunt Books. Chiltern Street and nearby St. Christopher's Place are also worth exploring for custom-made shoes and art galleries.

Mayfair

Here you'll find Bond Street, Old and New, with desirable dress designers and jewelers, plus fine art on Old Bond Street and Cork Street old masters, rare books, jewels worthy of a sheik's harem—this is the neighborhood to give your credit cards a real workout.. or to people-watch the folks who do. South Molton Street is another fashion hot spot, but aside from Browns—still a magnet for trendy label watchers—it's dominated by chains. The tailors of Savile Row are of worldwide renown, and you can order custom-monogrammed dinner plates at a 200-year-old shop on South Audley Street. When the astronomical prices leave you gasping, stop in at Fenwick for some that are slightly less stratospheric.

Notting Hill

Branching off from the famous Portobello Road market, enclaves of boutiques sell young designers' wares, antiques, and things for the home—now favored stops for trendsetters. Go east to explore the Ledbury Road-Westbourne Grove axis. Kensington Park Road parallels the market, and farther west, Clarendon Cross has an eclectic mix of housewares, fine arts, and vintage clothes to die for. [f26]Whether you come on weekends when the Portobello Road market is in full swing, or on quieter weekdays, this is shopping for explorers who love pure, self-indulgent retail theater.

Oxford Street & Regent Street

A magnet for shoppers and tourists, crowded Oxford Street has some of London's best department stores in the run-up to Marble Arch—particularly Selfridges, John Lewis, and Marks & Spencer's flagship branch. Don't miss the Topshop flagship either. If you're on the lookout for interesting boutiques, head to little St. Christopher's Place and Gees Court. East of Oxford Circus, it all becomes pretty tacky. Tottenham Court Road, around the corner from the British Museum, is mostly devoted to shops selling every kind of consumer electronics known to man, but the Habitat and Heal's design stores here are worth a browse.

Perpendicular to Oxford Street, the wider, curvier Regent Street has several department stores, including the legendary Liberty. Austin Reed is a solid place for well-tailored and affordable men's shirts, and don't miss Hamleys, the capital's toy center. Also here are flagships of global clothing chains, and traditional British names, such as Aquascutum and Burberry. Avoid the shops selling china and Scottish cashmere, as they are mainly tourist traps. Carnaby Street, behind Liberty, is packed with interested boutiques.

Piccadilly & St. James's

The actual number of shops is small for a street of its length (Green Park takes up a lot of space), but Piccadilly is home to several quintessential British emporiums. Fortnum & Mason is the star, and the historic Burlington Arcade houses elegant antiques shops (silver and jewelry is a specialty) as well as cashmere by N. Pealand and funky shoes by Beatrix Ong, who trained with Jimmy Choo. Do keep in mind that the closer you get to Piccadilly Circus, the more touristy the shops and goods become. [/ctx]

St. James's is home to some of the capital's most traditional shops, selling hats, handmade shirts, shoes, flasks, and traditional English hunting, fishing, and riding equipment, from saddlebags to rifles. Many of the shops, like Swaine Adeney Brigg, which specializes in fine leather goods, hold Royal Warrants. Other standout stores include John Lobb for bespoke shoes, Paxton & Whitfield cheese, Geo F. Trumper for men's shaving accessories, and Berry Bros. & Rudd for wine. Even if you're not in the market for a handmade shirt, talk a walk down tiny, atmospheric Jermyn Street, where the shops still have traditional wooden signs.

Pimlico & Victoria

Not quite Belgravia, not quite anywhere really, this odd little corner of London, bounded by Lower Sloane Street, Pimlico Road, Ebury Street, and Elizabeth Street, is a center for quirky and individual antiques, home decor, fashion, and food shops. This is where royals-who-retail ply their trade. Princess Margaret's son, David Linley, has an eponymous shop here where he sells furniture and accessories, and it is also home to Lady Carole Bamford's outpost of her famous Cotswold farm shop, Daylesford Organic. Eccentric milliner Philip Treacy has his showroom room, and there are also dress designers, perfumers, and chocolatiers. If you're coming or going from Victoria Station or Victoria Coach Station, pass up the chain stores in the station mall and head here instead.

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Spitalfields/East End/Hoxton

For the adventurous shopper who wants to sniff out the new and distinctive, the area around the revitalized Spitalfields market is a fruitful hunting ground. The market operates daily and sells crafts and clothing that are often cheaper (and more original) than those at Covent Garden. Lower rents mean more retail opportunities for young designers and purveyors of "cool" around Columbia Road, Cheshire Street, and Brick Lane, where there are fashion frocks, kits for men, jewelry and accessories, and the latest lifestyle must-haves for your home. The area around Brick Lane is especially good for lovers of vintage clobber (British slang for clothes). On Sunday, the Columbia Road flower market adds its own colorful excitement to the area. Keep in mind that many of the coolest shops and stalls are open only when the East End Markets (Columbia Road, Spitalfields, Brick Lane, Petticoat Lane) are in full swing.

A bit farther north in Shoreditch, near Old Street Tube station and Hoxton Square, followers of the Brit-Art gallery scene have begun to attract a new crop of fashion hopefuls. Check out Start, no-one, and the Hoxton Boutiquefor a combination of wearable fashion and wild, club-land looks that sail close to the edge.