Affordable shopping in London
 

I have just discovered a department store called The House of Fraser......on Oxford Street in London. To my surprise they were really affordable with stylish clothes that are different from what is found in the States. It seems to have clothes for people of all ages and body types with plenty of sale and marked down items to tempt one. My daughter, who lives in London, turned me on to the store and its a welcome change from Chico's in the USA.

I doubt this recommendation applies to many people.

HoF is a standard, full-price, midrange, department store. Like all British clothing retailers, it's a great deal more stylish - and requires its suppliers to pay closer attention to quality - than its US equivalents. But its prices routinely are higher.

If you've recently found it surprisingly affordable, that's because it's Sale time. Some retailers seriously misjudged pre-Christmas demand and have a lot of stock they're marking down savagely. HoF must have been one of them.

Ordinarily, among Oxford St stores, HoF's pricier than M+S. And infinitely pricier than Primark, Hennes or New Look, who may aim mostly at adolescents, but whose ranges (see the Trinny and Susanna episode set in New Look) include a surprising amount that grown-up women can happily buy and fit into,

H of F is no more stylish than any Nordstrom's. And HoF carries quite a few very average labels.

"H of F is no more stylish than any Nordstrom's. And HoF carries quite a few very average labels."

Absolutely the case for women's clothing, but I do feel some of the British department stores tend to be a little more fashion-forward on the menswear front than Nordstrom, which I find to be a bit conservative. But, surely, Barney's gives even the most fashion-forward British store a run for its money. Of course, I do not find any of these more fashion-forward pieces to be any great bargain and generally offer the same global-generic, upscale brands you see elsewhere.

As for higher quality, that is a pretty funny one. There is a lot of fast fashion, even in the higher-end British department stores, and the materials and workmanship show it.

That is true. Every time I'm in M&S, I'm drawn to the Per Una line. The designs are stylish (or rather, cleverly copied from more expensive designers), the colors are interesting, but oh brother, the yarns they use!! Awful. Some of the sweaters seem to be knit from a combination of dryer lint and hoovered up pet hair.

For real bargain shopping, better to trawl the charity shops in upscale neighborhoods or towns. I've picked up a few high end pieces (a Nicole Farhi cardigan, for example) at shockingly low prices.

How about a suggestion about charity shops in upscale neighborhoods? Names? Locations? I am always looking for just such a thing, so any suggestions would be great!!!

Best charity shops I've seen are the ones in St. John's Wood, and you can do Abbey Rd at the same time.

Well lucky me, I hit it at sale time. I found lots of interesting things at prices I could afford. The quality was good too. The things I chose were things I had not seen at that price in the States. I don't spend a lot of time shopping, but it was fun to be able to get something from London to bring home. Best of all, they don't have horrible loud music playing and one can actually concentrate on what is being offered.