Jasmine

I'll be going to London next week for only 2 days. I don't know really anyone there and will be travelling alone. I know London is a great place to shop for trends (I'm in my early 20's), but I'm wondering where I should go? I've heard of Covent Garden and some other places, but which would be the best? Not too expensive either, but definately not cheap. Thanks for any input.

wes fowler

Jasmine,
I have absolutely no knowledge regarding young women's fashions however I'm married to a woman who has set international records for shopping and she says: "Not Covent Garden, check out Oxford Street, particularly Mash at 73 Oxford St and Top Shop at Oxford Circus. For offbeat designs, check out some of the small stalls on King's Road. Liberty's, the department store on Regent Street has some interesting clothing as well."

dhall

Jasmine,
I lived in London all my life; it really is a great place to shop. From my experience I'd say go for


1) Camden Market (best on a Sunday) for 'true' fashion clothing (not designer labels) - go early, spend the whole day there - its very cosmo/ diverse. In my view this IS london fashion full stop.

2) Bond Street - all the well known designer labels - and so it'll be expensive - but worth a visit.

3) Suburban shopping centres - a short distance from central london - but well worth it. I live in Richmond which has many small boutiqes for men and women, a dept store which sells the exp. labels and some nice bars/ restaurants by the river!

Kingston-upon Thames is also close - a v. large shopping centre plus the designer shops (nice places for lunch too!) and only about 40 mins on the tube/ train.

Jasmine

thanks guys, I'll let you know how my trip goes...Now, I'm really excited to go, knowing some good places to shop!

Londonlover

Gosh I hope you can see all the sites in London and shop. I think you need an entire day for shopping. I agree with everyone elses suggestion. If you really want to get excited about shopping in london pick up the UK vogue they have a whole article on how Oxford street stores have totally changed. Everyone is opening a flagship store there. I am really excited about hitting that street when I go next. I would also suggest Kensington Market which has really cheap things. I love sloan St. near Harrods but that is a designer mecca. I love South Molton St. but again a bit pricy. Besides the Top Shop (which redid there oxford st store) try H&M (or did some one already mention it) store-trendy but cheap clothing. Fulham Rd also went under a transformation as well, although another pricy area. YOu could spend several hrs. in Harrods alone, although I enjoy the dept store Harvey Nichols more. Too bad you are not going in January when it seems the whole of London is on sale, because everyone is competing with the Harrods sale. Have fun and enjoy!!

Fwhiteside

David, you're not a ghost are you ( "I lived in London all my life..." ). Seriously, you're not the David Hall who works for CSC at Maidstone/Guinness are you ?

vanessa

Portabello Road!!! It's a flea market you can't miss. Everything you can think of under the sun is sold here.
Fashions, antiques, souvenirs, jewelry, accessories, armour. Really, anything you can think of is sold here. My brother and I had so much fun when we went here. Our hotel was about a 15-20 minute walk away, so it was great.

Have a great time!

Melissa

Depends on what kind of styles you like. I really like Selfridge's department store, which seems to have something for everyone. I used to think Camden Market was a good fashion place, too, but the last time I was there it seemed kind of skanky.

Don't forget to check the difference in sizes! Also, check out LUSH in Covent Garden.

dhall

Fwhitside

you know what I meant - and no I dont work for CSC.

Typhoon

Karen Millen.

jasmine

Talk about short...I came back from London last Sunday and I can say that I have never walked so much as I did during the two days I spent there. The first day, some people I knew took me around to see major sights and I shopped at Piccadilly St (I loved the Picccadilly Market...bought lots of sand candles and other trinkets there), then Bond St (expensive, but not as expensive as it is here...I was this close to forking over 130L for a Gucci organizer....it's still on my mind!), and Oxford St. But by the time we hit Oxford Circus, my feet were already beyond aching so we left and called it a night. The next day, I was on my own and I am proud to say that I can find myself around London very easily now (sadly, better than my own home city...). I saw the British Museum, Harrod's and then I hit Oxford Circus again, but my feet already hurt so that put a little damper on my shopping trip. The first stores I went to, I forgot to convert the sizes (though I thought of it before I left...) and so I was thinking I had gained some enormous amounts of weight as I couldn't squeeze into what I thought to be my size.
Thank God I figured it out soon and then the rest of my shopping excursion was much more pleasant. I didn't buy much, but I did enjoy the city. It's so incredibly cultured, here in America that is hard to see without skepticism from everyone else, but there...I loved it!
Okay, this is getting quite long...I ended my night by watching the Blue Room, if only to see more shows, I need to go back! Well, thanks for all your shopping advice. It helped me so much! If I can, I will try and go back during January...though I fear the amount of people that will be out (I was surprised so many tourists were there when I went as it isn't really peak season). If you have any other inquiries on my trip, just ask.

t

t