What to buy in London?
 

What is the best thing you ever bought in London, either for yourself or as a gift?

We'll be there this weekend and I am looking for ideas - Lush soap? Burberry scarf (or knockoff...)? What IS a Harrod's bag?

The best thing I ever bought in London was "Characters of Romance" by Sir William Nicholson printed in 1900. It is the publisher's file copy and contains 16 colored lithographs, approximately 16 X 20, of famous characters from novels.

My personalised Anya Hindmarch bag.
No idea what a Harrod's bag is, unless you mean a plastic tote with Harrods logo; not the height of fashion I must say.

Sorry - but what's the big deal with Lush products and getting them in Britain? Why not just get them in a major city near you? I live in Toronto Canada and there are Lush stores at almost all the major shopping areas and malls. Why go to Britain for it?

Matrexx, The big deal is that there are only two Lush stores in the US, Boston and San Francisco. That is not a coincidence, BTW, as the company's founder is intentionally introducing shops very slowly to extend the allure of the product. And as a marketing ploy it seems to be working. A few years back everyone was cooing over The Body Shop but their image tanked when the company overexpanded into every mall in America.

shaya, the best thing we ever bought for ourselves was an antique brass fireplace fender. we always bring back a good supply of british chocolate and indian snack mixes. Lush stuff too.

I wish I had bought more tea in London at Fortnum and Mason's. I can buy tea here, but it takes me back to London every time I use that tea. :)

Also, Lush is great. I enjoy the red rooster hand soap in my kitchen! The bath bombs are overrated in my opinion, though, and they got me stopped at customs because they thought it was fruit =-o

Hi again Shaya: On a lighter subject, I love museum shops (both here and in Europe) and have found a lot of unique things to buy both for myself and for gifts. Can't think of one particular thing that was best at the moment, but large assortment of books, jewelry, scarves, etc.

I have quite a large collection of leather bookmarks that we have bought at museums (sometimes buy paper ones at art museums), cathedrals, historical sites, sometimes even cities we visit (Oxford and Stratford for example). Hope someday to make and frame some sort of collage with them.

I am a Christmas ornament freak and always try to find something wherever we travel to put on the tree. When I decorate the tree and put on each ornament it reminds me of one of the great trips we have taken. In London I found some about 6"-8" felt figures of Queen's Guards, Yeoman Warders (who give the tours at the Tower of London), Henry VIII and his wives. They make perfect ornaments for the tree.

We bought lovely wool scarves at Heathrow and avoided the tax. Also bought some head & wrist bands with Wimbledon on them for a niece who is a tennis player.

These may not be things that interest you, but hopefully I've given you some useful suggestions.

Christmas ornaments are a lovely suggestion! I can imagine pulling it out of the packing each year and reminiscing (sp?) about the grand time we had in London!
Is Fortnum and Mason's strictly a tea shop? Where is it? ( I love tea!)

F&M is a very old (1700's?) department store with a famous food hall whose clientele includes many royals. Very well known for their teas. It's a fun place to browse, have tea and pick up token gifts for friends and family. A must see for the first time visitor to London. You can have a closer look and get directions at fortnumandmason.com.

The Gothic exhibition at the V+A (referring to the period from 1400 to the Reformation, not Romanian horror movies) is possibly the most over-rated exhibition this year. (The sad truth is that most of the best stuff the English produced in that period was destroyed or severely vandalised in a Taliban-like fit of Protestant fundamentalism)

Some may disagree. But after the exit to the exhibition (ie you don't need to pay to get to it) is a great collection of 15th Century-derived merchandise.

Much modelled on items in non-UK museums. But they LOOK as if you found them in an obscure backstreet shop in Little Twiddlesdale.

Potentially excellent Christmas presents and tree/table decorations. If there are any left

PG Tips!!

The "Harrods" bag is probably a fabric/laminated carry bag with the Harrods name and/or logo. They are fun to use if you want to impress your friends that you did shop at Harrods. I personally like to collect the small ornate enameled boxes made in England. Perhaps a watercolor painting or a famous London scene. Have a wonderful time in London and don't forget to stop at a pub for some great beer!

when we were there, there was a discount CHINA shop that had super great buys on china- both normal and discontinued...so we loaded up on that...

China Etc Ltd
21 Shepperton Road
Laleham, Middlesex TW18 1SE ENGLAND
Tel: + 44 (0) 1784 210011
Fax: + 44 (0) 1784 492604
Email: [email protected]


In addition, I got an AWESOME cashmere shawl that I am crazy about!!

AJ- don't worry the pub is ahead of shopping on the master itinerary!

Andy- china store sounds promising, but more importantly did you get a good deal and, if so, where?

We also buy Christmas ornaments from our travels.
I have two "best" things I bought in London, though: an antique shell-shaped plate in the pattern I collect that we found in an antique mall, and a carved wooden bear painted in a Beefeater's uniform.
Things that might be more available, though, are not cards, birthday cards, etc. The illustrations are generally beautiful!
Annette

Hi
I too am a fan of museum gift shops, and imo the shop at the V & A is one of the best ever.

For specific purchases, I treasure my Royal Albert porcelain mugs, delicate and pretty considering that they are mugs and not teacups. Got them at Reject China, on Brompton Road, between Harrods and the V & A.

Doesn't sound like much, but the Rosetta Stone t-shirt I bought at the British Museum gets several comments every time I wear it. About half from people who know what it is and half from people who want to know what it is.

Keith

Well, the *best* thing I bought in London were chocolates from Charbonnel et Walker on Old Bond Street, and the next best were Cadbury Fruit & Nut bars (which are much better than what you get in the U.S.) and Jaffa Cakes from Sainsbury or Waitrose grocery stores.

More lasting items are a small Wedgwood plate and a couple of miniature buildings. The gift shop in the basement at St. Paul's Cathedral has lovely things.

There are several Reject China shops, one up the street from Harrod's. Their china is not necessarily seconds, and the prices are pretty good. My sister collects Wedgwood's Wild Strawberry pattern, and we have found several things for her there that don't seem to be available at home.

I was once shopping in Harrods, and had several of their green plastic bags. I was stopped by an American lady who asked if she could have one of my plastic bags, since I had several, and she couldn't afford to buy anything in Harrods, but still wanted a shopping bag. Thought that was a bit odd. But then there was the kid who bought presents for friends, and wanted a small green shopping bag for each of the small presents; the assistant refused (not very nice I thought).

I agree with Carolyn that Cadbury chocolate is much better in Europe. (I say Europe because I usually eat it in Ireland.) It must be made differently than what we find in the US.

As for purchases, I felt that I had to buy SOMETHING in Harrods, so I got a set of teaspoons. (They are similar to our demitasse spoons.) They weren't terribly expensive but they were from Harrods!

It has bothered me that I never bought, of all things, one of the magnets I saw everywhere of the red London phone booth!

If you're into toiletries, check out Floris, Penhalligons (sp?) and George Trumper. All are old fashioned shops. (Yes, some products are carried in the US. Penhalligons also has a store or two in the US.) But they are very ornate and so obviously British. Lush to me is ordinary; kind of like Bath & Body Works.

shaya,

There have been a couple of really good threads on this topic. Check these out:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1267963

and

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1373314

Hope you have a super trip!

great idea for a child is a british version of harry potter books...there are some subtle differences in word choice..especially in the very first of the series...the title- for one!!!!the philospher's stone instead of the sorcerer's stone....

Liberty's of London has beautiful scarves, shawls, ties, etc., made from their signature print fabrics.

Shaya- In LONODON we also went to :Reject China, on Brompton Road, between Harrods and the V & A.

They had terrific deals and much better than US.. as another poster commented, we also got things that were NOT available in the US..Their packing is terrific. We shipped everything home and NOTHING broke..We have been to this shop many times and No, the items are NOT seconds or rejects at all..In fact, they are terrific! Have a blast in there!

The comment on chocolate is interesting. The French choclatiers complain that it was under British pressure that in 2000 the European Commission allowed 5 percent of non-chocolate vegetable fat in chocolate sold in Europe, and that last year the British pressed for this permission to stand. The International Herald Tribune site http://www.iht.com/articles/108905.html describes one protest.

The protestors have won only partially. The British Food Standards Agency site at http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/choc says that for the last few months the British style of chocolate, with more milk powder than other styles of Europe, can be old across the Union so long as it has the label Family Milk Chocolate.

Meanwhile, Belgian chocolate pralines, made with no or little milk powder or vegetable fats, command high prices in Britain, so perhaps the best souvenirs of London are Belgian chocolates.

[email protected]

If you like chocolate; Roccocco chocolate on the King's Road is THE best! And I live in Belgium!

My husband loves the shaving cream from Taylor's of London - the sandalwood scent. He tried Trumper's but prefers Taylor's. I ordered some for him for Christmas on their site and it came within a few days [the postage was almost as high as the cream - I don't know if you can request cheaper and slower delivery]

www.tayloroldbondst.co.uk/

When we started traveling to Europe many years ago, we could not afford to buy anything wonderful, so we specialized in buying the worst tourist trash we could find. Our collection -- and it is vast -- has won prizes for awfulness.
More recently, we have expanded to nice things. Christmas ornaments are favorites; try Harrod's Christmas shop for an incredible assortment. We also buy pictures, but only from street vendors. Our rule is: if you have to go inside to pay for it, you can't have it.
We've bought great teddybears for our grandchildren; some spectacular picture books -- check inside to see if the publisher also has offices in the U.S., if so you may want to wait until you get home; wonderful scarves and gloves with elegant logos at Harrods; teas from Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, and Sainsbury's supermarket.
But our best London souvenir came from our first trip -- a love of travel that has lasted three decades and only grows each time we go away. We can't wait until April.

I brought home a British lawn bowling ball from the Portobello market. It has a round ivory(?) inset with the initials of a lawn bowling club carved in it that are very close to my own initials. The wood is beautiful and it is a terrific decorative piece. On my second trip to England my sister and I sat on a bench in Portsmouth and watched a very well dressed group of seniors play a game. It was great fun -- I had carried one home for her too.

My other favorite buys were magnets from Harrods (adorable and reasonable), souvenier tins of cookies from Harrods, and a small teapot from Whittard of Chelsea.
((c))

Since I like to travel light, my self-imposed rules for a souvenier is that it must be flat and unbreakable. A couple of things not mentioned previously are a Rosetta Stone mousepad from the British Museum - I'll follow Keith's advice and get a t-shirt next time. I bought ten of the mousepads on my last trip.

Last spring, I happened upon a garden shop in Hempstead and thought it might be fun to bring back some seeds for my gardening friends. Likewise, people were delighted to get them.

I do break my "flat and unbreakable" rule on occasion. I saw some very interesting bottles at the Portobello marked and was told by the vendor that they originally held boot blacking.

They work really well as bud vases, as it turns out. I've since purchased quite a few.

The vendor has been there every time I've gone to Portobello over about twenty years, so I'm beginning to wonder if there's an endless supply of boot black bottles in London.

We'll be there for 8 days beginning Feb. 12th. Do you happen to know if we'll be able to attend a sale on Portabello? I'm afraid that the vendors don't sell during cold weather.
Thanks

Emma Bridgewater pottery would be a great purchase. I'd skip the Harrods bag- essentially a laminated shopping bag- but Liberty has much nicer ones. Portabello is best when the weather is "bad" as fewer people show up! Go early to do your shopping! harrods also has a parcel collection service. All of your items will be held at one collection point (ground floor close to the food halls) until you're ready to collect.

I also really enjoyed the chocolates I bought at Charbonnel et Walker, although my favorite chocolatier is still L.A. Burdick here in the U.S. Keep in mind that many UK stores have branches at Heathrow. The selection is more limited but you save the 17.5% VAT.

I love French Sole shoes. The shop is just about a block up Sloane Street( headed in the direction of Harvey Nick's) from Sloane Square on a side street. At the very end of Sloane Street is a chocolatier who is a genius. And, I bought some very cute soaps shaped liked wellies (small, can't be broken and cheap) for my gardener friends.