London, the vibrant and exciting city which is the capital of England and an important global financial center is also renowned the world over for being a trendsetter in the worlds of fashion, art and music. The quirky individualistic style of the British is much admired and imitated by fans all over the globe.
London’s main shopping drag is the tourist heavy Oxford Street which is located in the heart of the city and which is usually mobbed with local and international shoppers especially on the weekends. In fact shopping on Oxford Street is such a passion amongst tourists and locals alike that the stores located offer late night shopping on Thursday evenings when most of them stay open until 9pm or later.
Apart from Oxford Street, many other localities in London all have their own shopping strips which are colloquially called ‘High Streets’. These high streets have branches of the main stores which are usually headquartered in Oxford Street. These High Street shops tend to translate the new trends which are displayed on the catwalks of the world almost immediately. As a result of which most fashionistas can afford to acquire the latest styles almost as soon as they are unveiled on the catwalk at these stores at a fraction of the prices that are charged by high end stores that sell designer wares.
Its no wonder then that high street shopping in London has achieved world wide fame so much so that the New York’s hallowed Metropolitan Museum of Art a couple of years ago even had a retrospective of British Fashion titled ‘Cool Brittania’ which highlighted the vivacity and effervescence of British style.
So which are these temples of cool which are must-shop destinations for any tourist when visiting London?
TopShop
TopShop which has its flagship store at London’s Oxford Circus is the ultimate shopping Mecca for those who wish to acquire hip and stylish clothes without breaking the bank. TopShop and its allied menswear store TopMan are both owned by the Arcadia group. The store is only London High Street retailer to have a regular show at the annual London Fashion Week and its carries lines designed by the iconic British super model Kate Moss.
Top Shop has a presence in more than countries in the world and such is its global appeal that in the USA where it is yet to open an outlet it has formed an alliance with high end retailer Barneys to market select lines.
NEXT
NEXT is another British high street brand which has a dedicated following as it carries fashionable products for all the family. Next also has a home décor section and enables its shoppers to shop through mail order using its catalogue called Next Directory. Such is the appeal of NEXT that people queue up in the wee hours of the morning to get to the massive NEXT sale which takes place right after Christmas each year.
Primark
Primark is an Irish brand which has a strong retail presence in the U.K. The chain has a flagship store located on prime real estate on London’s Oxford Street. The chain has a tag line that reads ‘ Look Good Pay Less’ and the chain retails trendy fashionable garments at ridiculously cheap prices. As a result of this Primark is the current darling of London’s high street but it recently attracted much criticism as some of its Asian suppliers are using child labor to produce the cheap garments that the chain retails.
Marks and Spencers
This brand which has been historically associated with great British quality had suffered in recent years and lost out to its more stylish high street competitors due to its stodgy and frumpy image. However the management has taken steps to alter this and in recent times it has introduced fresh and younger lines like Per Una, the Limited Collection and Autograph and this has allowed ‘Marks and Sparks’ as the brand is affectionately called to regain lost ground.
New Look, River Island, Monsoon and Accessorize
These stores may have not achieved the cult status of Topshop but these are other locations on the British high street where you can find hip stylish clothes and shoes which carry the inimitable mark of the individualistic British style.
Happy Shopping!
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 5:56 am and is filed under Shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 8th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
It’s difficult to shop in london because everything’s so expensive.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Yes, I do agree that the pound is very strong nowadays but shopping in a store like Primark is always a bargain. No wonder its flagship store on Oxford Street is always mobbed and London stores do have some great sales in the summer and after Christmas too.
August 1st, 2008 at 4:20 am
It is indeed expensive for asians but if you are there on summer sales, some of the UK brands are worth it to buy.