Urban Outfitters

When first moving to London I was so happy I was going to have access to Urban Outfitters. As a teenager I used to order their clothes as a birthday treat because they were so expensive and the shipping costs were high. So when I got here I started raiding their sales rack. They always have a amazing items on sale, and even the ones that aren't on sale yet still catch your eye. 

I love that they have homeware as well as a strong range of accessories. There are quite a few Urban Outfitters shops in London, and I feel like its always a slightly different experience at each of them. The closest one to my house is all on one floor, and it is fairly small but they have a great range of items and the staff there is really nice. The changing rooms are made out of old wooden door, which adds that little bohemian touch I would love to have in my every day life. 

I've been tempted so many times to buy a huge collection of things from there, but I've somehow managed to hold myself back every time. One day I'll go on that shopping spree, and buy all the homeware and all of the clothes, maybe some shoes too. Overall, I think its a cool an quirky store where you're likely to find something a little bit more different from the other high street stores but still something that would go with all of your other clothes. 

Here's their website: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/uk/index.jsp

Paul Smith at the Design Museum

I didn’t even know London had a design museum until I saw that there was a Paul Smith show going on there. Close to Tower Bridge the design museum is easy to get to, and there’s a cute little walk from the bridge to the museum through a boutique filled alley. The building is huge and white, and it has its own café. 

The staff is conveniently placed, showing you where to walk to get to the show. The first section of the Paul Smith Exhibit explained the start of his career in Nottingham and showed the size of his first shop. There were some beautiful sketches showing how he came up with the key ideas for his brand that are still seen in his work today. 

The biggest room of the exhibit showed a wall of inspirational things that he collected and used as his muse for different collections. Part of his studio was replicated for the show as well. My favourite room was the one showing some of Paul Smith’s collaborative work. He has done many designs for bicycle companies as well as many small projects with different companies such as designing a car for Mini. 

I really enjoyed the show because it allowed me to see his creative vision much more. Paul Smith isn't a designer I know well but the exhibit allowed me to get a good snapshot of the process behind his clothes and all of his other work. 

Here’s the museum’s website: http://designmuseum.org/

Bellville Sassoon at the Fashion and Textile Museum

I went to the Fashion and Textile Museum during the spring to see the Kaffe Fassett exhibit and recently found out there was a Bellville Sassoon exhibit going on. Bellville Sassoon was a company which designed several royal gowns for princess Diana so of course I was intrigued. 

We arrived about 10 minutes after the museum's opening time so the lobby was pretty crowded. It being a pretty small museum meant that when we were walked in there wasn't enough room to see each piece displayed well. So I started viewing the exhibit from the end room. There were several incredible ball gowns shown from the start up of the company to very recently. 

Some pieces had so much intricate detail and others just flowed perfectly on the mannequins. There was a video of their runway shows which showed catwalk from the 70's to now. Everything was set up so well that you could easily move your eye from one dress to the other and stay wonderfully entranced. 

My favourite room was the front room of the show, a room for the brand's work with royals. There were photos and drawings of the different pieces princesses and the queen wore. There were even letters from Diana saying how grateful she was for a dress they had made for her. I think I loved this because not only did it show the person contact the brand had with their clients, but also the way she interacted with people. 

Overall, I really recommend going to this show, you're not going to see anything this special just anywhere. 

Here's the website for the show: http://ftmlondon.org/ftm-exhibitions/bellville-sassoon/

Zara

Over the years I’ve fallen more and more in love with Zara, and Inditex overall. Every time I walk into Zara I know I’ll find something I like. And now you don’t even have to walk into the store to get what you want, they have online shopping too. This is all really great, for everyone and everything, except for my wallet. You see, Zara clothes look great with other Zara clothes. And this is where the cycle gets bad for me, because after I buy one item there I know there are at least a few others I want. 

My body size is quite standard, so its always easy for me to find nice fitting clothes there. And I’m a sucker for Zara jeans. Their prices are low enough for me to get the items I want, but high enough for me not to buy the whole collection every season. Another joy of Zara is that most of their clothes are elegant, and somewhat timeless. Unless you buy that t-shirt that is “so 2013” then you’re likely to be able to wear that item for years. At least that’s what I’ve done with Zara. 

If Zara is not your thing, then you might like one of Inditex’s other brands, such as; Pull & Bear, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, or Stradivarius. I’m going to stop ranting about how great Zara is I just love it and since its a global brand everyone has access to it. If your suitcase ever gets lost, go to Zara.

(all images from the Zara online store)

Here’s their online store: http://www.zara.com/

&OtherStories

My friend Kristin continuously showed me photos of shoes from &OtherStories. So while I was in Milan I finally went into the store and took a good look. I didn't have the time to think about what I wanted so I didn't buy anything but a lot of their jewellery caught my eye. 

Last week I went into the store again. And I didn't buy anything again. But hear me out, its not because I didn't like anything. It's because there's too much stuff I like and I can't spend all my money on accessories and clothes and make-up. But I'll buy something from them soon, I'm sure. I think what I like the most is how all their products look together. 

So if I buy their shoes, I want their bag, and pants, and tops. So I'd end up just wearing &OtherStories clothes. I think I'll start with buying some of their beautiful make-up products and then get into their small items until I can afford their clothes. In fact there was a beautiful eye shadow palette I saw that I regret not buying now. 

In conclusion, &OtherStories is a girly shop, but not in an overly girly way. Every woman can find something she likes but she probably wont like everything in the shop. But if you ever have a spare hour around Oxford Street, look around their shop, you don't have to buy anything. Just soak in the fun creative design that is different from other large stores around.

Here's their website: http://www.stories.com/

Spitalfields Market

Spitalfields Market has something going on every single day. The actual infrastructure is called "Old Spitalfields Market" and on each side of the square there are a few permanent shops, as well as some restaurants. But during the day, until around 5pm, there are street markets. On Thursday the market specifically has vintage stands which sell everything from clothes to home decor, and old cameras. Every stand has some little story linked with each individual item on sale. 

If you have time you should browse slowly and talk to each of the sellers and get to know the products you're interested in. I generally try to avoid that because I spend ridiculous amounts of money when I start to like someone, I tend to feel like I have to buy their stuff. I go there for the atmosphere because everyone is somewhat creative and interesting and at some point everyone is willing to tell their story. 

I tend to buy small postcards for my room because I like to imagine what was going on when the photo was taken and where this place could be. Spitalfields Market, like other markets in London, for me is an escape a way to submerge myself into a different life just for a moment. 

Here's the market's website: http://www.spitalfields.co.uk/

Paper Dress

Paper Dress is a vintage shop in Shoreditch which happens to be a cafe/bar as well. Its really cute from the sign on the outside attracting in customers to the blackboards inside near the bar showing all the available drinks. There are a few small coffee tables inside, and a bigger one with a large couch. There is also cute detailing near the changing rooms where there are old beauty mirrors for the customers to look at the clothes on themselves.

All the clothes sold in Paper Dress are vintage, and the racks are divided by colour and time period, everything is well labelled, showing the decade it is from and any other particular remark. Vintage in London however is never cheap, but there were a bunch of vintage sunglasses for about 10 pounds each, which isn't too bad for some nice sunglasses. 

Generally, the greatest thing about this place is the ambiance, its like you walked into an old movie, because the employees of the shop are all dressed in their favourite eras of the past. Unlike most other stores, there is also a menswear section, which means if you bring boys they wont die of boredom like the normal shopping trip, cause if they don't like the clothes they can sit down and grab a beer. 

Here's their website (they also do cute vintage events once in a while): http://paperdressvintage.co.uk/

Birthdays

Every first Saturday of the month the Dalston bar "Birthdays" hosts a "vintage sale". Its not really a vintage sale, its where individuals choose to sell their old clothes at a really really cheap price. I found a Zara top I wanted from 2 years ago there for 5 pounds. They have some designers stuff, some high street clothes, and some quirky individual make clothes. 

You walk into the bar and you can order coffee or food, and browse through the racks of clothing and accessories. Some people were selling clothes that were really summery and weather appropriate whereas others were selling clothes for all types of different weather. On the ground floor there are loads of different sellers lined up around the "edge" of the room. You then go down a set of stairs where the bar's dance floor usually is and there were more racks of clothes. The colours of the clothes were harder to see downstairs because the lights aren't very bright but there were more unique clothes in the downstairs section. 

Sadly, I didn't find anything, but hopefully I'll be going back on the 1st of June to see if they have anything better. I also want to go there at night cause my friend Daniella said that there was a really good vibe there the last time she went. Also, I really like the venue's logo, its so cute, I love that font! 

I heard of this event through Facebook, but you can also find it on the Birthdays website: http://birthdaysdalston.com/

Asos, Internet Phenomenon

I've become a huge online shopper over the past few months. Its really bad for me because I've become a frequent buyer so they email me almost everyday, and I always find something I like. Generally I only order from places that have free shipping because I like only purchasing a few cheap items. My two favourite English stores are inlovewithfashion.com and asos.com , both have a variety of products and they reflect on my style.
Asos actually means "as seen on screen". I'd like to think that since their a company with only an online market that their clothes are comfortable and they are true to size. My only problem with Asos is that they run out if my size really quickly. At inlovewithfashion both the s/m and the m/l fit me so its not hard to find what I like. Overall I should probably stop shopping since I already have a lot of clothes but its my addiction.