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

The Stylist's Rail

Having spent half my Friday on Facebook I saw that there was something going on at the Hoxton Hotel on the Saturday. And I decided to check it out. It was the Stylist's Rail at the Hoxton Hotel. I had gone to one of their previous events with some friends at Birthdays in Dalston back in May so I was looking forward to seeing how it would be different at a hotel. 

Upon arrival I heard some really great music, and saw some really beautiful photos in the hallway before I even got to the clothes. Once I stepped into the room I felt underdressed, everyone looked so edgy and so “London” and I was just in jeans and a t-shirt. But I got over it pretty quickly because the music was so good. After browsing through a few racks of clothes I found a few really cute items. I had only brought 30 pounds with me, so I had to look through and pick the few items I really really liked. 

I’m really happy I chose what I did, I’ve worn both items a few times already, and when I’m a little less broke I’m looking forward to going to another one of their sales. Bring friends, and head over to one of their events, it would have taken me much less time to choose what I wanted if my friends had been there with me. And if you’re a little fashion forward its a great place to go to find something a little different or a trend item that you think might be having a “come back”. 

Here’s their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheStylistsRail

Brandy Melville

Having strolled down Kings Road several times I’ve stopped by Brandy Melville countless times. I love this store, they have so many cute details to decorate the place and to make it personal to the location it’s in unlike other international brands’ branches. The staff is always really friendly and willing to help but they don’t pressure you in the changing room area by letting you try on as much as you like and take your time. The decor plays on old and new, the stairs look run down in a rustic kind of way. They only do most of their clothes in one size, relying on their motto “one size fits most”. 

They also have a great selection of jewellery compared to other high street stores their items are thought out in relation to their brand and if you had the money you could just wear Brandy Melville clothes. They always play casual fun loving music to keep you in the store longer. All I need to keep me in the store is touching their clothes. Somehow they’ve found a way to make all their clothes super soft and lovely. I’ve been tempted to buy a sweater in every colour just because I know I’d look nice and feel like I’m wearing a blanket.

You can browse their collections online, but if you’re looking for some great basics for your closet that you want to last you a long time go take a look. They also have some fun and quirky items. This spring they had a top which said “you can’t sit with us” (like the line from Mean Girls). 

Here’s their website: http://www.brandymelvilleusa.com/

Lina Stores

Strolling through Soho I noticed this shop with Italian cookies in the window. So of course I walked in. Lina Stores has a huge variation of Italian food. Mostly products that are long lasting are featured in the shop. And they even have my favourite canned tuna. Having grown up with my Italian parents I like to find high quality food. Lina Stores also had a homemade pesto that was to die for.

I spent about 4 pounds on this tub of pesto. But I was able to eat pasta with it at least 4 times. And I even put it on my toast. It was amazing. The flavour quality it had was so good that I can’t wait to go back to get some more. They also have a huge selection of cheese and hams. You should see their salamis! 

If you’re not a foodie but you’re strolling through Soho, you might want to stop in to get a bottle of wine. Their wine selection is great, sadly I didn’t get to try any because I was too focused on the food. But if you’re a sucker for any slightly special sauce think of going there to get it. Because if you had an amazing dish of pasta in a restaurant you might be able to make it at home for much less and it will still be that good. 

When I go back I’m going with a huge shopping bag, and a long list of things I’m going to buy. Also, their logo is this cute light teal and white. Which I find very light and playful; perfect with the flavours of their food. 

Here’s the website for Lina Stores: http://www.linastores.co.uk/

&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/

Brick Lane Market

Brick Lane is usually just a long street with a lot of Bengali restaurants, but on Sundays it changes completely. It's invaded by what seems like half of London filling the streets and giving the food court sections a lot of money. Some celebrities have been caught shopping at Brick Lane market, if you like that kind of thing. But most of all I love the diversity of this one street.

Everyone seems to interact so well. You have to start from the food court. You can get an incredibly diverse meal for about 5 pounds. If you want a drink you may need to spend a little more, and the sushi is slightly more expensive. But you can get amazing Italian calzoni, or Turkish halloumi wraps, and now they even have a stand with blue lemonade and skinny round slices of potatoes on a stick. Everything is a little quirky. 

Under the food court there is a section where there are vintage clothes, and the first time I ever went there I found Christian Louboutin shoes for 200 pounds (so cheap!) but you can find a few other cool things. My favourite stand is a jewelry one that does two items for 10 pounds. Allowing me to have increased my earring collection a lot. There is also another warehouse type building with stands of individual artists who sell their t-shirt designs as well as their jewelry and cards. I really like a girl that does drawings of birds in hats, this is her site: http://birdsinhats.blogspot.com/. The market is only every Sunday, from about 10am, to 5pm, but its really worth going. You can even buy old records, and old cameras for affordable prices. 

Here's the website for the market: http://www.visitbricklane.org/

Anthropologie

The only thing I've ever bought from Anthropologie are books. But the inside of their stores make you wish you could afford all their other products. Every dress seems to have enough details to tell a story, and every cute little bowl has a print you've never seen before. I tend to go to Anthropologie with my friend Daniella because she buys the clothes. I've hunted through the their sales racks but still have never been able to buy anything.

However I do appreciate their selection of books a lot. They have slightly more interesting cooking books and their other books range from autobiographies to DIY books. Maybe I just like their books because of the pretty covers, but I've found that the books I've bought from there I actually read. Which is generally a good sign because I've had some books on my shelf since uni started and I still haven't looked through them once. 

Anthropologie is nice because the warm colours of their stores make you somewhat feel at home, and unlike most shops they tend to have nice seating areas where you can just soak you surroundings. In the shop on Regents Street they have a whole wall of plants, which I think is pretty cool. 

Here's their website: http://www.anthropologie.eu/uk/page/home

Beach in the East

Beach in the East is/was a really cool pop up store my friend found online. It was in a less busy street of Shoreditch and you had to follow a few signs to get to the actual store. The moment you step in though it seems like you really are at the beach. 

They had windsurfing sails tied to the ceiling, blow up beach toys near the entrance, and the whole store was set up in a fake swimming pool. The clothes were really displayed well because you could see the different colours of the clothes pop from the background colour of the pool. There was even a fake ladder that would have helped you get in the water if you needed to.

The clothes were a combination of jeans jackets designed very differently from your ordinary jeans jacket, and swimsuit in interesting bright prints. They had a pair of ripped jeans I would have killed for, but they were very very expensive. Kristin tried on a jeans jacket that was painted with what seemed like white lacquer paint, and it looked really good on her. However the cool design of the paint made it hard for her to move so it was the kind of jacket you needed to break in. 

Here's a link to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Beachintheeast?directed_target_id=0

Swapaholics

Googling cool things to do in London multiple times I came across "Swapaholics". Its a group of people who organize clothing swaps. You show up, hand in your clothes that you no longer want, and depending on how many items you get then you get a paper with that number written on it. You can browse through everyone's clothes and pick out what you like but you can only take away a maximum of pieces, the number of pieces you leave with can't exceed the number you showed up with. Until the free for all in the last 30 minutes of the event. 

My friend and I arrived pretty early so we were able to be-friend one of the ladies working there who happened to have the same name as me. We were able to browse a lot before other people showed up, and I was able to find a few cute things. They also set up that during the event there would be live music. It was a guy and his acoustic guitar. He sang and played, performing really famous songs, which I happened to quietly sing a long to. 

I really liked the experience of trading clothes because everyone kind of felt like a mini community. It was fun  and I'm definitely going again. I just need to collect up some clothes I no longer want. They do these events every few months around London, this time it was in Hackney, but previously it has been in Earl's Court. 

Here's their website: http://swapaholicsuk.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/

Souks Marrakesh

Shopping in Morocco is very different from walking down Oxford Street. There are not many "real stores" in Marrakesh unless you go to some of the malls in the new part of the city. The main stores in the Medina are the Souks. Souks are small individual stands which sell regional items and are generally owned by two people. One of these people stands or sits inside the shop and the other one stands outside and tries to lure you in. If you even look at one person's items they will notice that you looked and therefore convince you to look into the store for a better view. 

There are different zones for the different key items being sold. There are specific roads and areas for leather, slippers, jewelry, clothes, lanterns, and clay goods. However they do sort of all blend into one. You will find at least one jewelry store mixed in with all the leather ones. 

Its nice because you can browse at which ever speed you like, and unlike in Europe you can haggle prices to very low and they will still give you the product. You just have to know how to bargain. After the first few days I started getting the hang of it, and I rarely changed the original number I gave them but Daniella was very good at it from the start. You have to be firm and not let them scare you. Try your best not to show them you want their product. 

I loved looking through the crowded jewelry displays and all the other interesting things they had for sale. But thankfully we didn't happen to walk past the animal section of the Souks on any of our visits. 

One thing that people will often tell you is that you will get lost in the Souks, its true. But its ok, after you buy something just ask the seller where you are on your map and how to get to the road you want. Do not ask people on the street because they'll ask for money, or will only tell you where the square (Jemaa el Fna) is. Be alert, but try to enjoy the different experience. We had a lot of fun!