Winter sales in London

Well, after a nice relaxing evening, and not having to answer to early morning wake-up calls, we were re-energized and ready to crack the winter sales in London.  All the shops along Oxford Street had SALES signs plastered on the shop front and unless you had loads of time, you needed a plan as to how best to tackle the sales.  Luckily, Tony knows the scene pretty well, so we hit Selfridges first to check out what we could find under this one roof.  My eyes feasted on the racks of beautiful clothing from Kenzo, Cavalli, Gucci, McQueen, etc., however, given the strength of Sterling, the prices were still pretty steep, inspite of being discounted by 50%.  The shoes and boots were fabulous and I did end up buying one pair of boots.

After Selfridges, we went to nearby South Molton Street to see what luxury labels were available there.  It was an attractive street, but unfortunately most of the shops were closed for the holidays.  We walked along Bond Street and saw more big names there, but knew that prices would be high at these places.  Fortunately, I had my shopping fix in Rome and I was no longer craving to acquire more designer goodies.  We then moved along to Carnaby Street as I hadn’t been there for a very long time. It’s quite developed and is more mainstream now with many chain stores and restaurants.  Those who grew up in the swinging sixties will remember the Kinks and their song “Dedicated follower of fashion” in which reference was made to Carnaby Street.  Unfortunately, it’s lost the trendy, pop edge and today it feels very bland.

I must say I preferred my shopping spree in Rome and Paris, and London you’ll have to work a bit harder to get my shopping vote.

Helen