London Shopping Tips by nomadig

Name of Shop: Urban Outfitters

If you are looking for trendy young fashions, head towards Urban Outfitters on Oxford Street. It is a curious mix of a high street shop and an independent young fashion designer boutique. These are not the clothes you would wear for a job interview -- unless you are a seeking a position here or in Diesel -- but instead they fit the streets.

The store has three levels, all packed with clothes and other items worth checking. The pricetag is not the smallest, but this is not a high end fashion store either.

Beside clothes, they sell also home furnishing and all kinds of smaller stuff.



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Theme: Men's Clothes
Phone: +44 207 907 0815
Address: 200 Oxford Street
Website: www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk

Name of Shop: Muji

If you think that form should follow function, Muji might just be the shop fo you. The Japanese store has made simplicity a form of art. All items are stripped from superfluous details until the core is found.

Simplicity does not mean boring or ugly products. The stuff on sale is comparable to other design products. There are no big innovations, but no quirks either.

There are several Muji stores in London, usually at least one on every high street. We visited store on Carnaby street, a couple blocks from Oxford Circus. The store is not the biggest one, but it has all major categories on sale: office items, tools, clothes, tableware and furniture.



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Theme: Home Furnishing
Phone: +44 20 7287 7323
Address: 41 Carnaby Street
Website: www.muji.co.uk

Name of Shop: GAP Kids

One of the frequent destinations in London for us Finnish parents are GAP Kids and Baby GAP stores. Their clothes are of good quality and the price is quite good, too.

The store in question is located very centrally on Regent Street, in an old classy shoproom. The place could host also a design store, but the children clothing store blends in nicely.

The selection is not very exhaustive and focuses almost exclusively on basic stuff; trousers, jeans, shirts and onesies. Fortunately they come in variety of designs and colours, not just in baby pink and baby blue.



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Theme: Children's Clothes
Phone: +44 20 7287 5095
Address: 208 Regent Street
Website: www.gap.com

Name of Shop: Borders

Borders bookstore on Oxford Street is a centrally located haven for all bibliophiles. The selection is excellent in English literature, and there is a small number of books in other languages, too.

They sell also CDs, maps and other stuff usually associated with a bookstore. There is a Starbucks café to rest your feet while browsing through the shelves.

Unlike most of the other stores in London, bookstores are open till late -- it is always fun to visit the photography section in late hours to see several men flipping through the more adult oriented photoshoot books.

Books are surprisingly expensive in the United Kingdom -- but usually there are possibilities to bundle several books together and get them cheaper. This deal excludes bestsellers and all books outside the mainstream, but gives just enough options to buy a few books for the aeroplane.



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Theme: Books
Phone: +44 207 292 1600
Address: 203 Oxford Street
Website: www.borders.co.uk

Name of Shop: Hamley's

Hamley's toy store is a must destination for everyone having children -- albeit it might be best to leave the children to hotel, or you might find spending the whole day there. And catching sleep next night would become next to impossible, as the excitement of so many toys, blinking colours and flashing lights would be just too much, especially for the young ones.

The store has several floors, all filled with tantalising toys and games for children of all ages. There are both old wooden classic toys and the latest plastic electronic gadgets, and everything in between. Chances are that you find the items you are looking for. The staff is eager to help, and there are toy mini-exhibitions on every floor to get the taste.

The prices are reasonable, but not cheap.



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Theme: Toys and Games
Phone: +44 870 333 2455
Address: 188 - 196 Regent Street
Website: www.hamleys.com

Name of Shop: Lovejoys

When you are looking for decent prices on books, Lovejoys Book Shop on the end of Old Compton Street is a good destination. The small bookshop has several shelves of books with moderate pricetags. Some of the books are in a bit crummy shape, and some seem to be standing on shelves for half a decade or more -- but they might still be a good deal.

The service is non-existent, but fortunately the books are easy to find and the cashier accept payments. Note that the shop doubles in the basement.



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Theme: Books
Phone: +44 20 7437 1988
Address: 99A Charing Cross Road

Name of Shop: Nine West

Covent Garden is an ideal location for a lazy afternoon stroll amongst shops, and Nine West is a good destination for ladies looking for fashionable and still affordable clothing and accessories.

The airy store is located on James Street, quite near the Covent Garden tube station. The ground floor is devoted to shoes and boots, and the basement has bags and clothes. The service is friendly and swift. The pricetag is higher than in the neighbouring shops, but still low enough to be purchased from ordinary salary.



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Theme: Women's Clothes
Phone: +44 20 7836 8485
Address: 1 James Street
Website: www.ninewest.com

Name of Shop: Ego Shego

Ego Shego is a funkily named shoe store in the boutique end of Covent Garden, a couple of block away from the tube station. The smallish store has surprisingly wide variety of shoes and boots for both him and her -- and as usual, the selection for her is much bigger than for him...

The items are tilted heavily towards young people and mid-priced brands. The design and the craftmanship of the items are quite ok, but sometimes the affordability shows with lack of details or sort of old-fashioned design. You can find real gems, too.



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Theme: Shoes
Phone: +44 20 7836 9260
Address: 76 Neal Street

Name of Shop: Shelly's

Shelly's is a biggish shoes and boots store just next to the Covent Garden tube station. Their showroom is full of shoes of all sizes, shapes and colours. Both genders have a big selection, but the men shoes look bit duller.

The prices are okay, but sometimes this shows as lack of good design or quality. However, you may make some real nice findings there, too. The staff is very friendly, but leaves you alone if you so wish.



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Theme: Shoes
Phone: +44 20 7240 3726
Address: 14-18 Neal Street
Website: www.shellys.co.uk

Name of Shop: Burberry

Nothing could be labelled more British than Burberry in the world of Fashion. The brand mixes the countryside elegance with chicness of London and does it in style. One of their London fashion complexes is located on Regent Street, one of the busiest shopping districts in the city.

Burberry caters for all ages and genders. The selection consists of clothes, shoes, bags, fragnances, and accessories. Dogs are not forgotten either -- you can buy a water cup or a leash sporting the Burberry tartan.

The prices of certain items, such as bags, are affordable to most of us. The clothes may make you think twice before purchasing.



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Theme: Women's Clothes
Phone: +44 20 7968 0000
Address: 65 Regent Street
Website: www.burberry.com