London Fashion

We recently traveled to London for the first time.  It was an amazing trip and in my and my family's opinion rivaled our favorite France trip.  London is a busy city, always on the go and we enjoyed being there post pandemic when people seemed thrilled to leave those days behind.  One of my favorite things about traveling to other cities and countries is shopping but I also love observing the way people dress.  I attempted to take photos of ladies out and about, some didn't turn out the best.  Fortunately the week we were in town the weather was mild but the streets of London were always buzzing.

Commuting in London is common, we saw so many ladies on bikes as well as walking and all of their fashion was elevated.  Wide leg cropped pants and jeans were popular and paired with sneakers or boots.  We saw a lot of long, mid-calf skirts and dresses paired with sneakers as well.  London ladies were not afraid of color and pattern.  There were very few people dressed in casual clothes like sweatshirts, leggings, graphic tees and distressed jeans.  Most ladies layered a blazer or trench over their outfits and carried a tote or backpack in addition to their purse.  The streets of London are narrow and parking is not cheap making commuting by bus, train or the underground commonplace.  This makes practical footwear essential.

We did get to do some shopping on our trip.  My son found a really unique shopping experience, Dover Street Market.  It was a multi-level experience with many brands showcasing their merchandise in small unique vignettes.  Each brand's experience was unique and appropriate for their brand.  This was a designer experience with brands such as Gucci, The Row and Balenciaga.

My favorite shopping was at Harrods.  Harrods is an upscale department store founded in 1849.  It contains seven floors with 330 departments and 28 restaurants.  There is a dress code and its motto is omnia omnibus ubique which means everything for everyone, everywhere.  We were surprised to see the food halls offering fresh seafood and grocery items as well as the Tiffany Blue Box Cafe.  I loved the shoe floor and bought a unique pair of elevated sneakers by a unique designer brand.  We ended our visit on the lowest floor, entirely filled with Harrods branded souvenir merchandise.  I already had my iconic green shopping bag so I just had to score some items for my family.  The store occupies a 5 acre site and has 11 million square feet of retail space.

The other iconic store we visited was Selfridges.  Selfridges was founded in 1909 and is a chain with other locations.  We visited the flagship which had a far different feel than Harrods.  Their iconic bag was a bold yellow.  This store is 540,000 square feet.  I much prefer shopping small, unique, independent boutiques but I did want to get my hands on a Burberry item as a souvenir of London.  Burberry was founded in 1856 in England.  Thomas Burberry invented gabardine, a weatherproof fabric.  Burberry is the first brand to make runway collections available to consumers for purchase immediately after the show.  I purchased the iconic checked Burberry scarf, the perfect souvenir from the UK.  The sweet sales associate placed my Burberry bag inside the iconic yellow Selfridges bag.  Now I need to find a place to put all these shopping bag souvenirs, wallpaper perhaps?

Have you been to London?  Did you notice anything memorable about the fashion?  We would love to know.