Department store
shopping
By Mandy Carter
The West End can boast of four regal establishments
that have for years been the epitome of shopping in London.
Whether you fancy the grandeur of Liberty's, the style of
Selfridges, the range of John Lewis or the designers at Debenham's,
there is truly something for everyone. Whether or not we can
all afford it is another matter.
There is something rather grand about doing
all your shopping in a department store. These places seem
to belong to another age, especially the wonderful Liberty's.
Walking inside you can almost imagine how London used to be,
and the service and attention you get from the trained staff
in all these shops makes you feel a bit like a Prince or a
Princess. In fact these shop assistants can seem a little
too 'regal' themselves at times.
If I were advising what to buy from
these four stores from a quick impression based and biased
on my budget, it would be to buy make up and beauty care from
Debenham's; linen, luggage and haberdashery from John Lewis;
clothes from Selfridges and decadent glamorous luxury items
from Liberty's. Go on, you know you want to...
Libertys
Libertys two wonderful buildings are combined together and exude the feel of walking into a grand manor house - rich but homely. The amazing scarf hall has to be seen to be believed, but don't assume that just because the building dates from the 1920's that so will the fashions and the prices - oh no!
Cutting edge designers grace these walls within,
as well as some of the graces from bygone years - the needlework
department is fantastic. Should you wish to sit down and enjoy
an afternoon tea - Arthurs is the established restaurant here.
Your pot of Earl Grey and fruit tart will cost you approx:
£4.70, but it will taste divine.
Libertys
214 Regent Street
W1B 5AH
tel: 020 7734 1234
www.liberty-of-london.com
Selfridges
Entering Selfridges
on Oxford St and you will be thrust into the perfume department,
where hoards of exquisite girls and boys will be out to excite
you with new perfume, or at least spray your wrist at every
step. There are six floors to tempt you here once you have
found your way through the mist of perfume and circumnavigated
the oyster bar. The other floors cover everything from mens
and women's designer clothing, shoes and evening wear to furnishing
and bed linen. The lower ground floor has book, technology
and even key-cutting.
You can sit down and rest at any of the 19
thoughtful cafes, bars and restaurants that Selfridges have
provided us with - these range from champagne bars to the
Haagen Dazs Café!
Selfridges
400 Oxford Street
W1A 1AB
tel:020 7318 3620
www.selfridges.co.uk
John Lewis
John Lewis not
only has designer clothing within its walls - but also everything
you may need to jazz up vintage finds in the haberdashery
department.
This store is the place that you go to when
there is something specific that you need, and you've tried
everywhere else to no avail. There is an air of respectability
and stability within these walls, and the shop that started
as a drapers still has a long running association with high
quality bed-linen and other fabrics.
John Lewis
278-306 Oxford St
W1C 1DX
tel:0207 629 7711
www.johnlewis.com
Debenhams
My mum loves Debenhams - it's the sort of place that also has many designer clothing and products inside - but you also get that feeling that you may stumble across a bargain.
Debenhams bills itself as Britains favourite
department store and it possibly is. Certainly out of these
four giant stores Debenhams is the one that is the most widespread,
and maybe what most of us would class as our first experience
of department store shopping. When you finish shopping you
can also sit down to a meal designed by Jane Asher, as her
lunch menu is exclusive to the store.
Debenhams
334-348 Oxford Street
W1C 1JG
tel:0207 580 3000
www.debenhams.co.uk
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West
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