Leaving out ours sightseeing tours and parks, since I want to tell you about shopping, I will try to list at least the places that a lover of shopping low cost Londoner can not fail to visit.
I insist in saying that it is not at all true that in London everything costs a lot and that in the right places (perhaps thanks to the sales) you spend the right amount with satisfaction. That's why I'm not going to tell you about Harrods, Selfrigdes, Burberry or Richmond. Just nice shops at affordable prices.
Clothing and accessories (I mention only a few, in truth there are many shops and chains):
The main street of the shopping in London is definitely Oxfort Street. And there you will also find the main English shopping chains.
Topshop
Loved by stylists and VIPs, Topshop offers a large assortment of ea clothingvery stylish accessories at very affordable prices. The fashion icon Kate Moss has always been a big fan of Topshop, and has also created her own line for the British chain. I highly recommend the Flagship Store in Oxford Street. Up 4 plans find the most commercial part, the designer collection, garments for particularly tall and short people and much more. There is to be dazzled by the immense glitter of the accessories area. There is even a 'pick & mix' table with typical sweets English.
Newlook
Another shop that offers the London fashion at low prices. Here you will find all the basics for your wardrobe from jeans to t-shirts, shoes and boots in many styles and colors, for both women and men. The collections are renewed very often. The Flagship Store is a Marble Arch, an ultramodern building with lots of chrome, steel and mirrors. Beloved come on low cost tourists, but also by Londoners, it is always very popular. Primark sells fashion, shoes and accessories at very low prices. The quality may obviously not always be the best, but this shop is known to have in assortment models from designer-looks that a couple of weeks earlier paraded on the catwalk. The offer changes daily. So if you find something you like, don't hesitate to buy it, it might be your last chance before someone takes it out of your hand :)
Downside: due to very low prices, you often find almost fights inside. No, ok, that's not exactly what happened to me, but given the human concentration in certain corridors (with certain prices) there is to elbow even just to pass. In my opinion it is not really a relaxing shopping but the shop is worth at least a visit.
Urbanoutfitters (my favorite store) .Lifestyle and Concept Store by American origin was born as a 'store for free people' in Philadelphia, selling clothing, accessories and home accessories details: vintage, retro, hipster. It is a fun and somewhat kitschy style, which plays with provocation and exaggeration, while remaining well balanced. A special mention to the fantasy of accessories: necklaces, brooches, very original watches at popular prices. They have something for them too lovers of Lomography.
Designer Sales
If you are interested in the British designers at affordable prices, London is the right place. Samples are for sale and it is also possible to buy directly from the factories / warehouses. A list with the current warehouse sales of the most famous designers can be found here: The best sample sale in the UK.
Around the markets
London has approx 300 markets in which you can buy from second-hand (e vintage), antiques, new things from bankruptcies or liquidations. Not to mention, of course, the markets for fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, etc.
The ones I liked the most, for one shopping very english are the following
Covent Garden but - Su 10-18: Covent Garden was originally the market of fruits and vegetables for the monasteries in the area. Today in the large square there are also vintage clothing, jewelery and many artisans who sell their creations. THE prices are good, if you consider that you often buy handcrafted and unique creations.
Camden Mon - Sun 10 am - 18 pm:
The famous Camden Market consists of 5 sections where there is a mix of clothes, food, crafts and music everywhere. If you are looking for handcrafted and unique gifts, visit the Victorian building in the center. A large concentration of antique dealers and a lot of vintage clothing, something new too (the usual t-shirts).
Petticoat Lane Market Su 9 am - 14 pm
One of the oldest markets in London (over 400 years old). In more than a thousand stands mainly clothing, accessories and toys are sold.
Brick Lane Market Su 8 am - 14 pm
Open on Sundays from 8 to 14.
If you are looking for a flea market where to find a bit of everything, I recommend the Brick Lane Market in the Bengali district. A bit of everything is sold here: furniture, food, tools, dvd. D. bought us an analog camera. There is a whole area dedicated to bicycles (which can be bought whole, in pieces, by the kg in any case) and to their care, where the most unthinkable pieces are obviously new and used. Ah, go there with an empty stomach. You can find delicacies from all over the world (there is a pavilion at the beginning that only with the scents stimulates a wolf hunger) at very low prices.
P Sat 8 am - 17 pm
I don't mention it because I liked it but to warn you. It is almost one a must, and maybe it's also okay to see it at least once, but don't expect to be out of breath. Rather. And the market probably more touristic: many antique dealers (at antique dealer prices), several stalls with vintage clothes (often at prices equal to new), lots of Italians (some a little lost). I would recommend him just to walk past the house he has lived in for a while Sir George Orwell :)
And here there is to get lost: the Westfield Shopping Center
A special mention also goes to the Westfield shopping center. It is easy to get there as it is right outside the metro station White city. Of course, I only recommend it if you stay in the city a few more days and have time. In the end, a shopping center is the same as itself in London, Paris or Rome, but it must be said immediately that Westfield is the biggest shopping center of Europe.
Here you can find, taking the escalator instead of the underground, and without having to move from one part of London to another, all the main British and European commercial chains. If I remember correctly there are over 300 shops. Also in this case there is an app for the mobile phone that guides you from one shop to another and signals any promotions in progress (for those who want to go straight to the point without losing the discount;)
Then there is a whole area (The terrace they call it) with countless restaurants, fast food, fake Caribbean bars, taverns and various oddities. We opted for the renowned Vietnamese (Pho), the price is low, the technology of the public management is very technological, the food is too healthy :)
Only advice: if you intend to pass it, do it at the beginning of the trip, otherwise you risk buying something around and then seeing it again there, obviously taken for granted, which taunts you from a shelf: - /
What do you think, can it be enough? If it were up to me - perhaps it is understood - I would spend hours talking to you about the city, its opportunities and its poetic corners. But maybe I'll do it after the next visit. If you are interested in knowing something else, feel free to comment.
Joja (Johanna von Kress)
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