ESTILO GOES TO LONDON

photo courtesy of google images

Recently I made a trip across the pond to London to check out the fashion scene and was hit with a little bit of culture shock.  Coming from New York I was amazed to see how clean the city was.  Hardly any trash littered the streets and I didn't see one rat while I was there.  The weather was a shocker too.  Summer in NY has been a scorcher, but my first night  in London was cold and dreary and certainly didn't feel like the end of June.  Perhaps this was why I saw a lot of women wearing cute floral dresses with tights and flats.



I hit up some of the shopping areas and found a diverse range of fashion for every budget.  On Oxford Street I came across department stores House of Fraser and Debenhams.  Comparable to a Macy's or Bloomingdale's these shops carried typical American brands like Kenneth Cole but also had British brands like H! by Henry Holland which featured flirty dresses, floral prints, and rompers.
                

photo courtesy of style.com

At Debenhams I came across this dress (pictured above, top).  Look familiar?  It's a knockoff from the Prada Spring 2011 collection.  Selling for just 65 pounds (about $100) this garment by Oasis is pretty similar to the real deal.  The dressing room in Debenhams also had a call button for assistance and an electronic key card.  That's not something usually seen stateside but not a bad idea at all.  How many times have you been shopping alone and in need of a size with no sales person in sight?

I hit up Regent Street which reminded me of Madison Ave in New York with stores like Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, Brooks Bros. and London brands like Aquascutum, Burberry and Jaeger.  Bond St. was a lot like Fifth Ave with posh boutiques like Louis Vuitton, Mui Mui and Ralph Lauren.

Spitalfields Market was right in the middle of a business district in London.  Part flea market, part shopping center you could find name brand clothes in shops like Whistles and Chicas, as well as homemade items from vendors at the open air market.

Of course I couldn't make a trip to the UK without a visit to the world famous Harrods department store. Home to what seemed like every high end luxury designer known to man (there was even a pet salon) I nearly got lost in the dimly lit, Egyptian-themed corridors.

Then there was Topshop or as I like to call it, the British H&M.  As ubiquitous as the red double decker buses, the prices are affordable but the clothes cater to a younger crowd and there is a good chance if you buy something here five other people will own the same piece.