Off To London For Xmas Shopping By Gabrielle Teare

Today sees the opening of the biggest shopping mall in Europe, The Westfield. Located in West London it has all the high street shops plus an area called The Village with top designer brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Mulberry. Costing £1.6Billion $1.06Billion, it is huge,a large airy space with unusual brands like the Italian must-have shirt company Nara Camiche.

The plunging pound means that London is now the bargain capital of Europe for designer clothes. Catwalk clothes and accessories are 30% cheaper than in Milan or Paris. For example D&G Lily bag is £695 equivalent to E958 in London compared to E1,190 in Continental Europe and $465. Burberry high-waisted flares are £350 , E550 compared to $233.

The dramatic weakening of the pound against the dollar means that London hotels are reporting a large increase in American visitors booking for Xmas shopping. The pound is at its lowest rate for the last 5 years. Online retailers report that in October orders from Americans have doubled. As a Stylist my diary is now being booked for Personal Shopping by Americans for Xmas and January Sales as affluent shoppers are prepared to travel to get a great price for their luxury goods.

The department store Selfridges reported a 20% increase in European visitors last month alone. Summer produced an 83% increase in shoppers from United Arab Emirates. All summer I had clients from here and also Dubai.

Kate Moss has this week launched a range for Top Shop which is a high street marque. This is a vintage inspired Christmas Collection ranging from £65, or $43 for a rock-chic triangle rock dress to £400, or $266 for a navy long evening dress. This is seriously cheap and seriously chic.
The European trend of recent years of visiting New York to snap up clothes, shoes and designer bags at half price is set to be reversed as London becomes the new Bargain Designer Capital.