London Shops by type
To find out about shopping in London, simply choose from one of the
category listings below. Underneath, you'll also find a brief explanation as to the type
of shops found in areas such as Covent Garden, Oxford Street, Sloane Square and Hatton
Garden. For each shop listed, a link to the company's official website is given where
possible.
Background Information
Along with Paris and New York, London offers probably the best shopping experience
of any city in the world. Indeed, visitors to the capital are often overwhelmed by the sheer range
of goods available. However, whilst shoppers are spoilt for choice, there's also a feeling
(justified to a point) that London stores charge over the odds in comparison to their overseas
counterparts. What's more, in recent years debate has raged between retailers, consumer groups and
the Government over claims about the country being "rip off Britain".
In truth, while there's some validity to the argument that prices for certain
goods are higher than elsewhere (particularly CDs, electrical goods and clothing), if you spend
time looking around there are still bargains to be had. In addition, many stores hold sales at
various times of the year, offering cut price goods to eager shoppers (pictured above left: Lush
Cosmetics Covent Garden).
For major international and British Brands, London's main shopping
areas tend to centre around Oxford Street and Regent Street, while Knightsbridge is home to stores
stocking even more upmarket goods. Anyone looking for specialist items should head to Covent
Garden, whilst those with serious money to spend gravitate towards New Bond Street (home to some of
Britain's most exclusive shops). If you're after bargain electrical goods Tottenham Court Road is a
must, while Hatton Garden is the place to go for watches and jewellery.
Below, you'll find a summary of what's on offer in London's principal shopping
areas. However, if you wish to jump straight to our review pages click
here.
Department stores - concentrated mainly on Oxford Street, although
Knightsbridge has two of the most popular in Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
Brand stores/outlets - a large number of these stores are situated in
the area around Regent Street.
Designer shops - heavily populated on Old/New Bond Street and Sloane
Street.
Independent/smaller fashion shops and boutiques - located on the
streets around Covent Garden, with an ever growing number also drawn back to London's famous
Carnaby Street (which has enjoyed a real renaissance as a trendy fashion destination over the last
couple of years).
Traditional British/bespoke tailoring - centred around Piccadilly,
particularly on Jermyn Street and Savile Row.
Music shops - all of the capital's megastores have a presence in central London,
although if you're looking for rare cuts, 12" and vinyl then Soho is probably the best place to
head (as here you'll find a number of independent shops covering all music genres).
Bookshops - while large bookstores such as Waterstone's and Borders are
well represented all over London, other good bookshops (both large and small) are situated on both
the Charing Cross Road and around Covent Garden.
Jewellery - for expensive items head to New Bond Street. However, for
the widest possible choice its worth travelling further afield to Hatton Garden (near Farringdon),
which has a high concentration of long established jewellers offering a staggering array of
pieces.
As some of the businesses highlighted on our pages have more than one branch,
we've listed what are (or we consider) to be the main/flagship stores. In addition, its worth
noting that large department stores, such as Harrods and Selfridges, stock clothing ranges from
most leading designers. Where possible, we've also included website addresses for those shops
listed.
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