Fierce+Foreign: For the love of dept. stores

Fierce+Foreign draws on the fashion experiences of SU's abroad students.

London: Carine Umuhumuza

 With loads of deals, Primark is hard to resist. Note the heavy bags!

Greetings from across the pond! After a few short weeks here, I quickly discovered that Londoners love only one thing more than a good afternoon tea and football: shopping. 

With a wide range of fashion boutiques and shops, the most intriguing to me is the London department store. With over 10 department stores on Oxford Street (the city’s fashion boulevard), Londoners only have to hit one store to enjoy both a day out and get everything they need. Two stores, Primark and Selfridges, are particularly great examples.

Located near the Marble Arch tube stop, Primark is a one-stop shop for young urbanites looking for all things trendy. In the three-level store, shoppers can find men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, accessories, and home-goods at any price point. Shoes, lingerie and bath towels; anything you could possibly want is there. 

The price points are also hard to beat. 3£ for a sparkly clutch? Sold! But with hard to beat prices often comes some downfalls. At 5£, the quality is probably not going to not be that great. But then again, by the time it falls apart it will probably be out of fashion anyway! 
 

Selfridges & Co., Oxford Street inside view 

The second largest department store in the UK (after Harrods) is Selfridges & Co., and is known for giving its patrons “the ultimate shopping experience”. Founded by Golden Selfridge in 1909, it was unlike any store before its time. Its unique window and clothing displays made shopping at Selfridges more like visiting a favorite museum — one where you could touch the artifacts — rather than a tedious task. 

Selfridge brought in movie stars, played music (it was also the first department store to have a radio station) and made shopping similar to a day out on the town. The store’s legacy continues drawing many tourists to its flagship store on Oxford Street.  Even those who can’t afford the high-end labels come to take in its grandeur and enjoy a cup of afternoon tea at the café.

- by Carine Umuhumuza