Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a place that never gets empty, a lot of brands have their flagship stores there such as Topshop, Nike etc. It starts from Marble Arch and goes all the way to Tottenham Court Road. All the shops pay big attention to their store design and window displays. It's not suprising really as there is so many shops to chose from, they have to stand out in one way or another. It's a great opportunity to attract some tourists as well because let's face it who would go to visit London and missed out on Oxford Street? 

Topshop store is massive, I always get disorientated there, but to be honest their V&M is pretty crazy, always a lot of random things going on in there, but that's what makes it interesting. River Island also does a good job at it. 

Nearly 2 years ago Primark opened a huge store in Marble Arch and I have to give them credit for trying to stand up to their competition, because their window displays look creative and playful, but beware of the longest queues is the world if you ever go there. 

Although all the shops are unique in their own way there is one that beats them all. Selfridges store has the most amazing window displays I have ever seen. Whether it's winter, summer or spring their window displays are immense. Sometimes they can be very random, and other times just arty and fun but the creativity level are always used to the max. Inside the store layout is also very thought through and friendly to the customer. 

Overall it's a nice place to go to on a good old shopping spree as there is a lot of shops to choose from and because they're big, you can enjoy wide ranges of products. Avoid weekends if you can though, it does get rammed! And if you get tired you can go to Marble Arch and chill in Hyde Park (: 

Carnaby Street

I have to tell you, whenever I got to  Carnaby Street it makes me hyped up. It's hidden away between Oxford Street and Picadilly Circus when you go in there you feel like you have entered totally different world. All the shops are quite small, but visual merchandising and architecture is just amazing. 
What I love the most are the shops around the corner from Diesel shop which looks like it' was built out of old wood 20 years ago and hasn't been painted since, but don't get me wrong it matches perfectly with the in store design and heritage message they are trying to show. 


My two favourite shops must be 'Beyond the Valley' and 'Lammography'. Beyond the Valley sells very quirky and fun clothes, mainly t-shirts although I did fall in love with couple of checked shirts they had on display. Shop has very vintage but random decorations such as old clock inside antlers skull next to vintage telephone in a shape of a shoe. As weird as it may sound when you're inside the store it actually looks cool. Lammography sells different types of cameras but they make them in different colours and designs which couldn't be cooler. Prices are very high but products are definitely worth the cost. What I love about their store is that they have polaroid pictures nearly all over the store but for example on the ceiling they only have pictures of sky and clouds and then on the sides various trees and people enjoying themselves in the sun. It looks amazing and makes you feel very welcome and friendly. Both stores are right next to each other  and look very cosy and stylish from outside, you can sign their guest book and receive e-mails about various offers and events. 

Other stores around Carnaby street also try very hard with V&M and deco in order to match their brand personality and image. What I also like about that place is that there is always something going on in there if they don't have major balloons covering whole of the street then there will be 'Central Perks Cafe' where people can enjoy coffee in the same restaurant layout from "Friends" series.  


It's definitely a place worth visiting, even thought some prices may be high it's still good to experience the magical V&M and quirky designs. Employees are very polite and friendly and make you feel very welcome in each store. 

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is one of London’s top tourist destinations, but believe me, there is more to meet the eye than a guy trying to get out of a straight jacket in 2 minutes, crazy jugglers and people pretending to be statues. Whenever I go to Covent Garden my first stop is ‘Cyber Candy’, they sell all sorts of American sweets with ‘Lucky charms’ being the most popular purchase. Their window display is like a little piece of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. They have their product range set out on the display with massive Hello Kitty or Homer Simpson figures which together with colourful packaging make you want to have a little peak inside. And it’s nearly impossible to leave with empty hands.

All the shops around Covent Garden, especially high end ones like Fred Perry or Lyle and Scott have very simple and traditional yet luxurious look. I think mostly people would go inside the store, because of the popular brand name, not because the window display caught their attention. Boutiques in the Apple market however have very little space to decorate their stores and window displays but they sure do the great job at promoting their products. Each store has their own feel to it. For example one of the shops that sells sailors clothing has old maps and wooden ships laying around the store. Even though they’re not for sale they represent what the store is about. We can see this pattern throughout most stores in the apple market. 

One of my favourites must be ‘Candy Cakes’, their muffins taste just as good as they look. Although they are quite expensive, they’re definitely worth extra pennies. When I saw their window display I felt like I was in Alice in Wonderland. All the muffins are covered in colourful icing with all sorts of jellies stuck on the top. Store is painted green and has pink seats and tables which reflect the business logo. It all looks so magical and cute which makes it so hard not to try anything. I always recommend it to anyone who is going to Covent Garden. In this case Candy Cakes are not using any promotional techniques, because products are enough to attract people inside the store.  

We can also see that in market stoles with vintage and most random products. They don’t need to make much effort in decorating, because the beautiful products already make them stand out.

There are some products which you can’t find anywhere else and that’s what makes Covent Garden very special and beautiful place to shop at. 

Camden Town

Camden Town is the first place I have chosen to talk about in my blog. 
There is something unique and special about it that always made me want to go back there. Best sweet and sour chicken you could ever try might be one of them, but it's surely the individual and quirky shops that do it for me as well. Camden has changed lately as about 5 years ago it was full on punky and gothic place where all the rockers and punks would meet followed by group of emo kids hanging around under Camden Lock bridge. It use to feel like you're the odd person there, because you're 'normal'. 
All you could find around the market would be gothic/rock/punk/ and other dark clothing and accessories. But as it was becoming more famous and visited by more tourists (currently 150,000 a week) it made massive changes. 
Especially the markets have expanded which now include:
>Camden Lock market: is the first market in Camden starting from the bridge over canal and going Chalk Farm way. You can find any sort of gifts, accessories, unique (some hand made clothing), food and the coolest 80's store possibly existent. 'Cyber dog' use to be the main attraction of it as their shop looked like it was in another world. They had crazy figures around the store which looked predator like, they played very loud techno music and sometimes they would have dancers dressed in high platforms, neon clothes, big make up and colourful hair (dreadlocks mostly) dancing to it. The clothes weren't very in fashion; most of them looked like they were designed for out of space movie or something, but they had flashing matrix t-shirts which were quite popular amongst customers. Everyone that went to Camden went to Cyber dog even if it was just for the sake of looking at the fascinating deco or clothing. Now due  to the opening of Stable market they moved elsewhere, but didn't keep the same look which is quite a shame as people don't talk about it or visit it as much as they use to. 
>Camden Village: This is the renewed market after the big fire in 2008. It's more opened up and have more touristy touch to it. For example they have two lion statues which look like ones from Nelson's column in Trafalgar square this is to link and highlight main attractions in London. They also have little scooters instead of chairs in sitting areas which is quite innovative and different. The stores sell usual clothing, posters and quirky accessories. 
>Camden (Buck st.) market: Consists of lots and lots of market stoles selling everything from clothing to old cd's and posters. It's quite unfortunate when it rains because the market is not covered and most of the stuff gets wet, but it's still nice place to shop around (bargain on badges). 
>Main road: I personally think it's the main road shops that changed the most. Before the only well known fashion retailer there was 'Office'. In one year 'h&m', 'American Apparel', 'JD sports' and even 'All Saints' opened their stores. All of them have tried to make their interior and exterior more edgy to match the theme of Camden Town. All Saint have the whole building looking like a huge tin of paint that rotten over the years. With their massive logo painted over it, almost looks like it's a toxic waste. But it brings a lot of customers to the store because of it's edginess. Rest of the stores mentioned didn't really go far away from their usual look, but people still go in there because they recognise the name. This is a big competition to individual stores in markets as the hand made clothes are more expensive than mass produced ones. Couple of years ago fashion brands with more than one store weren't allowed to open their shops in Camden which was safer for the market stoles. 
>Inverness street: is popular for continental bars/restaurant and fruit and veg stoles supplying fresh products everyday. They also have quite cheap shoes, souvenirs  and clothing ranges although they improved lately. 

>Camden stables market: this is the newest market opened in early 2009. The reason behind the name is because in WWI they would keep horses under ground to help transport food down the canal. But going back to reality this market definitely keeps its identity throughout the whole place. Starting with beautiful marble horse statues and going to wooden crafts in the shops' walls. You can have a taste of nearly all the foods from around the world or visit some vintage shops.  They also have a lot of natural and organic products. It's worth to go to Catacombs where shop units are housed in Victorian brick arches. 


Although some clothes and accessories repeat in different market stoles, and there are hundreds of stores competing with each other it all works together, because every owner is trying to make their stole stand out, whether it's through decorations, accessories they sell or discounts they offer. Ones that look most unique and crazy have most popularity. It is true what they say...you can literally find anything in Camden. 


I think people go to Camden to see something different from typical high street stores. They want to have a feel of that uniqueness that lays in its heart. Although it's not quite the same as few years ago it still haven't lost it's style and personality.