London Fashion July 10, 2007

what is nice about london is the diverse fashion it offers given the number of people and backgrounds not to mention the incredibly wealthy vistors from the east. i am staying in mayfair which is incredibly posh (to use a favorite english phrase). on my way to work, i pass by jimmy choo, lucie campbell, burburry, D&G, louis vuitton, mulberry...just to name a few. today i took a walk around the block by work and passed by tiffany, graff, chanel, alexander mcqueen, cartier...the list goes on. the other day, i stopped in a shoe store by my place and there were these 2 young girls with their mother. while their mother was dressed in a black robe and and a beautiful chanel suit, these two girls - teenagers, were each wearing incredibly expensive vuitton bags - the one shown here is about $5000 and the older one was actually wearing the anniversary patchwork bag which is $45,000. yes, that is not a typo. it's not just the woman who look great, the men in europe just look so put together regardless of background - cashmere sweaters, suits from saville row - it's a very "suit"like town. by my place is a pub called the "iron duke" and there are a bunch of men milling about drinking their pints in their gorgeous suits. makes me wish more men in the u.s. dressed this way from time to time - and many of my girlfriends would agree with me - something about a man in a nice suit...sigh... but the general population dresses in a mix-match of pieces - inexpensive items from topshop or H&M blended with gucci or a great pair of designer jeans. it's ridiculous to shop for clothes here that i could buy in the at home. i came across one of my favorite brands - t-bags - and they are at least twice what they would cost in the u.s.! even the sales don't compete with our prices - a sale pair of prada shoes is about the same full price at home. so, i have been sure to tell my colleagues to try and get their shopping on in chicago next time they are in town. much like the old days when you could go to italy and buy a gucci bag for half the price in the u.s....i remember those good old days when i could give someone $300 and they'd come back with a great bag or two that was in season. in general, what i like about this city is that the girls aren't cookie cutters of each other - of what is uber trendy. the only exception i'd say is the abundance of leggings and ballerina flats - that's big here as is the empire waist. frankly, i think i speak for a lot of girls when i say i hope the empire waist doesn't go out of fashion anytime soon...it hides that extra piece of cheese you ate the night before.