I am going to let you in on my BEST shopping secret. Fair enough, it is not on the shores of Africa, this secret destination, but it is GOOD. It is a wonderful place called Bicester Village Outlet Mall and it is located in the leafy fields of the Oxfordshire countryside, not ten minutes from my best friend's house. Every year when I visit the old country (well, the UK is very, very old), my first stop is to this mall. I shop up a storm at my favourite places and then head to my friend's house to pick over the spoils and count up all the money I have saved.
I have acquired some amazing bargains here. Many, many pairs of half- or even quarter-price Jimmy Choos. Two half-price Mulberry Bayswater bags, Gerard Darel silk blouses, Smythson stationery and Hobbs cardigans. I have also spent many a lovely day browsing Valentino, Marni, McQueen, Temperley and DvF - just to keep up with things you understand. I have always believed you can't really understand fashion unless you expose yourself to the best the world has to offer, and so I go into those stores and fondle the fabrics, check the linings and generally imagine myself in the frocks. One day...
I only mention this because I read a piece in the paper yesterday that the British Fashion Council are doing a second young designer pop-up store there at the moment - as launched by Thandie Newton yesterday. So now you know.
BTW: that's me up the top there, shopping up a storm at Bicester in February.
