DAY 4

LONDON — We are in London and ready to shop ‘til we drop. After seeing all the trends at the show in Paris we are ready to scout out even more in London’s department stores and boutiques. We traveled via the Chunnel from Paris to London, and that ate up most of the morning. The train station in London has some really beautiful architecture, by the way.

We checked into the Rockwell Hotel, which is charming and conveniently located within walking distance of all the shops we plan to hit. The staff at the Rockwell are hospitable and nice, the rooms are lovely and best of all – the room has a great bathroom.

The weather is really great in London, trees are blooming and no rain, which surprised me. We were able to walk comfortably everywhere, but if you’ve never taken a taxi in London, you must. Their shape reminds me of a PT Cruiser, but bigger. They are the coolest cabs and are enormous inside. You can fit about five people, plus luggage. They even have little vanity mirrors on the inside walls. I just love that!. They sit so close to the ground, it’s easy to make an exit, even if you have six shopping bags in your hands. Why don’t they have these cabs in Manhattan?

Of course, the double-decker red buses that are so-very-London are all over town, but we didn’t ride one this time. They are spectacular, even if only to watch them pass by.

Since we traveled most of the morning we only had time to go to a few department stores today.

First we went to Selfridges & Co., and then to Harrod’s. Both are famed department stores, not only in London but around the world. They offer all the same department-style shopping you would find at Macy’s, for example, but, of course, much of their inventory has a uniquely British quality. You can see for yourself at their websites, www.Selfridges.com and www.harrods.com.

Just to give you a little background on Harrod’s: The store opened its doors in 1834, founded by Charles Henry Harrod. He had originally set up the business as a wholesale grocery store specializing in teas. His son later built up the business into a store that sold medicines, perfumes, stationery, fruits and vegetables – and, by 1880, expanded it to a store with a staff of 100.

Harrod’s has the most charming doormen, dressed in black top hats and bright green overcoats trimmed in red and gold buttons – right out of a Dickens novel. One of them was so delightful he let me snap a quick picture while were going in.

We checked out the bedding area, as we did in Selfridges, really just looked around and didn’t buy much. Sometimes it’s just about looking and not buying. They had some nice collections, a Plume Bedding collection, featuring linens embroidered with plumes of feathers, which was a trend we had seen a lot. Feathers were everywhere in Paris. The Wave bedding collection and Hotel Chic collection are both something that we have seen already in the states, so that wasn’t really new or fresh, although it is still beautiful. Check out Harrods.com to see these collections and more.

Here’s an observation I’ve had in shopping Europe versus the U.S. for bedding: The Europeans tend to use duvet covers with a down filler more than Americans. We like comforter sets and bed-in-a-bags. Maybe that’s because we perceive value in buying a huge fluffy comforter rather a flat little duvet cover for the same price. Personally I use a duvet cover, because it’s easier to clean — I have dogs.

As we visit the stores we always pick up their catalogues to make sure if we miss something we’ll be able to find it later. We are always looking for reference books as well. Here are two that we found:

Kauffe Fassett’s V & A Quilts has 23 patchwork quilt designs inspired by the world-famous decorative arts museum in London. Kaffe Fassett was the first textile artist to have a one-man exhibition. He’s well known in the industry as a guru in the world of color and textiles. Check out this picture of one of his studios. It’s spectacular! The second book is Quilt Artistry by Yoshiko Jinzenji, with inspired designs from the East and a great source of inspiration.

I am actually really tired, so I’m finishing this blog entry, and I’m calling it a night.

Tomorrow, lots of shopping!

Read About Day 1
Read About Day 2
Read About Day 3
Read About Day 5