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Photo by Kevin Grieve
Over recent years the high street has lost some of its allure, largely due to online shopping being accessible 24/7 and a rise in us having to micro-manage our busy lives. As a result we lose the personal experience created by businesses with good customer rapport. Personally, good service is what warrants me investing more time in a certain store, building my loyalty to the brand. This is something that cannot be fully executed online alone, as the whole process is rather, for want of a better term, robotic!
With that in mind, the following list consists of just a handful of stores I always look forward to visiting:
Mooch Vintage
As one of my previous articles gushes, this is by far the single best store on the high street. Due to the success of its burgeoning fan base, the store has moved premises in recent months. Opening up its door to a growing number of devoted clients, it’s easy to see why people flock back.
The personal relationship that is developed by the staff towards the customer is genuine and creates a fun/friendly atmosphere. It’s the only shop I know where customers integrate with each other, bouncing off stories of times they wore their best Mooch pieces and sharing styling tips alike.
This aside, the clothes are the most stunning vintage pieces and so well sourced, they are of the highest quality. Recent visits have seen me walk away with YSL, Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger, to name but a few.
It’s the experience that takes me back in all honesty – the clothes are secondary to this. If you want great customer service with unique clothes to select, than head to Mooch Vintage.
Twitter: @moochvintage
Rokit
I often find myself in London for meetings and rather than dash off, I like to loiter and take in some of the great shops it has to offer, one of those being Rokit Vintage. Granted there is a theme here and I cannot deny I love vintage clothes, so what better place to spend a penny (or pounds as usually happens) Situated all over London , the Camden store particularly, epitomises ‘cool’ with a variety of colourfully dressed customers. With a mix of designer and non-designer, it’s the ultimate treasure trove, if you’re wanting to inject some quirkiness into your outfit. I bought a piece from here in my Uni days, which was quite some time ago and I still have it. A vintage bowling bag made from the most buttery soft patent red leather, which proves vintage is definitely not throw away fashion
Twitter: @rokitvintage
Zara
Outside of vintage clothing I do like to venture to the more commercialised high street stores and Zara is one of the best. The main reason for this is that the fit is always guaranteed to be on a par with designer labels, most importantly the suits and shirts. Every season has a great selection of pieces, with a cohesive colour palette and enough influence from the catwalk to keep the pieces bang-on trend.
If you’re looking for a suit in particular, then this is a great place to start with. The fabrics are beautiful in their handling and look decadent. They also always offer a great range of knits to layer up with outfits, with their vast range of graphic tees.
Some years ago I used to have a problem finding clothes to fit me, due to me being vertically challenged, but they have clearly changed their standardised measurements, which means I can enjoy the latest they have to offer.
Twitter: @ZARA
