How to shop Bicester Village like a pro…

I’m not going crazy with A/W shopping this year, instead I’m investing in a few key items that will last. So when I knew we were heading to Bicester Village I made a plan of action…

Now, as I always say on this blog, a bargain is great but an investment is still important for my wardrobe. It’s the investment pieces that you end up wearing again and again, and can really lift an entire outfit (if you choose wisely).

But at somewhere like Bicester Village, with tons of designer shops, where do you even start?

This is where you need a plan…

I knew I wanted to buy a few more ‘Designer’ pieces but nowhere near Gucci or Prada handbag territory. So I made a list of 4 shops I really wanted to look at (with a spot of lunch at the fab Farm Shop in between), and stuck to my list – it made the shopping trip much more pleasant for both me and my husband and meant we were able to leave before rush hour without just trawling all the shops without purpose.

I know my ‘style’ pretty well now so picked stores I was confident I could find something in – my list was as follows:

Sandro and Maje – I love these mid market French brands, but both stores I find a bit too spenny full price but love everything they do.

David Clulow – a great pair of sunnies are no longer just a summer investment these days.

The White Company – because who doesn’t need a bit of a home update?

First stop was Maje…I was surprised it was so relevant for the new season – great knitwear, loads of coats and wintery clothes all perfect for the new season.

The next stop was David Clulow…with New York Fashion Week just around the corner for me, I definitely wanted a showstopping pair..

I’d seen this gorgeous Gucci pair in brown on Lucy from Fashion Me Now. and zoned straight in on them. They were reduced by roughly £100 to £166…

I know, I know, Smythson wasn’t on my original list but it was worth a snoop around, too. I thought it was actually great for gifts for friends, brides to be etc – some of the sweet mini notebooks reduced from £45 to £15 and the notecards were really reasonable.

Onto Sandro – again, great coats and knitwear

Quick stop in Le Creuset (I know! I know! Just to look!)…

I do think if you’re after Le Creuset (and if you’re not, they are so worth the money – we have one casserole dish and it’s so useful), and you can get to Bicester, it is so worth it for the discount,

And then we made it to the final stop. Again, like Le Creuset, if you’re after some white bed linen or grey towels that might not be the ‘latest’ drop and are willing to spend the money on quality, then this shop is so worth it (bedding from £100 down to £66). I bought some items for my sister which she kind of knows about as I had to call her up to see what size bed she had (!) but I’ll try and keep it a bit of a secret.

So, in brief: Did I have a successful day? Yes. I bought the leopard Maje coat, the red Maje cardigan and Gucci sunnies (the latter you’ve probably already seen me wear loads in New York). But these aren’t just winter purchases for me, they’re lifelong investments…and you’ll see me wearing them for years to come. And if you EVER see me saying I need another leopard print coat, you have my permission to give me a thorough talking to…!