BICESTER

There is never a time when a day out shopping would not cause immense excitement for me. So when I visited Bicester designer outlet village in Oxfordshire with family yesterday, you can imagine the euphoria. Despite the abnormally early start to the day of 5:30am, (a necessary move if you want to avoid the horrific crowds that descend an hour after opening), I was poised and ready to hunt down some bargains as we arrived. I have visited once before, which only fuelled my determination, as I grabbed a pair Versace shoes reduced from £480 to £45! (Soon to be featured in my next outfit post)

Bicester designer outlet village in the sunshine, featuring Kenzo and Celine store

Versace store and menswear display

Bottega Veneta store

There is an incredible variety of stores offering the latest collections available to the public, from luxury high street such as Ted Baker and Jack Wills to extreme designer deliciousness like Prada, Dior, Bottega Veneta and Valentino (the most couture of them all). The village provides you with the complete experience. Many brands give you that feeling of exclusivity with security guards manning the queues of salivating customers. The squishy carpets and plush sofa waiting areas add to this feeling of opulence; you know you're there for a serious treat!

 

Summer Versace collection

Unfortunately, on this visit Versace was not my store to get away with a real steal, however I took time to appreciate the beautiful rich colour schemes on sale this season. Beautiful satin and silk trousers, jackets and dresses in deep sea blues and purples were accompanied by brilliant emerald greens, along with bright magentas and oranges (obviously the collection I was immediately drawn to - shown above).

Emerald Versace shift dress



A store I was extremely impressed by was a new one since I visited last year: The British Designer's collective. Set up exclusively for Bicester village, featuring all British brands such as Ryan Lo, House of Holland, Mary Katrantzou, J.W. Anderson, Claire Barrow and Nicholas Kirkwood (my Auntie grabbed a pair of his Geometric pumps!), this store is the perfect way to showcase Britain's best up and coming designers to the public, allowing them to buy into our design talents! The store's opening on the 22nd of May was host to many key fashion individuals, including fashion mogul Hilary Alexander, blogger extraordinaire Susie Bubble and the stores ambassador artist Ellie Goulding, who got their first look at this pop-up representation of current UK fashion. It is only open until the 17th of August, so time is of the essence! 

 

The British Designer's collective store, featuring a Mary Katrantzou stamp collection window display

Ingenious seating area for the tired Bicester shopper

 

As usual I would have to feature some girly pinks and pastel colour. This comes in the form of Ryan Lo's glittery, lacy, Barbie doll masterpieces in the BDC store. Much like Susie Lau, who describes his work as "A teared, overly indulgent sweet cake" (check out Bicester's youtube video featuring Susie, describing the collections and her favourite picks here. Alternatively check out the BDC section of their website here. ) I was in love with the individually made, layered skirts and dresses on display. His sparkly sensations are featured below:

 

 

View of the display on the left hand side of the store, featuring Claire Barrow's hand painted unique leather jackets

Ryan Lo's sugar loving collection on display

After all my wandering in the village, although I did make some purchases in other stores, my favourite by store far has to be the exuberantly luxurious Valentino. The workmanship is just utterly incredible. Whilst it is completely out of my price range as a penny saving student, (but I sometimes treat myself) the beading, embroidery and embellishment in Valentino's handiwork is something to be greatly admired. I found a cream floral embroidered lace full-length gown which would make the perfect wedding dress - the ultimate marital treat to walk down the isle in such a beauty!

 

A gothic vision at the store entrance

Beautiful floral embroidered garments



Valentino purse/clutch bags with that signature prism studding

Natural colour schemes at Valentino with my favourite cream wedding dress hiding on the left

 With the sunshine on my side I was certain that something wonderful was in the air and heading in my direction. I was right! I will be featuring my purchases in my next post, however a sneak peak is my new Marc Jacobs purse in baby pink! This was an exciting purchase, a beautiful birthday gift from my Auntie, as I've been desperately searching for my favourite in this collection - I finally found it....

 

 

 If you are able to visit Bicester I would recommend it as a lovely day out which is more than worth the journey. You never know what you might find, no matter what the price bracket!