Bicester Village Shopping Review

One thing my friends know about me is that prior to any trip, lunch date or holiday I will have googled the venue/destination to death finding out all I can and gorging on as much information as possible. The same approach was adopted for Bicester Village at the weekend despite having been on numerous occasions. What surprised me when I stumbled across some reviews on Tripadvisor was the expectations some people had on visiting, no you will not find a Prada bag for £50, and how little they had looked into stores available, no you will not find Marks and Spencer at Bicester Village so I thought it made sense for me to provide a review for anyone planning the trip to Oxford.

Before you even decide to make the trip, take a look at the brands on offer. If you've treated yourself to a Karen Millen dress or Lacoste polo shirt in the past then the trip may be worth your visit and if you have a special event coming up and would love a dress from Coast but the cost is restrictive you may well find one for the sort of price you're looking to pay. Similarly if you've dreamed of owning a Prada bag but the thought of spending thousands of pounds on one is just a dream but you would consider treating yourself to a purse at a couple of hundred pounds then you could get lucky at Bicester Village

Here are my three tips for your trip.

1. Go early
I have been to Bicester four times in the past year, with the one exception always on a Saturday and always arrive for it's opening at 9am. This will give you an hour or two to shop in relative peace because by lunchtime you will find you have to queue to get in stores (they tend to move quickly) and you will be battling with tourists. Ben wanted to go Ralph Lauren for some holiday clothes so it was the store we hit first on Saturday and as you can see from the queue when we left at 3pm was glad we did. Ralph Lauren's multiple stores are extremely popular with the crowds so cross them off the list as soon as you can.

2. Be prepared to come home empty handed
Anyone who has been to shopping outlets before will know that you never know what you will find and I have been once before and came home empty handed. This is not the sort of place you visit with a shopping list. Whilst I visited Saturday I had in mind 'will I get lucky and find the Anya Hindmarch flight bag that went in the sale' I was fully prepared that they may be sold out - and they were. I've also visited wanting a Lulu Guinness suitcase and they were sold out but last weekend they had a selection on offer so it pays to be open minded.

3. Be prepared to spend some serious cash
Many people are surprised at how expensive prices are at Bicester Village but who really expects to walk in Mulberry and pay £50 for a bag that was retailing for £1000? On Saturday they had a beautiful pink Bayswater bag for £600, originally £1000, that's nearly half price and whilst a lot of money if I'd been in the market for a new Mulberry handbag this would be a great price to pay and I very nearly did snap it up! That said mum picked up this Michael Kors bag which had originally been approx £250, reduced at the outlet to £125 and then gone into their sale so she paid about £60 for it so it's not all about the bank breaking prices.

I love the Bicester Village shopping experience, for a shopping village it's lovely, especially in the sunshine and if you're prepared to go early and aren't phased by crowds you should enjoy a visit. Some people complain about 'made for outlet' items and last season stock but I've always been impressed by how much the ranges reflect the current season and tend to use it as a cheaper way to treat myself to some nice things.

It's well laid out, easy to navigate and has some of the best toilets I've seen in a public place - although ladies, of course there's always a queue. If you've been to Bicester Village before or know of any other outlets worth a visit pop your tips in the comments below.

Bicester Village Shopping Haul

Last Saturday mum, Ben and I jumped into my new car to give it a run to Oxford, destination Bicester Village. As usual I thought it only fair to give you a peak into my shopping bags and show you what I managed to pick up on this trip.

First up we have this gorgeous pair of snakeskin shoes and matching bag from LK Bennett which I plan to wear to a wedding at the weekend with this dress from Warehouse. The shoes felt surprisingly comfortable when I was trying them on in store so we know what that means don't we ladies? Yes that they'll be the most uncomfortable shoes on the night!

The shoes were £125 and whilst I don't know the exact original price the sledge style from LK Bennett typically retails around £195 so approx 35% off. The matching bag was £110 from £225 so just over 50% discount.

The black Leah sandals from LK Bennett were not needed, were purchased for no reason other than I loved them and refused to leave the store without them. On the bright side these were a whopping 73% reduced in the sale at £75 from an original price of £275. They looked fabulous with jeans and I can't wait to give them a whirl over the Summer.

In addition to it's regular stores Bicester Village often has pop shops, last visit it was Cowshed and the space has now been taken over by jewellers Carat. I didn't have plans to even look in the store but it was right next to where we were sitting enjoying an ice cream and as I'd managed to devour mine quicker than everyone else I popped in for a look and one of those fabulous serendipitous moments happened.

Carat is a fashion jewellers who use their own created gemstones to design jewellery that can be worn without bodyguards flanking you - and you can afford, that said these earrings would have originally set you back £94 but I managed to buy them for £37 - 60% off. They will add the perfect bit of of bling to my yellow ensemble at the weekend. I have to give credit to Ben for finding them and suggesting how perfect the amethyst stone would be to compliment the ring I have and can wear with it.

One shop I was keen to visit on my trip was Kate Spade and yes, whilst I know I'll be in the States in less than a month where Kate Spade is more affordable I couldn't help buying this gorgeous mint green wallet for the trip. Ben rolled his eyes at my explanation for my 'needing' it but mum completely understood so I'm sure you will too.

American's use more notes than we do in the UK, therefore our purchases don't always lend themselves well to the crossover. On many of my trips to the US I've been fumbling around in stores as I pull out my roll of dollar bills just to find $2 for a can of drink (or soda should I say!). This purse is perfect to store the notes in for easy access as well as the handy slots for hotel keycards, all important credit cards and my driving licence which comes in handy when asked for id in store. I can't wait to use it - and it still has a zipped area on the size for the odd coin that comes my way.

As if I needed more convincing there was an extra 20% off purses and wallets in Kate Spade that day so the original price of £130 was reduced to £62 - that's another bargain in my book,

My final purchases were from Ralph Lauren home in the form of two lovely smelling candles at £12.99 which again was a discounted, discounted price at 56% discount.

Oh and the Reiss bag, that was a very unexciting white t-shirt for £23, original price £35 - a great quality tee that I wore yesterday but we all know what they look like.

Phew, that took some mathematical skills working out all those percentages, Carol Vorderman I am not.  Are you an outlet shopper or do the prices still put you off? And if you'd like to hear more about Bicester Village I'll have a review up for tomorrow.

You can find previous Bicester Village hauls here and here

  

Bicester Village Shopping Haul #2

Last week during a day off of work my mum and I took a trip to Bicester Village shopping outlet to once again snap up some bargains for ourselves.

I don't think it's any surprise to any of my regular readers that I love a handbag so when I saw the Michael Kors bag for 34% discount I couldn't resist treating myself to a new Christmas bag. Red is my favourite colour and the size and style of the bag will be perfect for the festive season. One of the chain straps can be worn long on the shoulder, across the body or both for a shorter handheld style. 

I can actually remember admiring this bag in the Michael Kors store on Regent Street on a shopping trip with my mum some time ago so it was great to pick it up for a bargain price and was certainly cheaper than the Mulberry bags I spent some time swooning over.

I always have an idea of the sort of things I'd like to find at Bicester Village. Of course as a shopping outlet it's not something you can rely on but I try to think positively and send some good vibes out to the shopping fairies and on this occasion they were smiling down on me. 

I wanted a thinner, lighter Swarovski pen to use in my filofax (original post here) as the one I already owned (original post here) is quite heavy to use but I love writing with it. I really hit gold on this occasion as there was a gift set, original intended as a wedding gift available for the same price as buying one pen direct from a Swarovski store - a whopping 40% discount - bargain.

And the final treat for myself was a hand cream from Cowshed. For only £5 compared to the usual £8 and as a lover of hand cream how could I resist?

You can find my first Bicester Village shopping haul here

Bicester Village Shopping Haul

It may be Saturday but there's no lie in for me today as when this blog publishes I'll be jumping in my car and heading to Bicester Village with a wish list of goodies I hope I can get my hands on.

This isn't my first trip to the designer shopping outlet having visited with friends a good few months ago and I thought I'd share the indulgent goodies I can home with and give you an idea of the pricing and discounts available. 

I did initially plan to post a review of Bicester Village but bad weather hampered any photo taking opportunities and then time ran away with me to the point I'm only posting my haul now so it seems sensible to put something up next week once I've had a second visit to compare.

So on to the booty...

First stop to escape the rain on arrival was David Clulow. I was rather envious of my friends Rayban Wayfarers so popped on the red ones just out of interest. And promptly fell in love. Even better they were foldable which makes them fantastic for popping into my handbag and carrying around. With a 29% discount there was no way I was leaving them behind and you can see me modelling them here. Some might stay that was a successful start to the day.

The Ted Baker Bikini bottoms were simply purchased because I love flamingos. I decided I could easily find a pink bikini top to wear with these saving my having to splash out on the full ensemble as they were more than I would usually spend on swimwear. I brought these at 49% off.

Ah Prada how I love thee. In addition to my Prada tote which is never far from my side I also love Prada's purses. They are just the right size to host all my various loyalty cards and I was already lucky enough to own a fabulous pink one that was getting a little shabby. When I walked into the store (only after queuing to get in!) and saw a red one to match my new recently purchased bag I couldn't believe my luck. There was one in the case and I stood nervously as other customers dithered about purchasing till I had an opportunity to shout 'SOLD'. I would have (when finances allowed) happily paid the full price but lady luck saw me purchasing with a 32% discount.

And finally Anya Hindmarch where shopping euphoria took over. My friend and I had already had a recognisance trip to AH, literally wanting to walk out with 99% of the stock, became overwhelmed and logically said we needed to see what else was on offer. Nothing quite hit the mark for my friend who was the one looking to purchase a bag that a day apart from Anya Hindmarch so again we returned to the store and whilst she made her choice I once again swooned over the Tote Bags. I'd actually seen both of these bags on Net-a-Porter when they were current season but could never justify full price for what they were. Suddenly seeing them at 60% and 54% was too hard to resist. Sensibly I knew it was only necessary to buy one, and the beach bag was definitely not needed without a holiday on the horizon when it would be needed. But walking around the store with both hanging off my arms (there was one of each and no other shopper was getting a look in before I made my decision) I wanted both. 

It's safe to say I definitely treated myself on this trip but every item, with the exception of the bikini bottoms has been used on a frequent basis, my Anya totes are my go to's for supermarket shopping, the purse used daily and when the weather allows the sunglasses add a splash of colour to my outfits.

For those interested the RRP for all my purchases is approx £775 and I paid £441 which is a saving of 43% which I'm very pleased with - and reason enough to head there again today. That said I don't intend to be so indulgent with my purchases on this trip as I'm off to Las Vegas next month and all my money is to be saved for this holiday but there are one or two things I want to aid the trip so stay tuned.