Fashion - Beauty - Travel - Lifestyle

Monday 26 November 2012

The Monday Piece - Bicester Village Designer Outlet

I'm doing this weeks Monday Piece on Bicester village, a little designer outlet place in Oxfordshire. As you may know it was my Birthday on Saturday, so on Friday me and my boyfriend ventured down to Oxfordshire to visit the designer outlet we'd heard SO much about! I'd never been before but have been told lots about it from lots of different people. I'm not really familiar with designer outlets as I'm usually a high street shopper and if I want something a bit more fancy or I want to treat myself then I head to Selfridges. I was really looking forward to going to Bicester and had huge expectations...luckily the expectations and anticipation all paid off as it was nothing less than amazing!!
Every store is either high end high street or designer, ranging from Ralph Lauren to Mulberry, Dior and my favourite...Gucci. We drove down and got there at about 10.20am, the shops open at 10, we didn't have to queue to get into the complex, and there was loads of car parking spaces (all parking is free). So by the time we got out the car and got our coats on we headed down to the village so it was about 10.30 - everyone had told us to go early and be there for 10am as they said you will have to queue to get in, then queue some more to get into the shops! I was scared and dreaded waiting outside just to get into a shop, well fortunately there were no queues anywhere, and considering it was 'Black Friday' it wasn't that busy and we could browse all the shops with no elbow barging or people rushing around. The layout is so lovely, it's like a posh high street with the shops lined up opposite one another, inside the shops are very boutiquey, if thats a word - the staff were really friendly and the choice was also amazing and would suit almost everyone. There's also a few cafes and restaurants, as well as a little crepe stand that have a gluten free option - it was super yum.
As its a designer outlet, the prices are obviously going to be more expensive than the standard high street shops - to be honest they were a bit all over the place but EVERYTHING was considerably reduced. Heres my low down on the prices in some of my favourite stores; Mulberry, the cheapest bag was around the £425 mark, though they did have Bayswater bags for that price which were half price however there were no major bargains (the store was being refitted so they didn't have the full selection available). In Jimmy Choo, prices ranged from £90 for scarves to £195-£500 for shoes, there was quite a large choice and the bridal section was gorgeous. Alexander McQueen, scarves and clothing from £90 upwards - they even had some couture pieces that were still thousands of pounds!! Ralph Lauren was enormous, you can pick accessories up for just a few pounds and cosy knitwear for around £20. MaxMara was mega luxurious, they had real fur coats and scarves, but I spotted a sportmax holdall for just £15.00, super bargain. Michael Kors had handbags for under £100 and watches starting at £100, there was a large selection there too and seemed very popular with the other shoppers. Prada and Dior were still quite pricey, though both had leather purses and accessories starting at about £100, D&G was reasonable and had lots of clothes, shoes and bags - prices starting at £50, there were gorgeous classic handbags for around £250 reduced from £700. Finally...GUCCI, again a fab selection and some major bargains to be had there, proper women's handbags starting at less than £100, and scarves and hats for just £50 reduced from almost £200.
Well obviously I didn't come home empty handed, it was my birthday so was treated by my family and boyfriend to this stunning GUCCI handbag. I chose this classic one, it's kind of slate grey in colour and is just gorgeous, sorry for the poor picture quality, it will be featuring in lots of outfits to come so more snaps to follow!
I hope you've found my Bicester village guide helpful, I definitely recommend it as a day out :)
X
SHARE:

25 comments

  1. That's a beautiful bag. It's a real classic so it was a great investment.;)
    I wish I could find an outlet like that. Sounds dreamy.:)
    Love,
    Diana from http://thegirlwhocouldntbeafashionista.blogspot.ie/

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds so amazing, like every shoppers dream. ;) Your bag is stunning and I'm glad you had a great birthday! :)

    Vanese
    http://vanzthemachinee.blogspot.com/
    x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I heard of that place when I was visiting near there, I'm gutted I missed going lol, nice bag hun, Happy belated birthday, xoxo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous bag! Love it

    x

    www.erraticglamour.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ahhh I'm so jealous!
    The bag you've picked out is stunning and classic. :)
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's a beautiful bag! I love big black bags and this one looks perfect! It's great you could get a good deal! xx

    www.ruelalips.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ugh I hate Bicester Village. Years ago it used to be much better for finding great prices. Now not so much. Plus everyone there (whenever I've been at least) are SO rude; they have this attitude like they think they are rich because they're shopping there (they're not) and push you out of the way/don't make space for you when you're trying to walk anywhere. People literally kept pushing my mom out of the way and walked off without apologizing! Whenever they tried it with me, they got a sharp, pointy shoulder greeting them, ha. I have absolutely no tolerance for rude people.

    - Erin xo

    365mu.blogspot.co.uk - One girl's attempt at creating 365 different make-up looks in as many days

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no! Every one was so nice when I went, hope your mums ok x

      Delete
  8. i am impressed you got some super deals

    http://theworkette.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. That sounds so great. It's amazing to find a place like that where designer pieces are reduced so much!
    the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fab post thank you and your bag is gorgeous xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely bag! :) I would like to invite you to join my GIVEAWAY! 25 persons will win $20 vouchers :)

    http://anna-and-klaudia.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. UM BEAUTIFUL!!! SO JEALOUS! <3 love your blog, we should follow each other?! <3

    ReplyDelete
  13. Eee love the Gucci bag, it's beautiful! xo

    http://www.jenventure.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  14. I wanna go check it out! I love a bit of outlet shopping!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your bag is fabulous, i too adore outlet shopping! Tee is fab too!

    Txx

    http://www.fantasticfunfashion.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gorgeous bag!

    xx Rose

    http://rose-libertine.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  17. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  21. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  22. congratulations guys, quality information you have given!!! bubblegum casting

    ReplyDelete
  23. What were the Micheal Kors prices like? I'm thinking of going to find a bag and perhaps a watch but if there isn't much price difference I won't bother travelling from London. Also, did you happen to visit the Marc Jacobs there? Thanks in advance!

    ReplyDelete

Blogger Template Created by pipdig