Some of my favorite shop windows in London so far!

It is no secret that London has some of the best visual displays in their shops, and for my visual merchandising class I have been paying extra attention to some of the unique store fronts that I have been seeing around the city.

                           Miu Miu on New Bond Street

 I loved the blue and gold backdrop and the use of the gold barred mannequins as opposed to the typical white mannequin, the earrings are also a nice touch.

                                   Hermes on New Bond Street

        I loved the geometric print/ art deco theme, which is very on trend for spring, and the block-headed models.

                                 Louis Vuitton on New Bond Street

 This one was my favorite, I loved the clever usage of the animals as props to advertise the products, the orange and pink diamond pattern really catches your attention and draws your eyes to the merchandise right away. This was a brilliant approach to advertising Louis Vuitton.

                     Stella McCartney on Bruton Street

            Loved the bright stacked lights placed next to the mannequins, gives off a very fun retro vibe.

I also managed to quickly snap a picture of the back room of Stella McCartney, I loved the magazine cut-out/collage format used to decorate the walls.

First Week of Classes

This week began my first week as a London College of Fashion student! I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was excited to see what was in store for each class. I only have each class once a week but I think that there will be a lot of work involved that I will be doing outside of the classroom environment. Monday through Thursday I have style journalism, fashion forecasting, Fashion Marketing in the UK, Fashion Public Relations, and Visual Merchandising, not to mention the 3 other required courses that study abroad students must take. They involve our tutors taking us on walking tours to see historical landmarks, museums, and galleries. It gives us a chance to learn even more about the history and culture of the city. Needless to say I will be very busy this semester!

On Wednesday we went on a walking tour, of course it was the day where it was very rainy and miserable but we made the best of it.  A few of my roommates and I and the rest of the class met our tutor Michael at the base of Big Ben and started our tour from there. We learned some interesting facts about things such as the House of Parliament, the signature red telephone booths, and the St. Pancras Hotel, which our tutor told us he has done work planning various events in this famous building. It also was the location the Spice Girls used for their “Wannabe” video where they danced on the staircase.On Thursday our tutor Carolyn took us to the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Both museums had so many floors and interesting artifacts. The V&A had a lot of old garments and artifacts; it was interesting seeing the famous bed that was mentioned in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. 

Board my group made in Fashion Forecasting

Natural History Museum

the V&A entrance

Bed mentioned in Twelfth Night

Loved these teapots!

Dress in the V&A museum

During the weekend my roommates and I went back to Camden, it was much more lively and crowded on a Saturday night than when we went last week for a tour. It was a really fun and busy week and I can’t wait to see what else is to come in the next few weeks. Last weekend we also went to Abbey Road, the famous location where The Beatles used for their album cover. There were many, many tourists trying to re-create this famous shot, which did NOT make people driving there cars happy! It definitely caused a lot of traffic and honking as tourists tried to attempt different poses in the middle of the road. We decided to come back when it wasn't so busy to try it ourselves.

Tourists walking across Abbey Road

Fans writing on the wall in front of Abbey Road Studios

Vintage Shopping and more Orientation

Today during orientation we met one of our upcoming tutors, Carolyn Richardson. She showed us various garments from different decades. When she isn't teaching at LCF she does costume design for television and films such as Bridget Jones Diary, and currently does costume design for the BBC program Merlin. She also apparently has worked with artists such as Gwen Stefani and Madonna. During orientation we got the chance to sample different token British foods and guess what they were. We were then split into groups and given a tape recorder with instructions on where to go throughout the city in order to see new places.  Once we got to a new street we would take time and explore the area. We first walked into the court yard of the royal academy of art. We also got the chance to look in a vintage shop and Hamley’s toy store on Regent Street. It is one of the biggest toy stores in the world and a major tourist attraction in London. We also walked through Burlington Arcade which is a covered shopping center with various jewelry stores. When we eventually got back to the school we were given welcome drinks of champagne. I am so excited to start my classes on Monday and everything else that is to come this semester.

Carolyn Richardson showing us a dress

Royal Academy of Art courtyard

On Friday we got the chance to take some trips to Camden Market, which we traveled to by the signature double decker bus! Camden market is probably my favorite spot in London so far,  which has a number of adjoined markets, vintage shops, bars, and, food. Amy Winehouse was notoriously known for lurking around this area as well. One of my study abroad advisors, Hannah, said she would see her all the time when out and about in Camden. While walking down the streets I was just in awe over all the things to look at. I have never seen so many different vintage shops and stalls in my life. Some areas were along the street, while others were more secluded and were partially enclosed by tents and hidden by stairwells that took you into more sections. All the stores layouts were completely unique and different; I wanted to go into every single one. One store was completely filled with black lights making everything look glow in the dark. Camden market has every type of merchandise for every customer; I made my first vintage purchase today also! They also have a lot of reasonably priced touristy type items, I purchased a couple things for family and friends back home and grabbed a couple things for myself. Even though I am a full time student in London I still feel like a tourist and want to take pictures of everything and buy things with the English flag on them.

On top of my first double decker!

Camden Market

On the way back from Camden Market we took the tube and unfortunately ended up the wrong line. When we asked one of the employees at the t station for help we realized that in order to get back home we would have to stop at Kings Cross. We immediately decided to find Platform 9 ¾ once we arrived at said destination. Once we got off at Kings Cross we realized that it was much bigger than appears in the Harry Potter movies. After realizing that we must go to another floor, we headed to level 3 where after a few minutes of general confusion I swallowed my pride and asked the nearest worker where we could find platform 9 ¾, luckily he didn’t think I was crazy and directed me to head “straight and to the left”. I guess other excited Harry Potter fans also come to Kings Cross to look for a nonexistent platform. Completely normal.  

Once we got to the platform I spotted a big sign and a cart pushed halfway into the wall, there was no John Williams music playing in the background so it was slightly less magical than anticipated but still pretty exciting nonetheless!

Orientation

Today was the first day of orientation, everyone in the flat woke up early and walked to the main campus building near Oxford Street. We were split into groups and told in more detail about the school, after the presentation we walked up to the first floor where the canteen is located, as we walked up the stairs I saw a ton of models lining up for a casting session, and standing outside the building. It was so cool to see so many tall and beautiful models walking around, looking very put together and skinny.  After our information session was over we were given a guided tour of the area around the school with some amazing stores along areas such as Oxford Street, Bond Street, and Carnaby Street in the West End. It is very dangerous that LCF is located in an area with so many amazing shopping destinations, I guess I know what I will be doing in-between classes.

 Carnaby Street was probably my favorite area not only does it have so many amazing little independently owned stores and interesting architecture  but it was also the area where the sixties “mod” movement originated and bands such as The Who and The Beatles would go there to shop and socialize. Sixties mod is my favorite decade and trend that came out of that time period so I was excited to learn this piece of information. I also particularly liked Kingly Court, which is found by walking through an alley into an open air courtyard with numerous boutiques decorated with twinkling lights all throughout.  There are so many different things to look at and admire in the West End, that It is almost overwhelming. 

Kingly Court

I also got the chance to look through Topshop’s flagship store on Oxford Street, which is something that I have wanted to do for years. The amount of shops around London College of Fashion will definitely be extremely tempting this semester.  On the way back from orientation my roommates and I stopped for a drink along Saint Christopher Place, which is a much calmer environment with some boutiques and pubs. I loved how the streets in the area were decorated with disco and lit up balls that stretched all the way down the street and carried over to more streets on the right hand side. They added an extra touch to the outdoor atmosphere as we sat outside the pub.

Sightseeing!

On Saturday afternoon we walked around Hyde Park and did some sightseeing. When we first walked into the park there were a lot of fountains by the entrance and many people let their dogs loose to run around, there were dogs wandering all over the place! It was not something I was expecting to see when entering the park. The park itself was HUGE, definitely the biggest park I have ever been to. It was a fairly nice day out so there were many bikers and joggers wandering the park as well. On the other side of the park was the Royal Albert Memorial, located in Kensington Gardens.  Across the street from this statue was the Royal Albert Hall, where many concerts are held. This was also the place where the Spice Girls performed in the movie “Spice World.”  It was such a beautiful building and not something I would normally picture concerts being held in but it was definitely interesting to see in person. After looking at these buildings we continued to explore in neighborhoods near the park which were very pretty and a lot different from the area where our apartment is located. 

Royal Albert Memorial

Royal Albert Hall

On Sunday morning we woke up early and took the tube to do some sightseeing, this was my first time using it while in London and it reminded me a lot of the T in Boston. The ride was only about 25 minutes long and when we walked up the stairs out of the station Big Ben was directly across the street. I was not expecting it to be so near to the station and it was very shocking at first to see it so up close.

After taking some pictures we kept walking down the street to look at the London Eye unfortunately it was undergoing maintenance until the 21^st of January so we weren’t able to ride it. After taking some more pictures we decided to go look at Westminster Abbey. It was hard to believe that I was looking at this amazing building, let alone that William and Kate were married there less than a year ago. We continued walking to Buckingham Palace and cut through St. James Park, which was another beautiful park. It is safe to say that London has the best parks. Once we got to Buckingham Palace we didn’t see any guards standings by the gates like they do in the movies but were able to catch a group of guards marching by to go across the street.

Westminster Abbey

St. James Park, with London Eye in the distance

Guards Marching By

Buckingham Palace

It is a little overwhelming seeing all these beautiful sights in person, and there are so many more to see over the next few months. My orientation at London College of Fashion starts tomorrow so I am very excited to finally see the school where I will be studying at this semester!

Arriving In London!

After a very long and exhausting flight I am finally in London. I left home at around 5 am on Wednesday morning and proceeded to head to Logan airport. Having not been a fan of flying, the entire process was a very stressful one. Once my friend Mariah and I had boarded the plane we were delivered the unfortunate news that maintenance was being done and the wheel and breaks of the plane had to be replaced. Our scheduled 8:55 takeoff ended up getting bumped to around 10:00 am but once we were in the air I began to feel much more at ease. The flight itself went pretty smoothly, but unfortunately upon arriving at Heathrow there was a lot of traffic so the plane had to circle the area for about 25 minutes. Once I was finally on the ground, Mariah and I went to collect our bags and to meet the driver that took us to the place where our apartment keys were held. It felt surreal being in the city, and it was almost hard to believe that I was finally in London.  While driving to the apartment I could see the London eye in the distance and it was an amazing sight to see.  Once we had our keys we proceeded to our apartment and to our surprise we were the first ones to arrive. The entire apartment was MUCH bigger that I expected it would be and included a living room area, kitchen, and four 2-person bedrooms with a ton of space. Arriving to the apartment first has its perks as we choose one of the biggest rooms with a bathroom included.  Once we had settled in we decided to experience some fine English dining at Burger King because it was the closest place to the apartment.  After a long exhausting day  I finally went to bed at 3 am (10 pm East coast time) and could not wait for what was to come in the next few days.

The next morning after a couple new roommates move in, a few of us decided to walk around the area of our apartment. There are various different shops all over the place and it reminded me a lot of New York City. After walking around for a bit we decided to look in a clothing store called Marks and Spencer. After browsing for a couple minutes I noticed that in the back of store they had a grocery area. Since we needed food for the apartment we figured we would purchase a few things, although it felt odd being a store where people had fruit, bread, jeans, and blouses all in one basket. One thing that I was not expecting when coming to the UK was the fact that they charge you to use shopping carts in some grocery stores, and they also charge you for the plastic bags when you check out! Since it cost money to use carts we just decided to fill our baskets as much as possible, which after a while became difficult to carry. Most of the foods were similar to American brands with some name changes, popsicles are called “lollies” and certain types of cereal are called “shreddies”. It was also cool to see British celebrities on the cover of the tabloid magazines at the check -out counter; I bought one with singer Cheryl Cole on the cover.

 

Area around the apartment

View from the window of my room

After we came back to the apartment we decided to make dinner, well my roommate made dinner and I helped with the cutting of the vegetables since I have zero cooking ability whatsoever. Our first dinner in the apartment consisted of steak and peppers with potatoes and carrots.

I’m still getting familiar with my surroundings and it is really still hard to believe that I am actually in London but I can’t wait to do more exploring in the next couple days!

The Wait Is Almost Over!

After about 5 months of waiting I will be flying over to London tomorrow! It feels surreal but I am more than ready to start my semester at the London College of Fashion. After some stressful days of packing I managed to cram just about exactly 50 pounds of my life into a suitcase! Let's see how I manage this process on the return flight after 4 months of shopping.

After saying my goodbyes to my family and favorite people I feel like I am officially ready to head across the pond! The 4 am wake up call is not going to be a pleasant one, nor is the flight itself seeing as I have a lot of anxiety about flying but knowing that I am all packed makes me feel a little more at ease!