London Calling

I have lived a stone's throw from London for as long as I can remember. However I feel I have never taken full advantage of the great city that is on my doorstep and have made it one of my goals this year to explore London more. London is definitely the place to go for a perfect day of shopping.

For my perfect shopping trip to London, I'd start in West London and then head to the West End. I would start my day in Knightsbridge - where I'd pretend to be in 'Made in Chelsea' and head to the 2 big H's (Harrods and Harvey Nichols). In these stores, I love to meander the beauty halls and swoon over the beautiful bags, while munching on macarons bought from the Laduree counter in Harrods. Following this, I'd jump on the number 9 bus or the Piccadilly Line and head towards Oxford Street to hit the big flagship stores like Topshop, Primark, Selfridges and Liberty. Here I would meander more beauty halls, spritz even more perfume and no doubt, spend more money than I should.

To top off a perfect day of shopping, I'd pop along to the National Portrait Gallery for the Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair exhibition (which I'm dying to go to), then to China Town for a spot of dinner, before dashing to the Royal Opera House for a glass of champagne and a trip to the ballet. Following the ballet, I'd head towards Charing Cross, shopping bags in hand, woozy from the champagne and get on a train home for a well deserved snooze. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

I've put together some outfits that I think would be perfect for a day of shopping and exploring in London. Throw in your favourite coat, woolly scarf and bobble hat and you'd be all set to roam London in this weather.

The jumper and jeans are both by Topshop and I think the orange jumper adds a nice pop of colour to the outfit. The Zara studded wedge trainers are a great shoe choice, as they not only look lovely, they would also be comfortable enough to walk around the city for hours. The juxtaposing slouchy shape and structured metal handles of this gorgeous Zara bag counteract the casualness of the outfit and is the cherry on top of a casual and comfortable outfit like this one.

Sometimes a dress is the only way forward and I love the simplicity of the monochrome of this Topshop dress. Boots are a must in the winter and these Topshop boots fit the bill perfectly. A little bit of pretty lace peeking out makes this outfit that extra bit girly and topped off with this bright satchel by Zara, you're good to go.

What's your perfect shopping day in London?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

This is a competition entry for Visit Britain Shop - Details here.
Images used in this post from Zara.com, Topshop.com and Tumblr.com