Fashionable but not too expensive stores to shop in London...

Try Boden. I’ve ordered from them on-line and I’m 64.

We really enjoyed Liberty - it was mostly high end but we found some things that weren’t too crazy. I think it’s worth at least walking through.

Dorothy Perkins, Marks and Spencer, River Island or check out, Camden Lock Market, Chastworth Market,
and Old Spitalfields.

Liberty is great fun. Even if you buy nothing the historic building is wonderful. Then go out the exit that puts you on Carnaby Street which is also good fun. For shopping womens and mens clothes I have enjoyed in London Selfridges (similar to Bloomingdales in US) and Peter Jones or John Lewis (similar to Macy's). Enjoy!

I love visiting Liberty, even if I don't purchase anything, though more often than not, I buy fabric. The store's interior is great. Another plus of department stores is: restrooms.

I always scope out if a Toast store is anywhere near where I venture. You can check them out online, too. And while it may seem strange to visit a US store in London, I also look for Anthropologie. Somehow, the London stores arrange their merch differently - or at least it looks more appealing to me!

Another vote for Liberty--the entire store makes me ridiculously happy, from the stunning exterior to the cozy selling floors with fireplaces and Arts & Crafts details and the atrium. This past trip in April I visited them 3 times--always for the crafts and homewares departments on the 3rd floor, but also bought a shower cap in one of their distinctive fabrics and a gorgeous scarf that I will enjoy for many years. I am more likely to spend serious money on an accessory that I will use for a long time than clothing, given the exchange rate. Selfridges and Harrods have some interesting clothing options, and I am also a fan of Boden.

Omigosh I absolutely love these suggestions! This is so helpful and I’m already excited!! Thank you!!

@Christa - now I know I will be looking for a Liberty shower cap next time I am there. One of my favorite keepsakes is a mug from there circa 1998.

Those who suggest Liberty have given you good advice. https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/experiences-hub#experiences-hub

When your feet get tired you can take a break for afternoon tea on the second floor at Arthur's Cafe. Refreshed you can continue your stroll around the paradise known as Liberty.

Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins are now only an online store since their owners went bust. Boden is online.

Liberty is top end luxury so doesn’t fit your “not too expensive” wish, but it’s a lovely store.

If you want value and on trend clothes on the high street, Primark is the place to shop.

Lower mid market brands such as Marks & Spencer and Next offer better quality. Up a notch again are Joules, Crew and Seasalt - British brands sold in John Lewis on Oxford Street. Radley handbags and purses are good.

I like John Lewis on Oxford Street because there are a lot of different ranges and brands gathered together in one place, with prices ranging from high fashion to high street and everything in between.

Plus plenty of cafes and toilets and also a great beauty selection. Often overlooked by tourists in favour of Selfridges, but I much prefer it. Also there is a lovely (slightly smaller) branch in Sloane Square.

It’s very much the English middle class favourite.

At risk of jumping in on a topic I know nothing about…….I am traveling in the Fall, sorry Autumn with my 17 yo grand and shopping will definitely be on her radar- so glad for these suggestions. Personally, I am a Gudrun Sjöden fan, and am excited to be able to go to an actual storefront (vs.online shop).

I recently returned from London and shopped at Boden near Sloane Square, where I bought a dress for myself and some clothing for my toddler grandson. They were very reasonably priced (in fact, less expensive in the store than on the website). I'm in my early 60s and there were plenty of choices for my age range, as well as for younger women. If you love English prints, they have a nice selection. The kids' clothes are adorable.

If shopping with a 17 year old they’ll unlikely be interested in any of the shops above apart from Primark. Also look for New Look, H&M, River Island, PullnBear for them. Depends on their tastes. Although to be honest most 17year olds buy online from Shein, boohoo and the like. Cheap and cheerful fashion although the ethics are highly questionable!

I’m in the same age bracket as you and personally I wouldn’t buy from Boden etc. Too twee ‘second home in Cornwall or the Cotswolds’ look for me and a style I’m not keen on. Depends on your taste. Check out a few shops including those mentioned previously and those your 17 year old is interested in. You may equally find something you like in Primark or Jaeger. However be aware that clothes that look ok in the UK may look completely out of place back home.

My wife is a fan of Primark, mainly because she can find them in a number of countries. Bargain priced clothes...but you know, European clothes (well, probably made in Asia, but in a style to sell in Europe) She has bought some things she really likes there and decent quality.

I like C&A.

I like C&A

C&A haven’t been in the UK for donkey’s years. Mainland Europe only, I believe.

Grace Brothers

Golden Girl, How long is donkey’s years? There was a C&A in Windsor in Oct 2019. I assumed it wasn’t the only one in the UK. Thanks for the heads up.

sorry, Susan, I agree that C&A left the UK many years ago. I don't know what happened so you could be in one 3 years ago.

Confirmed by wikipedia, quoting, emphasis mine,

For many years, C&A retail clothing stores were a major presence in town centres throughout the United Kingdom. C&A also opened stores in a number of out-of-town locations, such as its store at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the West Midlands, which opened in November 1989. The company's strategy of selling budget clothes from high-rent city-centre retail stores made it vulnerable to a new breed of competitors operating in cheaper, out-of-town locations, including Matalan and the rapidly expanding clothing operations of supermarket food chains such as Tesco and Asda, and to expanding high street names such as H&M, Zara, and Topshop.[citation needed] C&A in the United Kingdom was a notable example of an incorporated private unlimited company,[3] which meant that it was not required to publish its financial statements under United Kingdom company law. In 2000, C&A announced its intention to withdraw from the British market, where it had been operating since 1922, and the last UK retail stores closed in 2001.[4] Primark bought 11 of the C&A stores.

the footnote 4 is:- "C&A quits UK". BBC News. 15 June 2000. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

I could have sworn it was C&A my friend and i went into in Windsor 2,5 yrs ago… She bought a shirt there. I totally believe you and Golden Girl so i’m baffled.

Was it H&M? Maybe M&S?

Certainly the branch of C&A in Leeds has been gone for many, many years. As indeed has the building it was in!

My Mum always referred to it as ‘Cheap & Awful’ (I didn’t like that as she dressed me in C&A from head to foot when I had little option about the clothes I wore, I.e. to school) or my favoured one was ‘Coats & ‘Ats’.

Ian

No, it wasn’t H&M. i’ll ask my friend if she remembers. But i believe you guys, and i must be mistaken.

The C&A in Paris is really good. I have Tshirts, for instance, that i bought there in 2019 that i wear most of the time that still look new… whereas my $100 Tshirts from JJill do not.