Bicester Shopping Village

Up until this week, I think I was about the only person alive who hadn't yet visited Bicester Shopping Village. I'd heard about it and it's amazing discounts a tonne, and my family have visited multiple times and found some amazing deals, so I thought it was about time I checked it out for myself. If you're unfamiliar, Bicester Shopping Village is filled with discount designer outlets, all set in a little toy town village. I was a little wary about the word outlet - it usually fills me with dread and thoughts of a shambolic boxing day sale style mess. Luckily, Bicester has got it oh so right. The shops are set out exactly as they usually would be, everything is still very luxury, tidy, and minimal. The items are mostly older seasons, and subsequently have incredible discounts applied. As someone who is forever falling in love with a piece which is then discontinued/sold out by the time I get round to purchasing it, it holds a lot of potential. They're still brand new designer items, so are still pricey, but you get way more bang for your buck.

I had nothing in particular on my shopping list, but had a vague idea that I wanted to check out some fluffy jackets, funky blazers, and of course, some beautiful designer handbags. Just before I get into the fashion, I've gotta mention the Marshmallowist who has their amazing Barbie pink van at the village for the whole season. Me being me, the food van selling hot chocolates was of course the first thing I was drawn to when we arrived. This was not just your standard hot choccy, however, as there was a tonne of different flavoured giant marshmallows you could add on top! I went for the gingerbread Marshmallow and had it toasted - it was an ooey gooey festive flavoured dream! Definitely go and check them out if you visit over the Winter season, it's the perfect warm up while you're wandering between the shops.

First stop on my list was Maje, the French bohemian queens. I'd only been in the shop a few seconds before the very excitable shop assistant slid me into an insane leopard print fur jacket. It was a gorgeous high end version of what I've had my eye out for on the high street all season. My prancing around in the mirror pretending I could afford it was quickly cut short though, when the shop assistant revealed it was bunny fur - it was real! I instantly felt SO so guilty for trying it on and so naive for presuming it would be fake. We are in 2017 though, I thought we were all in agreement by now that real fur is a no go! It was a proper Phoebe from friends moment, where she falls in love with the real mink fur coat and wears it in secret. Straight back on the hanger it went, and onto Gucci.

Although nothing in Gucci really inspired as much as the current season items have done, I still spent a good half an hour just admiring the store. Gucci's visual merchandisers are clearly absolutely killing it, just LOOK how dreamy these mannequins outfits are!

My absolute fave pieces are the bee motif cape, and the sparkly burgundy skirt. Those pleats paired with that patched leather jacket are a texture match made in heaven, swoon. 

Next up we headed into Fendi, a brand that I've never really had a strong opinion on either way. So quelle surprise when I strolled in and saw the absolute gem below, a.k.a the bag of my dreams. Small shoulder bag? Check. Banging 70's colour way? Check. Interesting hardware? Check check check. Despite have over £1,000 off the RRP, it was still nearly £2000, so sadly this mustard and burgundy baby had to be left in the shop this time, sob. But it has only further fuelled my quest for my very first designer bag purchase to be in a similar colour palette.

The discounted Estée Lauder Companies store was up next, which is where I ended up making my first purchases of the day. It had a tonne of great beauty brands all under the Estée Lauder umbrella: La Mer, MAC, Origins, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Jo Malone, Tom Ford, Smashbox etc. The MAC section had a lot of the old limited edition collections, so I was able to find the orange In Extreme Dimension mascara I'd been after which sold out everywhere as soon as I went to buy it. Bright tangerine orange mascara may look a little too editorial (or totally bonkers) for day-to-day wear, but I'll keep you posted on that one. I only paid £10 for it (RRP £15.50) which I think is great value for something a little bit different that I can have a play around and an experiment with.

The other thing I grabbed was a teeny tiny Clinique Take The Day Off cleansing balm. I've heard fab things about this and I'm always looking to improve my skincare routine, so I thought it'd be great to try out before I commit to buying a huge jar of it.

I had a peep in a shop called 'The British Collective' which featured loads of different British brands, mostly homeware, gifts and accessories. They had Fornasetti jar candles for less than £100, which although is still pricey for a candle, is a massive massive discount for that brand.

I also found this amazing set up in there from a brand called Rockins that I've never actually come across before. They have all these funky skinny scarves in a tonne of different prints, and they're packaged in a cassette tape case! How groovy is that!

This mirrored window display is so up my street, the colours and the typography are just oh so cool. The scarves were priced at around £60, and although I didn't end up buying one this time, I'm totally into the aesthetics and this brand is now firmly on my radar.

Next stop was Zadig & Voltaire in my hunt for a blazer. I'd always thought blazers were a bit too smart for my style, but I've seen so many different ones popping up lately with sequins, patches, different textures, that they've changed my mind and now I really want one. They're so versatile as well, perfect for festive parties now, but great with denim shorts when summer rolls around, very Alexa Chung. (This was my justification to myself for looking for a designer one.) The glitzy one above was what originally dragged me into Z&V, but I never actually ended up trying it on, as I got so distracted by the one below. As soon as I spotted the stars and planets print I was into it, and then completely fell in love with it when I tried it on. It fitted like an absolute dream, every so slightly over sized and the perfect length. But I just could not get on board with the dragon print on the arm! It's just so not my jam, and as much as I'd fallen in love with the rest of it, I could just tell it'd continue to bother me and I probably wouldn't get as much wear out of it as I'd like to. Wouldn't be such a problem if it was a high street purchase, but for £125 I needed to love it completely! Although, it's been a few days now and I still can't stop thinking about it...

I also checked out a few velveteen ones in Ted Baker, a black one and a forrest green one, but they didn't quite measure up to the Z&V one.

My final stop of the day ended up being to the Swedish babes Acne Studios, and was where I made my biggest purchase of the day. I was initially about to blow my budget on a pair of the infamous metallic face block trainers, as the sales assistant was wearing some orange ones which were SO up my street. But then on the other side of the shop I spotted a denim jacket in the most gorgeous not-quite-red-not-quite-pink hue. I've been toying with the idea of denim jackets for when Spring has sprung, and decided that a block colour short jacket was what I needed, to avoid potentially looking like I'm still at college in an oversized blue denim one (so 2011!) So the one I'd spotted was completely what I was looking for, and it looks amazing on if I do say so myself. It turns out it was actually in the mens section, but I think it made the fit a little more boxy which is one thing I really like about it. It was £145 down from around £300, so nearly half price. Obviously it's the complete wrong season for it now, but I'm happy knowing that I've got my perfect summer jacket ready and waiting to go! Really excited to style it once the warm-ish weather rolls around, so keep your eyes out for a blog post featuring my new pink baby in 2018! 

So there we have a little look at my first trip to Bicester Shopping Village. Safe to say it was a success, and certainly won't be my last. If you're like myself and find that sales & discount stores usually totally turn you off shopping, then you'll absolutely love this place. It's a sale that doesn't feel like a sale, and the discounts are in every shop! It's also so great to have the opportunity to find any discontinued items you wanted from previous seasons before they disappear completely.

With Christmas well and truly round the corner now, I'd definitely consider a visit to Biscester for the perfect treat for the special people in your life. The decorations and the Christmas music also makes for such a festive atmosphere, so so lovely. Or maybe I've given you an idea for somewhere to visit after the festive season, to make your christmas money stretch that little bit further!