
Up until last week, when I thought of John Lewis; homewares, home furnishing and all things “house” sprang to mind. Why so?
The UK’s biggest department store is frequently visited by my sisters when they are furnishing, building or doing up their houses but getting their purchases back home to Ireland, was never an easy task.
That’s now a thing of the past as, as of last month, international shipping from johnlewis.com is now available on fashion and home items; shipping to Ireland costs £7.50 and takes two to four days.
Larger items, like couches for example, are not yet available for shipping over here, but more and more items are being added to their international shipping offering each week.
This was the main reason that John Lewis invited me on a press trip last week and to check out their Oxford Street store, a true institution of British prêt-à-porter selling top international fashion and homecare brands such as Whistles, Ray-Ban, Ted Baker, French Connection, Converse, Reiss, and Alessi. The childrenswear floor is worth a trip in itself for anyone with kids – offering a Nintendo entertainment area and a dedicated Lego hall!
At their press day, I checked out and chatted to fashion designers whom the store is collaborating with this autumn winter; Fiona Paxton (jewellery), Clements Ribeiro and Osman Yousefzada – collections displayed alongside Terry de Havilland and Paul Costello shoes. A fashion show was presented by Jasmine Guinness (pictured), who I heard saying that she was working on her own childrenswear range for the store.
There were Christmas trees and baubles, massive Christmas stockings and surreal-for-a-July-day winter wonderland displays. Even so, I can picture the scene right now–last minute, panic induced Christmas online shopping session to buy decorations, a Le Creseut dish for the turkey and a party dress, all in one (or two) clicks.
Later it was on to The Oxo Tower (below), the glamorous location for our evening meal with breathtaking views over the London skyline, before retiring to the recently-transformed-by-Philippe-Stark Sanderson Hotel (where Cheryl Cole’s birthday party took place two weeks ago).
You can see a video I shot of my hotel room here or read about what I bought in John Lewis here.
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July 18, 2011 at 2:28 pm
This is great news, even though we will have to pay a fee for delivery its still great.
July 18, 2011 at 10:28 pm
I like the polka-dot dress on Jasmine Guinness – where is it from?
July 18, 2011 at 10:44 pm
great to see so many excited people about this news!