San Francisco to London help!!!

Divertimenti sells All Clad.  They have a website also.  I've not seen the slow cooker , but I've also not been in the market for one.  I had friends who moved over 2 1/2 years ago bring me set of All Clad pots and pans which saved me something like 200GBP.  I hit up Williams Sonoma whenever I'm in New York. 

They do sell Kitchen Aid here.

Thanks! I totaly missed the shop by brands on he Divertimenti website. Wow talk about expensive! Good to know that I can get it if I need it!

Here's a shopping tip.

Harrod's has a winter sale and a summer sale and generally many small appliances are on sale although usually only about 10-15% off.  Not great, but better than nothing.  Get a Harrod's reward/loyalty card.  It's free to sign up.  Your purchases add up and when you hit a certain amount, at least 500GBP I think, you get a credit on your card that you can use for anything in the store.  I don't shop there often so it took me like 2 years to get any kind of credit.  However, a couple of times during the sale they have a rewards weekend where if you have a rewards card, you get an extra 10% off.  If all goes well with your dog, maybe you'll get here in time for the summer sale and you can replace some of your small electricals a little less painfully.

We moved from a fully furnished to an unfurnished flat last summer, just around the time of the summer sales and it was great!  I really cleaned up on basics at John Lewis. 

I had no idea about the Harrods card.  I don't shop there too much, but still good to know!   

I hate to tell you this, but some flights do not allow animals to fly due to heat restrictions  during the summer.We had to pay twice ,to change my ticket.

Your airline can tell you for sure.

I hate to tell you this, but some flights do not allow animals to fly due to heat restrictions  during the summer.We had to pay twice ,to change my ticket.

Your airline can tell you for sure.

I think that depends highly on location. San Francisco stays pretty cool, even in the summer, so heat restrictions probably wouldn't apply (unlike, say, TX or FL).

Still, best to call the airlines and verify their policies.

Hello, and welcome to the group!  I am a former East Bay girl myself, but I know the Marina district, so I can imagine what you are looking for.  London is a lot of fun, and I am sure you will like it here.

I happened to walk by a cookware shop today which sells All Clad so I went in and asked about the slow cooker for you.  The very helpful shop assistant checked the All Clad catalog but unfortunately it seems that the slow cooker is not sold in the UK.  So either you'll have to switch brands, or if you really love your All Clad one, run it on a voltage converter.  Sorry!

By the way, in case there are any other All Clad fans out there, Whisk Cookshop in Chiswick is offering their All Clad at 50% off right now!  Also, I was at Selfridges for the after-Christmas sale and they too had all of their All-Clad at half price, but I haven't been in recently so I am not sure what the current status of their inventory is.

Lanikai can we be best friends? THANK YOU so much for asking!

I called All Clad yesterday and got the same sad answer. I guess I'm going to get a converter, the slow cooker is THAT good.

I have another random question, are European brands any cheaper in London than the US. I need to get DH some new shoes, and he said to wait until we get to London. I think he is wrong, but thought I would ask. I was also going to go to the Burberry Outlet here and stock up on trenches and coats, but if they are cheaper in London I will wait.

I have another random question, are European brands any cheaper in London than the US. I need to get DH some new shoes, and he said to wait until we get to London. I think he is wrong, but thought I would ask. I was also going to go to the Burberry Outlet here and stock up on trenches and coats, but if they are cheaper in London I will wait.

I usually stock up on clothes, shoes, make up, perfume etc. when I'm in the US because things are usually cheaper there than the UK (for example, a GAP skirt that I bought in NYC for $40 was £40 ($70) in the UK). Not sure about specifically European brands, but looking at the US and UK Burberry websites, it seems the prices are similar - in some cases the products are cheaper in the UK and in others, they are more expensive... it depends what you buy.

In general though, most things are more expensive in the UK than in the US, especially in London. Take gas, for example, in the US, gas is about $3, I think. In the UK, gas is currently $7 a gallon (or $8 for a UK gallon... UK gallons are a bit larger than US gallons)!

We knew that most itemes were more expensive in the UK, but neither of us remembered if European items were cheaper in the UK vs US.

I think, regardless of origin, I'm going to stock up on clothing and essentials before we leave.

Thanks!!

A couple of years ago when the dollar was 2 for 1 to the pound I would have said that definitely things are cheaper in the US.  Now, that the dollar is a little stronger and both countries are in recession (although the UK apparently has just barely pulled itself out of the recession) it depends.  For example, Apple has pretty much equalized it's prices so one day it might be a couple of dollars cheaper in the US and a week later it might be a couple of pounds cheaper in the UK.
 
One thing I will caution you on is that styles are different in London.  For example, you will rarely see a man who wears a suit to work wearing a white shirt.  They will be blue or striped and definitely a little bolder and wearing cuff links is pretty common, too.  Shorts are not worn during summer by men or women.  If you see someone wearing shorts, they are jogging or on their way to do something sporty.  However, during the winter you will see girls wearing short shorts of the hotpants variety with tights.  But, I would definitely stock up on undergarments.

Now for shopping tip number 2.  There is an upmarket outlet mall (it is outdoors) near Oxford which is less than an hour's train ride from Marylebone Station and then there is a shuttle bus to the mall.  It's called Bicester Village, pronounce Bice-ster.  Here is the link so you can see what brands are available:  www.BicesterVillage.com  .  It is totally worth a trip a couple of times a year.  Also, I have heard that when shops are having trouble shifting current season product, instead of marking it down they send it to Bicester Village.   

And shopping trip number 3.  Sample sales.  I am the Queen of all sample sales.  The good thing about sample sales here compared to New York is that they are more often than not sample AND stock sales so you don't have to be a size 2.  Burberry has a sample sale a few times a year which is by email invitation only.  You may be able to sign up for notification on their website.  If not, you can PM me and the next time there is a sale I will add your email to my invitation list.

We are big outlet shoppers! Well I should repharse, I am a big outlet shopper and the DH just wears what I tell him to. We live close to a few good outlets, but the best one is in Las Vegas. they have Ferragamo, Missoni,Gucci, Fendi, Burberry, Tory Burch, Prada, etc . Luckily, I go to LV about every 6 wks for work, so it works out very well. I think I will make a pre-London trip to the LV outlets.

So, funny you bring up men being more fashion forward in London. I was at Ralph Lauren yesterday picking up some suits for DH and they have these beautiful bold spring color dress shirts that I thought would be perfect for London. We will have to spice up DH wardrobe. He's a big cuff link wearer and has this very cute pair that has the dollar sign on the left and the pound sign on the right. Hopefully he will fit in!

I will have to pry DH's beloved 'dog shorts' ( they are hunter green and have embroidered dogs all over them) out of his hands. Hopefully, people won't point and laugh if he wears them. I'm more of a dress person when it is hot out vs shorts.

I've never really gotten into sample sales, mainly for the reason I am not a sample size 2, but I can't wait to see about these 'real size' sample sales!

Thanks for all of the advice!

Lanikai can we be best friends? THANK YOU so much for asking!

You, me and gretel!  I love Bicester Village!  A scenic train ride, great shopping and lunch at Villandry...the perfect day out.

I will have to pry DH's beloved 'dog shorts' ( they are hunter green and have embroidered dogs all over them) out of his hands. Hopefully, people won't point and laugh if he wears them. I'm more of a dress person when it is hot out vs shorts.

If they don't disappear, he can come hang with my husband who still clings to a khaki pair with embroidered fish.   

And speaking of Bicester, if you stop by the main welcome center for the outlets, they'll give you a "VIP voucher" that gives you an extra 10% off in most of the stores.   

I've never really gotten into sample sales, mainly for the reason I am not a sample size 2, but I can't wait to see about these 'real size' sample sales!

Yeah I'm a UK RTW size 12-14 and I can fit into lots of stuff at the sample sales on Brick Lane. They usually use sample sizes, though, so everything will be marked with size 1, 2, or 3 - I can sometimes squeeze into 2s but 3s always fit me fine.

The Daily Candy London newsletter is 99% terribly written marketing spam, but they do send out sample sale alerts once a month or so that are really worth it. The Orla Kiely, Ted Baker, and Designer UK sales are particularly worth the effort.

And I totally agree with gretel about styles being very different here, especially in central London. I don't think I've seen khakis or a windbreaker-type jacket on anyone that wasn't an American tourist in years. Also, don't wear white socks.