This was the unexpected surprise of the trip - I was in London for work, and was thinking about picking up a birthday gift for the Girlfriend, but wasn't really hopeful, to be honest.
Cue Yelp. A quick search for what's cool in the area threw up this store, and as I was reading about it, I I discovered they had a few more things than just designer sneakers... they also carried bags by cult leather label Vlieger & Vandam.
SCORE.
Rihanna (I hear she's pretty famous) was spotted with one a couple of months ago, so to gain some serious points, and street cred, which is also important, I picked the best looking of the lot - a solid grey clutch with handcuffs embossed on one side. Turns out, its the same one that Rihanna person has. Hmmm.
Anyhow, I'm glad the ladies at the store were more than helpful, especially since they were quite the tastemakers themselves, and I may not have been not the hipster know-it-all I might have come off as. Plus I needed a VAT refund slip. AND it was five minutes to closing. Did I mention I was paying with a foreign credit card?
Yes, they were VERY nice about everything. And I walked out feeling like a million bucks - even if I did drop some serious cash, but hey, I felt pretty good about spending that money here. read more