Bicester Village

Bicester Village outlet shopping; Bicester, Oxfordshire

After hearing so much about the place, I decided to make that 1.5 hour drive from London to Bicester to check out the much acclaimed designer outlet shopping village. 

To my pleasant surprise, Bicester Village was no Primark or Asda. It was a daintily pretty town almost perfectly tree-lined and cobblestoned, with rows of little pastel coloured cottages housing various designer brands and providing good customer service. Apart from the gentle reminder on the price tag, I almost forget that I was budget shopping. In fact, Bicester Village was what I imagined Oxford Street to be before I went to London! 


But back to the price tag - prices are at least 30% off usual retail prices and up to 60% off for designer goods ranging from French Connection and Reiss to Prada and Dolce & Gabbana (Bicester Village boasts to house 130 brands). It was definitely curious to see a queue at the McQueen or Vivienne Westwood fitting room and a queue, mind you, not consisting of celebrities or model-like preppy rich kids, but think rather your neighbour Jane with two kids in tow. In a rare occurrence, designer luxury is made accessible to the mass market. The concept? Designer brands simply offloading end-of-season clearance stock at low prices and in a location far enough away from London that it does not hurt the brand's image. But as the concept suggests, don't expect to find that classic black Mulberry Alexa or the popular Celine 'face' bag. I was all set on looking for the perfect Burberry trench for spring but they had neither my size nor the design I was after. 


So Bicester shopping over Oxford Street? Not quite.. As a consumer, I would much rather have my pick of design and size in the comfort of a store that is not located what feels like a half day's drive away. But somehow I think I am the minority. Watching those truckloads of shoppers come and go with contented smiles after having cleaned entire shelves in Prada, I think I understand why it is said that Bicester Village is bringing in more sales than Selfridges these days.