Designer Shopping all in one village? (Bicester Village Outlet Shopping)

Member Name: Whizz11

Product:	Bicester Village Outlet Shopping
Date:	30/10/09 (219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice setting, good mix of shops

Disadvantages: Still expensive

Designer Shopping all in one village?

Bicester Village is a collection of designer shopping outlets located in the town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. I have been here several times and enjoy looking around. It's very easy to reach by car and there are lots of free car parking spaces outside the shiops when you arrive. You can also get here by train. For more detailed information I would recommend visiting their website at http://www.bicestervillage.com

The opening hours are as follows:

Mon - Sat 10am to 7pm
Sun 10am to 6pm
... although again I recommend checking on the specific day you ant to attend as if it is nearer Christmas or a school holiday the times may change.

They describe themselves are such, "Just one hour from London, we have over 120 international fashion and lifestyle brands offering luxury at desirable prices. You'll find it hard to resist temptation. Sample a piece of heaven."
The outlets are all individual shops which are side by side but it is in an outdoor setting.

The outside décor of the shops is actually rather quaint and reminds me of a village setting in the Eastern United States. The shops are not that big inside and some of them are actually rather small which makes them hard to navigate and probably why they can pack 120 shops into a relatively small floor plan. I would say that if you were just browsing for the day you could probably cover all the shops in just a morning or afternoon but if you were actually going to purchase things it might take a bit longer.

Some of the good designer shops in my opinion are the Ralph Lauren stores for both adults and kids, Mulberry, DKNY, Burberry, Jimmy Choo and Gucci. The stores mostly consist of clothing stores but they do have some nice discount home-ware stores such as Villeroy and Boch, Bodum and Wedgwood.
You have to remember though that even though they are giving you 60% off a lot of their stock this still makes the prices very high as the original prices were very high to begin with. Also sometimes I think it is just tempting you to buy something you wouldn't already buy just because you are tricked into thinking you are getting a bargain by having 60% off. If however you are looking to buy a designer piece and are not bothered by what you have then this could really be the place for you.

I would say though that this is a place to go to when you are not looking for anything in particular. The designer shops for example in my opinion really only sell off what probably did not sell in their full price shops so if you are looking for a brand new, in fashion Mulberry bag for example you will not find it here. The last visit I went on I did not find anything that really shone out for me. In fact, I thought a lot of some of the higher end products looked decidedly worn and dated as if a lot of the products were seconds and I think if I was going to spend that amount of money I would probably just go to the proper shop and buy a pristine piece in the first place.

You may find a bargain now and again and you really have to buy something when you see it as it's likely it will not be there next time you go, even if it is the next day.

You can also find several places to eat here which are nice. If you are looking for just a sandwich then Pret A Manger or Starbucks is your best bet but for a nice sit down meal there is also Carluccio's and Villandry.

Often you can find additional discounts for the shops located in Bicester Village in say the Sunday Times magazine or on line so keep an eye out for those. By joining their mailing list and registering with them you can also receive special offers from time to time.

A good days shopping!!

Summary: Bicester Shopping Village