Love the sun and this amazing summer we’re having – loathe shopping when it’s hot. It is easily my least favourite activity. Suddenly nothing fits, changing rooms have mirrors that are so unkind, everything feels hot and scratchy and there are fellow sweaty, bothered shoppers everywhere. Some enlightened stores have started to openly suggest you just buy the stuff, take it straight home, try it on in front of your own, always forgiving, mirror and simply return what doesn’t fit/suit you. Still takes up a bunch of time – so much easier though to order online. One website that’s literally like a condensed, very evolved high street (but without the dreary trudging around, trying the stuff on, queuing at the tills, then carrying bags around for the rest of the day, all of which adds up to a giant NO FUN and takes FOREVER) is Zalando. They cover men, women and children in different ranges of clothing and accessories from sporty to high street to premium. I really like this mbyM tee dress and this ONLY jacket. They do a bunch of labels I know and like already, such as Surface to Air, Paul & Joe Sister, Kenzo, Little Marc Jacobs (MJ’s childrenswear!) just to mention a few. Interiors-wise they have Normann Copenhagen, Moleskine, MAGMA and Kikaninchen, amongst others. I didn’t know the latter but they make the sweetest homeware for kids that’ll melt your heart. They also do labels you might not recognise from your usual shop, so there’s an added excitement and sense of adventure and discovery. After all, if it doesn’t fit, just return it, free of charge.
They also do a great homeware and office selection – to my joy I found this awesome MORRIS noteholder by dfp design! Love!
And this notebook by CEDON.
And these Dali espadrilles by Soludos just caught my fancy – check the eye-popping pink!
Best of all, there’s a welcoming ‘golden handshake’ in the form of £5 when you shop the first time – all typical of the website that was voted Best Cross-Border Webshop of Europe.
Find Zalando here http://www.zalando.co.uk
Words by Anna Bang