Experience at Bicester Village (Londonish)

Hi there, I'm sure some of the forum members have been here and would like to know what their experiences are and what to expect. What attracted me to it is apparently it doesn't only have the normal UK outlet brands (i.e firetrap, levis, CK, D&G etc.) but apparently does Alexander McQueen, Dior, and some other interesting ones. Any advice is more than welcome!

It's easily the best outlet mall in the UK, but outlet malls are hit and miss by their nature. Still worth a trip.

Not been for about six years (moved to Australia so it's no longer convenient!) but it was excellent. At one stage, half my wardrobe seemed to be from there and I gather it's expanded since then. Like any factory outlet, could be a bit hit and miss but did very well out of it over the years. Wish I had an equivalent here.

For all out selection/variety I'd vote for Cheshire Oaks, but there are some very good stores in Bicester that you don't find in the other places (Aquascutum and Church's to name two). However, as Fidel points out it is still hit and miss.

/U.

Thanks very much guys, for the quick response. Yeah, I figured its been going for a while so it must be pretty good! Thanks, I may visit on Monday and will let you know how it goes! In York there is a designer outlet (http://www.yorkdesigneroutlet.com/) that does Giorgio Armani (Collezioni, Emporio and Black Label according to my guy in the Collezioni Shop in Manchester) Burberry and some other names, anybody have experience with that? Let me know! Thanks again

^ other than the armani and daks outlet, it doesn't appear to have any other advantages over bicester for menswear.

Only been to York once and I wasn't impressed, but YMMV.

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I've been there 3 or 4 times over the past few years and thought it was quite good. Outlet malls by their nature tend to be hit and miss (and an exercise in not buying something simply because it is reduced), but I have found some good buys in Bicester. I prefer it to the outlet mall in Swindon (which is the only other outlet mall I have been to in the UK).

Originally Posted by Dib

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I've been there 3 or 4 times over the past few years and thought it was quite good. Outlet malls by their nature tend to be hit and miss (and an exercise in not buying something simply because it is reduced), but I have found some good buys in Bicester. I prefer it to the outlet mall in Swindon (which is the only other outlet mall I have been to in the UK).

Am traveling to London next month. Is it worth a visit?

Originally Posted by maxnharry

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Am traveling to London next month. Is it worth a visit?

Which one, Bicester or Swindon? I think Bicester is worth a visit, not sure i would go out of my way to go to Swindon though.

Btw, Bicester is not actually in London (I haven't been there for a while, but IIRC it's around a 1.5 hour drive from London).

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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^ other than the armani and daks outlet, it doesn't appear to have any other advantages over bicester for menswear.

There was an armani and gucci outlet shop in Bicester opening "Autumn 2009" apparently when I last visited.

Daks outlet - used to be one in Swindon, not up to much

What's the loro piana store like at bicester? There needs to be some hefty discounting from them to be within my range.

Originally Posted by Dw3610wm

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Hi there, I'm sure some of the forum members have been here and would like to know what their experiences are and what to expect.

I live very near it, so visit semi-regularly. That means that the hit-and-miss nature of outlets doesn't bother me, but if I was making a special trip, be aware that other members are right and while there might be great swag there, it might not be in your size.

but apparently does Alexander McQueen, Dior, and some other interesting ones.

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Both the McQueen and Dior shops are fairly small and lean very very heavily towards womenswear. Overall though, there are a lot of outlet boutiques you just won't find in any other shopping centre in the UK, so it's definitely worth browsing around if you have time. Bear in mind, it's also quite large now, having gone through a couple of expansions over the past few years or so, so to check out all the outlets you might be interested in reasonably thoroughly will take you quite some time.

Originally Posted by fox81

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What's the loro piana store like at bicester? There needs to be some hefty discounting from them to be within my range.

It's pretty good. Half my summer wardrobe is from that shop.

The level of discounting there varies, from about 50%-80% IIRC.

Originally Posted by supercarl

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There was an armani and gucci outlet shop in Bicester opening "Autumn 2009" apparently when I last visited.

Not open yet as of about 2-3 weeks ago. Will probably visit again in a couple of weeks time. I'm looking forward to having a look around both of those.

what are the stores there worth mentioning? I might make a trip down - i see they have zegna

Originally Posted by Giovanni

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what are the stores there worth mentioning? I might make a trip down - i see they have zegna

Ralph Lauren, Loro Piana & Zegna are all good, with some solid discounts most of the year (and some really good discounts more rarely, if you time it right). Pringle is good for cashmere sweaters, Aquascutum for their trenches and Ferragamo for shoes esp. Tramezzas.

Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana are surprisingly good, if you like their styles.

As I said before, I'm looking forward to seeing what Armani & Gucci have in their new outlets too.