VisitBritain Luxury Travel Trade Brochure | Page 41

Luxury Britain

Barbour store inside Selfridges, London
©VisitBritain / Joanna Henderson

Go for everything edible: Fortnum
& Mason
This very grand grocery store in
Piccadilly has been supplying the Royal
Family with products for over 300
years. In fact, it was set up by two of
George III’s footmen. It’s famous for its
hampers and luxurious afternoon teas,
but was also the first place in Britain to
sell baked beans! There’s now a branch
at St Pancras International as well –
the first to open for 307 years.
www.fortnumandmason.com
Go for wellington boots: Hunter
Boots
Started in 1856 by an American
entrepreneur Henry Lee Norris,
Hunter boots were developed to help
British soldiers deal with the trenches
in World War I. Now a staple piece of
equipment for the summer festival
circuit, it’s still the Royal Family’s
Wellington boot of choice and now
comes in every colour – although
traditionalists prefer the original Hunter
Green. Buy them at Harrods, Selfridges
and Office stores around Britain.
www.hunterboot.com
Go for luxe christmas crackers:
Tom Smith
A British Christmas wouldn’t be the
same without some crackers to pull
during the meal. Cardboard tubes
covered in colourful paper that
produce a (very small!) explosion when
they’re pulled and containing paper
hats, jokes and small gifts. The Queen
gets hers from Tom Smith, based in
the Welsh county of Glamorgan, just
as her parents and grandparents did
before her. At Christmas-time, you’ll
find crackers on sale everywhere, from
the poshest shops to supermarkets.
www.tomsmithcrackers.co.uk
Go for handbags: Launer
The Queen is never without a handbag
and they nearly always come from
Launer; she has more than 40 Launer
bags to choose from in her wardrobe.
Still made entirely by hand in Walsall,
a small town near the Midlands city of
Birmingham, all the handbags are lined

Floris, London

in suede with goldplated fastenings.
Luxurious but never flashy, you’ll also
find wallets and iPhone cases in its
collection of leather goods, stocked by
shops such as Fortnum & Mason.
www.launer.com
Go for outerwear: J Barbour
A triple warrant holder, this company
sells its distinctive waterproof waxed
jackets to the Queen, the Duke of
Edinburgh and Prince Charles. It’s
also the favoured brand of many a
wellheeled hot model or actress for
their ‘downtime’ in the countryside.
Started and still made in South
Shields, in the north east of England,
where there’s a factory shop selling at
discounted prices, Barbour clothing
covers both catwalk and countryside
wear, famed for its practicality and
– increasingly – style. British fashion
designer Alice Temperley has curated
a recent collection.
www.barbour.com
Go for socks: Corgi
Feet need socks, and the Prince of
Wales granted Corgi a Royal Warrant
back in 1989 for their delightful luxury
ones. Made in Wales since 1892, the
company is still family run, designer
Lisa Wood’s creations have appeared
under many haute couture labels, and
sell in the finest stores all over the
world. You can get men and women’s
lightweight and heavyweight cotton
socks from £11 a pair, and cashmere
from £49. The Factory Shop has big
reductions: it’s in Carmarthenshire, an
hour’s drive north east of Cardiff.
www.corgihosiery.co.uk
Go for cheese:
Valvona & Crolla
Scotland’s oldest delicatessen and
Italian wine merchant, Valvona & Crolla
is one of Europe’s original and best
specialist food shops, founded in 1934.
An independent family business, the
original premises are still in use and
well worth a visit when in Edinburgh
for its fantastic array of cheese from
Scotland.
www.valvonacrolla.co.uk

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Hunter Boots in London shopping street

Go for perfume: Floris
Step inside the fragrant world of
Floris, on Jermyn Street (just behind
Fortnum & Mason). The only perfumer
to The Queen to hold a Royal Warrant
is, as you’d imagine, discreetly
glamorous. Choose from classic scents
to more exotic perfumes, sample
Bouquet de la Reine, which was
created as a wedding gift for Queen
Victoria in 1840, Ian Fleming’s bespoke
brew – the ‘no 89’. You can splash
out on your own bespoke fragrance
too – after a 2 hour consultation with a
Floris perfumer in the beautiful store,
emerge with a 100ml customised Eau
de Parfum, details of which will be kept
on file for you to re-order.
www.florislondon.com
Go for tailoring:
Gieves & Hawkes
Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes may
have been founded in 1771, but it has
not ceased to move with the times
and appeal to the modern gentleman.
Not just for men though – the
company designed The Queen’s ‘boat
cloak’, worn in 1953 and famously
photographed by Cecil Beaton. It holds
a Royal Warrant from all three Royal
‘buyers’ who can bestow one. They
have a ready to wear collection, and
also make luxury weekendwear, but for
the ultimate in style and finesse, go for
the tailoring service in the Savile Row
store and get a made-to-measure suit
or bespoke coat.
www.gievesandhawkes.com

Fortnum & Masons, London
©VisitBritain/Andrew Pickett