High street shopping in London

To think that a year ago, I didn't know what "high street" meant...

I had breakfast with a lovely fellow Canadian today, and the two of us trying to describe Aritzia (she misses it dearly) to her British colleague made me think of all the brands that don't exist here and vice versa.

But first, "high street." High street basically refers to boutiques that are literally, on the high street—which are, essentially, main streets. In Vancouver, Robson Street would be a high street; in Toronto, Queen Street would be one.

What's more, high streets here very often literally have the name "high street" in their name. Example: High Street Kensington, the main shopping street in—you guessed it—Kensington. This isn't always the case, of course—Oxford and Regent Streets are definitely high streets but aren't named as such.

Photo: Wikipedia. Look! There's even a "High Street Kensington" tube station!

Anyway, high street fashion brands are those that can afford the rent on these busy thoroughfares: think brands like the Gap, Urban Outfitters, Topshop, H&M, and Zara. Of course, luxury brands can afford high rent, too, but obviously, they want to maintain their position as, duh, luxury brands, so tend to group together in more posh areas. It's all pretty self-explanatory. So onto the list.

Here are a few high street brands I'm surprised don't exist in Canada yet (and please do correct me if I'm wrong!):

CoS - my favourite high street brand; CoS supposedly stands for "collection of style" and is actually owned by H&M. It's still trend-driven, but much more quality-oriented ("orientated", as they say here in England) and way, way less "fast".

I recently bought these jersey legging trousers, because who doesn't need a pair of tight coral-coloured pants?! But I do love them. (Photo: Cos.)

The Kooples - I've been seeing the Man Repeller wear a lot of this brand lately, so am guessing it is Stateside, now. My second favourite of the high street brands, the clothing is very British in its styling but the company was founded by three French brothers. Fréres.

This look is SOOOO The Kooples. But it's cute, right? (Photo: The Kooples.)

Kurt Geiger - Pronounced "guy-ger", with two hard Gs, this is a shoe retailer whose specialty, it seems, is producing runway-inspired footwear, with the odd exact-copy thrown in there for good measure. My friend Alexandra of Searching for Style did some research and found that Kurt Geiger, the company, has managed to strategically place itself in every major (including luxury) department store as it controls all of their respective shoe departments! Not sure how it does this—more research required. Stay tuned.

Hello, YSL. I mean, Miu Miu. I mean, Kurt Geiger. (Photo: Kurt Geiger.)

Uniqlo - Why haven't they opened there yet?! I don't understand.

The most amazing long sleeve t-shirt I have ever found. I think I need 5 more, just in case. And they're only a tenner! (Photo: Uniqlo.)

Next - I find this high street brand kind of shitty, but it seems to do quite well here.
Dorothy Perkins - see Next.
Mango - I know there is Mango in Canada, but seriously, only in Toronto still?!!!
New Look - Slightly better than Next—it has an ongoing collaboration with Giles on its side.

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There are probably at least ten more, but let's move on to popular brands that surprisingly, don't seem to exist in the UK:

Old Navy - There's a Gap on every other corner, and a Banana Republic, too. Why no Old Navy?

Lululemon - I'm not surprised the other major Canadian brands (yes, Aritzia, but also Joe Fresh) haven't opened here yet—after all, they just opened big shiny stores in New York—but Lulu has been in the States for AGES and there seriously seems a big gap here. Its main competitor, besides the usual sports brands like Nike and Adidas, and from what I've seen so far, would be a brand called Sweaty Betty... which I think is an unfortunate name (but there are some nice workout clothes).

A cute look from Sweaty Betty. (Photo: Sweaty Betty.)

J.Crew - I'm sure this brand will come soon (and in the meantime, they now ship to the UK).
Madewell - see J.Crew.

Bebe - I hate this store and think their clothes is mostly crappy, but I'm still surprised there are no Bebe stores here.

Bebe barf. I'm SO over batwing minidresses. (Photo: Bebe.)

BCBG - Did you know BCBG stands for "bon chic, bon genre" (good style, good attitude)? I'm not sure this would qualify as "high street" as their price point is a bit higher, but I'm still surprised there are no BCBG stores here. They do have good sales.

Club Monaco - The brand I miss the MOST. They sell some of it at Browns, an amazing, high-end department store (with an equally amazing outlet store down the street, which I literally stumbled upon! I was en route to the Sassoon Salon down the street to get my bangs trimmed and WALKED INTO THE WRONG STORE!), but it's much more expensive and I miss being able to use my press discount.

Love. Want. (Photo: Club Monaco.)