william wolfe’s guide to excellent living in london
The best gift shops in London
9 of the gift shops Mr Wolfe recommends in the Guide to Excellent Living in London, each reviewed at length, with an address and a fair warning where one is due.
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131-132 New Bond Street, W1S 2TBSmythsonA whiff of high fashion pervades Smythson these days. To reach the paper goods in its flagship store, one is obliged to make one’s way…A
30 Museum Street, WC1A 1LHAbbott and HolderIf you’re anything like an earlier incarnation of me, you all too often find yourself groping for inspiration when the occasion requires…A
17 Piccadilly Arcade, SW1Y 6NHThe Armoury of St James’sA glorious toybox for boys of all ages, The Armoury of St James’s is strategically situated between Savile Row and Jermyn Street. Few of…B
91 Lower Sloane Street, SW1W 8DABentleysIt’s hard to believe there was once a time when international travel – the getting there, I mean, not the actual destination – was anything…L
Regent Street, W1B 5AHLibertyThere’s no department store in London quite like Liberty. There never has been, not since its foundation way back in 1875. Somehow, the…D
4 Sloane Square, SW1W 8EEDavid MellorI used to find the concept of ‘design’ a bit…well, irritating. It’s hard to explain why, other than I felt it to be wreathed in the kind of…P
17 Rugby Street, WC1N 3QTPentreath & HallOnce A generation, a decorator or designer comes along who almost single-handedly redefines the English Look. In the second half of the…P
Albany, 10-12 Burlington Gardens, W1S 3EYPickettI’ve genuine affection for the Eighties, that much-maligned decade that heralded a welcome return to classic British style after the…J
Hazelwood House, 53 New Oxford Street, WC1A 1BLJames Smith & SonsBesides ‘quality’, ‘character’ was the chief criterion I employed when drawing up my list of places for inclusion in this book. What do I…
131-132 New Bond Street, W1S 2TBSmythsonA whiff of high fashion pervades Smythson these days. To reach the paper goods in its flagship store, one is obliged to make one’s way…A
30 Museum Street, WC1A 1LHAbbott and HolderIf you’re anything like an earlier incarnation of me, you all too often find yourself groping for inspiration when the occasion requires…A
17 Piccadilly Arcade, SW1Y 6NHThe Armoury of St James’sA glorious toybox for boys of all ages, The Armoury of St James’s is strategically situated between Savile Row and Jermyn Street. Few of…B
91 Lower Sloane Street, SW1W 8DABentleysIt’s hard to believe there was once a time when international travel – the getting there, I mean, not the actual destination – was anything…L
Regent Street, W1B 5AHLibertyThere’s no department store in London quite like Liberty. There never has been, not since its foundation way back in 1875. Somehow, the…D
4 Sloane Square, SW1W 8EEDavid MellorI used to find the concept of ‘design’ a bit…well, irritating. It’s hard to explain why, other than I felt it to be wreathed in the kind of…P
17 Rugby Street, WC1N 3QTPentreath & HallOnce A generation, a decorator or designer comes along who almost single-handedly redefines the English Look. In the second half of the…P
Albany, 10-12 Burlington Gardens, W1S 3EYPickettI’ve genuine affection for the Eighties, that much-maligned decade that heralded a welcome return to classic British style after the…J
Hazelwood House, 53 New Oxford Street, WC1A 1BLJames Smith & SonsBesides ‘quality’, ‘character’ was the chief criterion I employed when drawing up my list of places for inclusion in this book. What do I…