Shopper's Bush

This is for my London girlies, on the whole.

Today I went to the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush. It's absolutely massive, to the point where they've surely rebuilt much of the infrastructure around S'sB, including the tube station. Very pleasant - I went in through House of Fraser which meant that I accessed the rest of the centre through a rarefied enclave of 'high end' designer shops - Dior, Miu Miu, Mulberry... splendid stuff in the manner of a quick stroll through an art gallery. I did step into Jo Malone - a store of sumptuous scents. A small bottle of cologne is around £30, which isn't too unattainable, but then you start thinking that it would be nice to blend a combination of them, in the recommended manner, to create your signature scent... a game which could become very expensive very quickly. I beat a hasty retreat - although if anyone has too much money and really wants to spend it on a grateful blogger, I thought I'd start with red roses; wild fig and cassis; and nectarine blossom and honey.

My next port of call was the MAC store. I looked in vain for MAC concessions in House of Fraser and Debenhams, until I discovered this standalone shop. It's pretty small and was absolutely rammed with shoppers. There was a security guard standing arms outstetched at the front operating a 'one out: one in' policy, which is a new one on me. MAC is all about the pro-longwear lipcolour (bombproof lipstick), and I'm taking a chance on 'Fully Charged' - a bubblegum pink which is paler in tone than I would normally wear. I hope I don't get too attached to it, because a quick rummage on the internet finding the picture above, tells me that it's been discontinued.

Despite the congestion at MAC, the rest of the centre wasn't oppressively busy - which for a Saturday, is surely amazing. I popped into Rigby and Peller to book a fitting, and got an appointment for only half an hour later. I thought I'd go to the world renowned bra experts out of curiosity really - I'm 95% sure that my 34JJ is the right size, but sometimes there's a little overspill. My fitter was lovely, but initially brought me a 36HH to try, which I didn't come close to fitting into. She conceded this, but seemed to think one cupsize would do the trick. You'll have to take my word for it - but I was busting out all over this bra! It was academic anyway - she thought I was a 36J, and Rigby and Peller don't go up to a J cup in underwired bras, although she could offer me a maternity bra or their made-to-measure service. I'm unimpressed. Back to Bravissimo for me, and I'm not sure I recommend Rigby and Peller at all.

Monsoon was as uninspiring as I expected from my season preview, except for this fabulous sixties-style frock. The photos don't really do it justice, so I'll try to explain. The bodice is a heavy cream fabric with sparkly pale gold thread running though it. Cut far too high for anyone boobalicious, the neckline is pure 1965. Then the skirt is this fantastically synthetic tangerine fabric - I used to own a vintage babydoll nightie in this fabric - it's so of its time. Then there are darling little bows at the top and bottom of the zip, also in the tangerine. So gorgeously retro - I see a couple of my mates in this frock (step forward, Alisa and Lesley). £60.

Lastly, I fell in love with the above mac in Marks and Sparks. It's £59 - which is perhaps a little steep for a raincoat, but the design is delightful for hourglass girls. Deep V neck, single breasted - both good things for flattering big boobs, then a full circle skirt to balance you out. It's cinched with a belt - which adds to the effect. A note on belted coats: the thicker the fabric, the less 'waist' you should try to define. Sadly this design stops at a size 18. I got it on, but I clearly needed a size larger, so it stayed in the shop. You can't win them all.