Selfridges

Selfridges in London is at:
400 Oxford Street, London W1A 1AB
Opening times:
Monday-Saturday 09.30 - 21.00
Sunday 11.30-18.15 (11.30 - 12.00 for browsing only, 18.00-18.15 shopping up time)

To find Selfridges using a GPS device, or an online mapping program via Google, MSN or another similar device, use the following address: 40 Duke Street London W1U 1AT.
Click here to see addresses of the other Selfridges stores: The Bullring, Birmingham, Manchester Trafford, Manchester Exchange

Disabled access:
Wheelchair access with automatic doors is available on Edward Mews.
Wheelchair access with manual doors is available at the Spirit entrance on Duke Street.
Wheelchair friendly toilets for men and women are on the third floor.

Tax-free shopping
Visitors who live outside the EU can claim back the tax that they pay on most of their purchases at Selfridges.
 For more information visit the Services Lounge on the Lower Ground Floor.

Emile Zola famously proclaimed that department stores were cathedrals of the cult of consumerism, but Harry Gordon Selfridge ensured they became shining temples to retail theatre, too. The monolithic Oxford Street neoclassical masterpiece, a glittering icon of London’s West End, opened just over a century ago with a manifesto introducing ‘The Pleasures of Shopping.’

From Louis Bleriot’s record-breaking plane – the first to aviate the Channel – which was exhibited in store during the opening year to its showcasing of the first television and vacuum cleaner en route to the centenary celebrations of 2009, Selfridges has always championed the pioneering, the innovative, the extraordinary and the fantastical. Possessing the largest window space in the world, Harry Gordon Selfridge was the first to arrange goods to tell stories through windows displays, the first to exhibit wares openly across the six floors, his customers the first to freely interact with the items for sale.

From Selfridges’ roof – transformed into everything from a sweeping ice rink to a pop up restaurant – to its basement (today home to the Ultralounge, the only permanent exhibition space within a department store in the world), the talent for curating every corner of this grand, rectangular emporium into curiosity and wonder is outstanding. Selfridges boasts ever-changing concept stores, themes and performances helmed by everyone from Noel Coward to Mario Testino; Mariah Carey to Tom Ford.

The Shoe Galleries are notable for being the largest women’s footwear department in the world. The store can also boast the rangiest denim wall in Europe. The Wonder Room is dedicated to fine jewellery and watches from Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Hermès and Chanel, and the expanded menswear floor is home to the widest selection of men’s brands in the UK. It is no surprise that Selfridges was crowned the ‘Best Department Store in the World’ in 2010.

Christmas 2011 is made absolutely unique at Selfridges. In fact, there are many designer products available only at the store, such as spectacular gowns and dresses by Alexander McQueen, RM by Roland Mouret, Helmut Lang, Issa and Vivienne Westwood, the sophisticated, classic Burberry cashmere trench coat, men's shirts by Paul Smith, E. Tautz and Van Laack. Other exclusive Selfridges gift highlights include the Hanky Panky Swarovski crystal bra, Christmas frilled briefs by Stella McCartney, a white flight bag by Paul Smith, and wonderful clutch bags by Karen Millen, Rachael Ruddick, Michael by Michael Kors, Raoul, and Alexander McQueen. The latter is an absolute classic, the white Union Jack clutch with a gilt skull clip on top.

Whether you visit the store before Christmas or at another time of year, you will see that Harry Gordon Selfridge’s mission to “encourage every sign of the true spirit” is still every bit as vivid today as a century ago. The great retail pioneer was also keenly aware that “The recollection of quality remains long after the price is forgotten.”

Take in the exotic scents of the perfume department, watch TV over a flute of something exquisite in Personal Shopping while an in-house style guru does the groundwork for you, or sample fine vintages from the ‘Wine Jukebox’ of the Wonder Bar. Selfridges is the destination in which Londoners and visitors steal blissful afternoons cosseted by Jil Sander’s billowing silks and beautiful tea dresses by Jonathan Saunders. Emerging expertly groomed from Cobella’s VIP Express Zone or Gentlemen’s Tonic, furnished with future classics, one never fails to leave Selfridges invigorated, inspired and ready to take on the world.

Return to London City Guide Homepage

APD 8.10.2012