Liberty is a luxury department store in Central London where bargains aren’t usually easy to come by
‘Liberty’ (the department store, not the political concept) and ‘cheap’ are not two words you would normally associate with each other. The iconic store on Regent’s Street is famed for its high-quality as well as its high prices.
Tourists flock to the designer department store, which boasts luxury brands that convey London elegance. The architecture makes you feel as if you have been transported back in time. In the age of modernism, Liberty is an old-school store, with Tudor-style woodwork, putting it in a lane of its own.
The Christmas shop on the fourth floor was the reason for my venture. It was my first time in Liberty, and I have never been someone who is that big into Christmas, as well as the whole chaos that the season entails. On top of that, a Christmas shop opening in August, I thought, was going too far — talk about too early.
My aim was to see if I could find an item here for £10. A task I thought improbable as I waltzed past the grand statues at the front and the stunning bouquets, while gawking at the price tags. I was cynical that there would be anything less than £10 here, as Liberty felt like a place where you’d have to drop serious pounds to even walk in. Thankfully, nobody approached me, and I was able to get in the lift unscathed.
Stepping onto the fourth floor and into the Christmas section certainly felt weird, given that we’ve been in a drought for months. Even on a rainy day, hearing Michael Buble or ‘Feliz Navidad’ in August was hard to comprehend.
It was like an overload of my senses as I walked in. Fairy lights above my head shimmered, Christmas trees covered with ornaments, and snow globes and reindeer on top of the tables. It was hard not to be overstimulated by the number of items but I can certainly see the allure of it.
The bright lights, the colours of different ornaments to hang on your tree, detailed snow globes and animatronics were certainly enough to keep you walking around and browsing. The prices for the snow globes ranged from £30 to up to £60, which I thought was a bit steep. Yet, I could understand why people would spend their money in Liberty.
I kept myself locked onto the task at hand – where are the £10 items? To my surprise, there were plenty. Whether it was plush toys, London landmarks, animals, or public transport, you were able to find several pieces that you could hang on your tree. Most of those were between £5.95 and £8.95, which I thought was pretty good.
I thought a place this fancy wouldn’t have prices like that, but there were plenty of options. Even if you didn’t want to hang it on your tree, as a Canadian man I spoke to told me: “It’ll be nice to take these home as a sort of keepsake and memory.” Christmas might be the aim, but I agreed – I would buy some of these to put in my room to spruce things up.
The cheapest item I found was a £3.95 cuddly reindeer that came in multiple colours. The most expensive item was a £4.9997.50 moving grizzly bear, which gave me a slight fright as I walked by it. Even though the price was outrageous, if I had the means, I could maybe see how a moving grizzly bear could be a good addition at Christmas.
I spoke to a worker who told me they get around 40,000 units of stock each week, which shows how popular the Christmas shop is.
The Canadian family I spoke to was visiting for the first time and was ‘excited’ to see Liberty. They even noted that some of the items they saw were cheaper at street-side gift shops, but the appeal of saying ‘you bought from Liberty’ seemed more important.
I walked into a department store in Central London, sceptical about what to expect, but I left feeling surprised. As much as hearing Michael Buble in August felt wrong, I found myself doing laps around the fourth floor, tapping my feet to Christmas songs.
I left with a makeshift crystal whale that I felt was calling to me. I saw a whale breach in the wild in Australia and this felt like an appropriate gift for myself. At £5.95, it didn’t feel too steep and would make a nice addition to my desk.
I definitely never expected to walk out with anything. All in all, Liberty delivers, and it is worth a visit because you may be able to completely decorate your tree at a relatively easonable price.
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