A very London Christmas
A very London Christmas
London seems to be a place many Americans want to spend Christmas time. I don’t know where this comes from. Perhaps its Dickens’ Christmas Carol or maybe it’s that Harry Potter movies were released around the holidays. Undoubtedly, Americans have a certain cultural connection to England which may partially explain this interest. Christmas caroling, department stores and the seasonal window decor all have their roots in London.
Almost every year of my life, I’ve spent Christmas with my family in Chicago. Growing up, my winter holidays were passed by partaking in the non-secular tradition of Christmas window stories at Marshall Fields. Enamored by the animatronic tales, we warmed ourselves with hot chocolate or apple cider. We donated some cash to the Salvation Army volunteers who stood cheerfully ringing bells with a red donation bucket that clinked with change after every donation. We listened to the same damn holiday songs year after year (which I’m regrettably still forced to hear). We ate at the Walnut room on the upper floors of Marshall Fields. Always cold, the memories are now my cherished Christmas time nostalgia. Without thinking about it, these experiences are deeply Chicagoan yet, in a sense, deeply Londonian.
After I had begun to travel the world several years ago, my mother decided, in an uncharacteristic move, that she wanted to break tradition and head to London for Christmas. Being an independent retailer, this was a challenging move considering that as a merchant, Christmas was her busiest time of the year. But she really wanted to make it happen.
I’ve visited London many times in recent years and I’ve always felt a strong parallel between London and Chicago, not only the cities’ looks but also their feel. Both cities are quite modern, filled with generally friendly inhabitants and loads of Victorian facades. Not to mention these cities are both birthplaces of the department store shopping movement. But these parellels are a blog post for another time.
And it came to pass that my family and I spent our Christmas time in London one year.
Arriving two days prior to Christmas, we had little time to waste in the pursuit of the London Christmas experience. We shopped (mostly the window kind) on Regent Street. Christmas or not, Regent Street is one of the most beautiful shopping hubs on Earth. Regal Georgian facades and a never ending curve towards a moving vanishing point. Consequently it is also one of the most photographed. Every year, the Christmas motifs change. Angels, branches, shiny tinsels and always an abundance of lights. Silvers, whites and golds are prominent.
We visited Fortnum and Mason, the London icon. It's style was different from that of the Marshall Fields of my childhood yet the energy was the exact same. My mother purchased some party snappers, teas and a few last minute gifts. Being a retail store owner for many years, she remarked how nice it was to be able to have such an easy Christmas shopping experience being on the other end of the transaction.
To me, London is the quintessential men’s shopping city. Though cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Buenos Aires do offer fierce competition, none quite compare to London. Packed to the gills with haberdashers, tailors and men’s shoe stores – the city is a men’s shopping paradise for quality items. Even if you have no interest in shopping, the sheer number of men’s stores is dazzling. If you're interested in a few of my favorite men's stores in London, I've listed a few later in this post.
After Regent Street, we made our way to Covent Gardens, another glamorous and well appointed hub of commerce. Tasteful and iconic.
Being fans of yuppiedom and art, we made our way to the Shoreditch neighborhood. We passed by countless pieces of street art (remember when it was called graffiti?) and a multitude of galleries.
To round out the classic Christmas experience, we even went to London's little holiday festival fair in Hyde Park. This was easily the lowlight of our Christmas time in London. The whole experience felt like a chintzy carnival visit. Definitely skippable.
Before Santa came to power, Christmas was all about little baby Jesus. It only felt right to visit a church before the big day and that church was decidedly Southwark cathedral. Though not famous or iconic in the way of Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral, Southwark is nevertheless a cathedral of historic significance to London. Once the place of worship for William Shakespeare, it's now both beautiful and quaint.
We were the only visitors to the cathedral when we arrived. A quiet reprieve from a city stricken with Christmas fever. We wandered the relatively small corridors of the church and checked out the archaeological site which is partially visible to visitors. As we entered the choir, we saw the nativity scene all laid out for baby Jesus, but as we neared, we could see rustling in the hay of his manger! A Christmas miracle perhaps? As we drew closer, the rustling suddenly stopped. Suddenly out sprung an adorable brown orange cat. As we quickly learned from a nearby poster, this is the modern mascot for the cathedral, Doorkins MagnifiCat. The poster explained that Doorkins is now a resident of the cathedral and has been since 2008. The cat has apparently entertained the queen and there has even been a book published about her. Strange.
Famously, London shuts down on Christmas. No public transit. No tour buses and boats. Extremely few cars on the road. I woke up earlier than my family and went for a walk in the pre-dawn Christmas hours. My family and I had rented a large flat in Westminster and so I made my way to the river.
When in London, I like to imagine my distant English ancestors traversing the river by boat. Likely drunk and in a poorly made raft.
On most days, the Thames is traversed by all manner of boats and its shores are flanked by people and vehicles. Normally, the water is anything but stagnant. But somehow this magical morning, everything was completely still. I went to the iconic walk way across the river from Big Ben and snapped that picture we've all seen for what must have been the billionth time but this morning was different than most. Big Ben reflected perfectly off the Thames. It was quiet. Dark. Calm. No one on the bridge above. No one walking along the river walk. No sounds. Finding a moment of zen, I joined Ben and reflected on the river. I was overwhelmed by peace and a sense of gratitude for the people I love. As I turned to snap one more little photo. A bicyclist pulled up next to me and stopped on the river walk. He paused a moment to admire the clock tower across the river, then quickly made his way over to the small corner nook of the river walk and began urinating in the corner, a mere fifteen feet from me. This is London.
We had Christmas breakfast together, prepared by my father, as is tradition. We cracked open our Fortnum & Mason Christmas party snappers - crude paper crowns were the highlight of the cheap contents. We put on our Christmas crowns and laughed about how moronic they looked. We talked about Christmases past and spent all day together. Though I'm lucky to be able to see the world, that pales in comparison to the luck of having such a wonderful family.
A Note on Mens shopping in London
I don’t particularly like shopping but I do love finding traditional stores that sell quality items and have been in business for a while. Cordings of Piccadilly was that store for me. I bought a few pairs of Corduroys and some impulse tie purchases. The corduroys continue to be some of my favorite pants. This business has a rich history with roots in 19th century London and is a great place for the traditional ‘country set’ of English style. The location is convenient, the selection is superb and the customer service is excellent. An interesting side note, the store is now partially owned by Eric Clapton.
A true quality pair of shoes is hard to come by these days. Loake Shoes is an exception. Stylish, timeless, traditional yet oh so comfortable even in the first day, these shoes are the genuine article. Every time I’m in London, I buy a new pair of shoes from one of their three London locations. They don’t ship to the U.S. making these shoes a somewhat exclusive purchase. Loake Shoes are not bespoke which makes they’re prices much more accessible.
Stumper & Fielding on Portabello Road is another London gem. This independent shop stocks British made products in classic English styles with a twist. I purchased a beautiful overcoat by Harris Tweed designed specifically for Stumper & Fielding. A pricey purchase, but one I definitely don’t regret. The item is gorgeous, inside and out.
