Around The World in Style: England

Rule britannia! From the eccentric rebelliousness of Vivienne Westwood to the butterfly bohemians of Matthew Williamson's dresses, London and indeed the rest of the United Kindgdom are considerably more fashion forward than some of their counterparts (America, anyone?)

The uniform in most areas revolves around a steady rotation of Mom jeans (River Island or acquired from the REAL 1980s), oversized flannel shirts and lace bandeau tops paired with kooky circular sunglasses and wide brimmed hats. In London, just add a bindi and some JuJu Jelly shoes in summer to complete the look!

In London, variety truly is the spice of life. Believing myself to be dressing rather risque in some print vintage Moschino jeans proves pointless, as I step onto the tube at Oxford Circus and on my carriage alone there is: an oligarch's wife (or favourite escort) dressed in head to toe Chanel, a man with dreadlocks in an olive green hemp skirt, and a beautiful black girl wearing 8 bindis over her eyebrows and a Jaded London print tracksuit. What makes London truly great to a "foreigner" like me, is how incredibly difficult it is to make a fashion statement in London. Sometimes we should wallow in the ability to dress outrageously and still somewhat blend in!

Londoners treat fashion like a hobby and a job all at once, visiting the Mecca that is Zara (not the one at Oxford Circus, too many tourists, but the High St Kensington one is just as good) on a bi-monthly basis and frequently scanning the big clothing websites (needless to say, they are all signed up to ASOS Premier... how else would you get a dress in time for that thing that just came up?) But what is truly inspiring is the, and forgive the cliched word, passion that English people have for fashion. We may be a nation of semi narcissists but at least we are a visual treat for tourists and our beige loving European counterparts.

If you come from a country where wearing a red t-shirt is considered a fashion statement, then consider London your fashion sanctuary where you can (often disappointingly) blend in with the other queens.