Teddy Baker

In the middle of a crazy busy weekend, I popped over to Birmingham for a cheeky shop, second stop Ted Baker. A friend of mine was on the dress hunt for an awards dinner. I have to say I love Ted Baker. Firstly great clothes, and the shop design is a mix of old and new - fabulous wooden floors, some old style lamp shades that had been revamped to bring them more up to date, hung at different levels and used as a corner piece. They have used a combination of metal and wood. I particularly liked some of the clothing rails and the stair rail which reminded me of the style of what my mum would call old hospital beds; almost a bit drain pipe-esque but thinner, not too chunky or weak but blends well in the setting. The other thing that I really like is how they showcase their pieces which is obviously part and parcel of being a high end high street retailer. Each rack is a different design to the next and features a few pieces so you can actually look at the clothing and not get bombarded by a mass of material clumped together. After a scout around a few bits, we were taken to the changing room and our clothes carried for us (why thank you kind sales assistant). They have large changing rooms but more importantly they have a wide corridor between the rooms, creating an in-house catwalk with a huge mirror at one end so you can have a good look at yourself. One thing which I thought was truly amazing is that when my friend was teetering around on her toes pretending she was in her heels the upstairs sales assistant offered her some shoes to help finish off the look. I thought this was great, firstly it helps you get a good look at the dress and how you will potentially look but it also draws your attention to some fabulous shoes they were selling which before we had merely glanced at and were now falling in love with. A great way to subtly make an extra sale without hassling the customer but merely providing a service.