Fancy feeling like a Cinderella for a short while? Or, perhaps, like Alice in the Wonderland, or like both of them rolled into one? Well, if it is even possible, I certainly felt like that one evening last week when, after a long day at work, me and my dearest ended up taking a stroll along the New Bond Street and wandered into the House of Dior. What can I say, I am still spellbound, and I am not sure if I want this dizzy, oh-so-fairytale-experience to dissipate any time soon.
There was a time in the past when I would feel uncomfortable and intimidated to even think of popping to a store like Dior, it was just not an option, so it was not even in my dreams or thoughts – and it was nothing to do with the money or the lack of thereof. It may well be something to do with my Soviet upbringing, or that I am never going to be one of those people who get anywhere near Dior and the likes, that I am just a girl from rural eastern Ukraine, now east London, that I am just not that classy or worthy – oh my, that’s a long list of insecurities. Well, let me tell you, I am over it now. I simply do not care. Why should I care?
The new Dior store in New Bond Street of London (it has only been opened just over a month or so ago, I am reliably informed by a helpful shopping assistant at the perfume stall) and it really is beautiful. With myriads of mirrors all over the place and shiny reflecting silver-themed interior, marble stair cases, all white walls and trellises with real jasmine in the conservatory area, many shades of grey and pale pink it is elegance at its best.
There are a lot of art pieces spread around the ground floor: from sculptures to amazing quirky shaped chandeliers and paper decorations on the walls. It actually made me think it is more an art gallery than a top-notch fashion couture boutique!
I loved the beautiful pale pink hydrangeas arranged in a big ball in a ring of silver ginkgo biloba leaf-shaped bench! And an impressive chandelier is suspended directly above it.
Impressive marble staircase with screens around that change the ambience of this beautiful space
Around the corner is a small space dedicated to Dior’s bespoke parfumerie – Dior’s Collection Privée – featuring twelve stunning fragrances (yes, I did get a smell of each and every one of them, as I really am a perfume addict!). These are truly special, and they can be bought from Dior’s boutiques or Dior’s outlets at Selfridges or Harrods – as well as online. But, oh boy, if you love perfumes, it is so worth going to the boutique to enjoy the sensual feast of these stunning aromas! Even if you don’t really intend to buy them. Well, not yet…
The beautiful conservatory area with its interior items on display – a beautiful area that really does not feel like a shop!
As we walked further in, this beautiful hand made free shape blown glass vase caught my eye – if it didn’t have a hefty price tag of around £1,500, I would buy it! It would fit right in at our silver-blue themed living room!
What a beautiful space! I love this occasional splash of baby pink hydrangeas in a grey, white and blue environment.
Then we wondered towards the stationery items laid out on one of the displays – these beautiful hand made notebooks with lily of the valley and clover leaf designs on their covers – lily of the valley being Christian Dior’s lucky flower and the emblem of Dior – looking so attractive in their old wallpaper style. I am a sucker for all things stationery, so I enjoyed the feel of these in my hands, you could tell that these notepads were lovingly made by a real person, not a mindless machine, though their price tag did make me cringe. Well, it’s Dior after all, but I will stick with my Kikki.K or Moleskine stationery for now. Maybe when I am a millionaire…
There were plenty of shoppers chatting away and admiring (and buying) the things Christian Dior has to offer. Eye-ware and jewellery seemed particularly popular. I could hear some Russian spoken, which was not at all surprising considering London is still the place to be if you are a Russian “elite”. I say “elite” in quote marks as life has shown to me that vast fortunes do not necessarily mean people who possess them actually are true elite, and it doesn’t just apply to Russians. A bit of controversy here, I know, but that’s just my experience.
Well, my feet were killing me – I was wearing high heels all day and all this walking was starting to have an effect on my feet, so we did not even cover the ground floor of this four storey boutique. Well, I will sure go back there as it is a beautiful place, well worth a visit.
And we did not leave empty handed – my dearest treated me to a pair of simple but quirky earrings from Dior’s Tribales range. I am a lucky girl indeed!
Modest yet beautiful white pebble-leather effect paper wrapping of Christian Dior goodies
These beauties are made of gold and palladium and are so shiny, you can see my phone’s reflection it them if you look hard enough!
I have worn them the following day on my work trip to Birmingham, they are surprisingly light and look really delicate despite the bottom ball being quite large.
Just a bit of colour here – hmm, I sure need to colour my grey hair this weekend! – these earrings offer a beautiful combination of gold and silver, and will make a good match (a bridge, if you like) between my gold wedding and engagement rings which I wear all the time, and my stainless steel watch which I also wear when I go out anywhere.
Christian Dior has a huge range of Tribales earrings and they come in different materials from pearl to resin, so if you are interested, do check them out on Christian Dior’s website. Happy browsing!
