Bicester Village outlet stores: Marni, Tod's

No more do fashion editors need to remind their hard-pressed assistants to include time for a visit to the Milan Marni outlet on the way to their hotel from Linate. Not only is the Bicester Village Marni store easier to find (the Milan store is on a residential street, through some huge gates, around a corner and down an alley), but the choice is far, far wider, more current and, I'm pretty sure, cheaper.

(Don't trust me entirely: last time I was at the Milan shows I was converting Euros to my dollar salary and then to pounds to get an idea of the real price, and I'm not exactly known for my maths prowess.)

Before I got waylaid by frock shopping, I had intended to spend my Bicester Village shopping budget here:



Impressive discounts on books you really, really want. Muv bought The Silver Spoon and some Eliott Erwitt postcards, and I found a copy of The Three Robbers for my godson's Christmas present for just £5.95 (usually £9.95).

My mother dragged me into Tod's & I resisted (just) buying comfortable driving shoes:



My mother went to MaxMara, whilst I contemplated the enormous discounts at poor ravished Luella:



But really we both spent most of our mother daughter shopping time drooling in Marni:



Marni. At Bicester Village. Who'd a thought it?






And it's ALL on sale:



Which translates to discounts like these, taking pieces from serious investment to possible buy.



Granted, walking into Marni is much as I imagine it must be walking into Lisa Armstrong's closet:



But looking like The Times' fashion editor is no bad thing.