I've now done several "in person" shopping trips since lockdown, so if you haven't been into Central London since the shops have reopened and are wondering how things are looking, here's a quick overview:

- Every shop has hand sanitiser as you go in

- From today (Friday 24th July) we will have to wear masks in all the shops

- Some shops have reduced hours - quite a few are open 11am - 6pm

- Some are closed on Mondays

- The changing rooms in the smaller shops are mostly open - some are limiting the amount of items you take in - Selfridges recommended around 6 per person but there doesn't seem to be anyone monitoring this. Liberty and Harvey Nichols changing rooms are also open.

- Harvey Nichols have closed the menswear sub-basement and men's personal shopping space.....due to limited stock I believe. If we visited we would still be able to use the personal shopping space upstairs though and I could put everything ready for you in the correct sizes there - up to 25 items.

- Fenwicks have also closed their menswear department - it seems this is going to be permanent as it says on their website that they'll no longer be selling menswear at Bond Street. Such a shame - they had a small but nice edit.

- The only place I've had to queue was outside Selfridges and that was for less than a minute!

- If the changing rooms are closed, most places will still let you try jackets / jumpers over your own clothes

- You can touch and handle the clothes as normal (I was worried at first that you wouldn't be able to)

- When trying on shoes, single use popsocks are provided for you to put on in most stores, either over your sock or on your foot - it's a bit weird but safe!

I've been in Central London around Regent Street, Bond Street, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street and Soho area - of course it may be different in other towns or parts of London, but I've been pleasantly surprised and it feels much less scary or difficult than I'd imagined and almost back to normal.

If you'd like to book in you can find out more information here or book in via the button below:

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"Thank you so much for such a useful day last week!  I'm delighted with everything that we bought (as was my wife), and it felt like it was a very successful day! I usually end up empty handed and depressed after shopping, so, an enormous thank you!"

Other posts you might be interested in:

A day in the life of a personal shopper - how a shopping day works

7 x common concerns about working with a personal stylist