We watched the demise of Oriental City this June, and the popular Colindale shopping centre is now well and truly buried in favour of a "community regeneration project." Way to add insult to injury. Regeneration or not, the community is still around, scattered to all corners like so many Lost Tribes of Israel. While the food court was the real heart of the centre, the vast supermarket was the excuse for many a visit......

46. Royal Opera Arcade Where? West of Haymarket, up the backside of the Phantom of the Opera, the Arcade links Charles II Street to Pall Mall. What? As Westfield Shopping Centre prepares to open in Shepherd's Bush, it's worth looking back to where it all started. Royal Opera Arcade was Britain's first covered shopping centre, completed in 1818. The chief architect was John Nash, who also found time to give us Regent Street, Regent Park,......

Until Sunday, you can join the throngs of the jostling fashion-conscious on the lawns of the Natural History Museum as they trip over each other to reach the last pair of size 6 black patent ankle boots. Your entry fee gets you discounts on pieces from 150 designers, plus the opportunity to see a catwalk show, get a manicure or makeover, styling tips, freebies, or a much-needed cocktail or two. This is an easy......

Apologies to all the cabbies out there. This month we’re going south of the river to Battersea – and a lovely, lovely road called Northcote. Now, now, before you start throwing your arms in the air with a Jigsaw this and a Starbucks that, there are lots of Unchained gems in Northcote Road too. There’s also a “howdy neighbour” atmosphere with a bunch of friendly people that wave and shout across the road to......

Boys - are you feeling spotty today? Are you not happy with those bags under your eyes, or wish that little red blemish just wasn't there? Do you ask to borrow your girl friend's Touch Éclat a little too often? Today, your dreams come true as Selfridges launch Touche Éclat for men. They're kicking off the 'metrosexualization of the cosmetics sector', as they put it, with a launch at 12pm featuring Stuart Pilkington from BB9......

The art world is currently buzzing about one of the biggest and least publicised shows of the year. Bucking the tradition of going through galleries, Damien Hirst, he of the diamond encrusted skull, has decided to put his new works up for sale through Sotheby's. Over 200 works will be going under the hammer Monday and Tuesday, but until then Sotheby's is hosting the biggest ever Hirst show. The works are mostly more of......

Throw on your barbour jacket and jump into your 4x4, we're heading west. Way over to leafy Chiswick, in fact. Just like the rest of the country, Chiswick High Road looks pretty much like any other. But if you mosey on past the chains and head for Devonshire Road, you'll discover a little piece of Unchained paradise. The street was blessed with a bit of a make-over a couple of years ago making it......

Following Westminster's purge of the Oxford Street sandwich boards whose draconian fines kicked in yesterday, the New West End Company (another of those BID companies) is also taking steps to improve the 'up West' shopping experience by quizzing its 100,000 retail staff on their knowledge of the "wonders" of the area. The company, funded by the area's businesses aims to make shopping in the West End a more pleasant experience for tourists and locals......

Are you getting that tight throated feeling? Is your wallet feeling lighter? Are you panicking because there simply isn't enough time left. Well have no fear ladies and gents Harrods have come to the rescue! Last week the department store opened their Christmas department a whopping 142 days before Xmas. We know it's good to get organised but surely that's a bit ridiculous? We put this to Harrods and a spokesperson told us that, "With......

There's harrumphing at Harrods today as Al Fayed caused internal divisions granting shop floor staff an extra 2 days holiday but forgetting about all his backroom employees. Which is unfortunate, really, because on the website's career pages, the behind the scenes workers are first up for a mention: "...they ensure the smooth running of state of the art systems controlling everything from technology displays to electronic tills". Despite a spokesperson's assurances that a strike......

Put on your white-framed Wayfarers and slip into your faded skinny jeans, because this month we’re getting all ironic in London’s East End. Welcome to the first installment of Unchained’s mini-guide to London’s best independent shops - and welcome to a lovely little street called Cheshire. Cheshire Street lives not far from the top of Brick Lane (that’s the Bethnal Green Road end). While most folk already know the wonders of Spitalfields, Brick Lane......

Back in April we reported that retail sales were looking healthy early on in '08. Seems the trend has continued, with spending in central London last month up 8.7% compared to June 2007, while the national figure dropped by 0.4%. Continental visitors flush with sterling-thumping Euros, along with heavy discounting and aggressive mid-season sales from department stores, have helped retailers to healthy profit margins, though the research firm KPMG cautioned that the trend doesn't necessarily......

A sight ubiquitous with West End shopping could be scrubbed forever from the streets, if Westminster Council get their way: they are planning on banishing "sandwich boards". Such walking advertisements have been scattered across London since time immemorial, and for much of their existence performed a valuable service, offering, in the pre-horoscope days, vital globs of millenarian musing: "The end is nigh" and "Repent! Repent! Repent!" being two popular missives. With rumours of the......

What's the Tokyo Look, then? Simpering ads for mascara featuring hot young Japanese models batting their lids while riding the Bullet train? Middle-aged American men crooning bad karaoke to their doe-eyed young companions? Nope. The Tokyo look is inspired by that city's Shibuya district, which offers diagonal pedestrian crossing at busy junctions. Oxford Circus, whose crosstown traffic makes it so hard to get through, may adopt the same system under a new proposal. Currently,......

We’ve just recently come across Unchained, a super cool and incredibly handy lil London-based website 'designed to help people find the very best Unchained shops’ in the London. By 'unchained' they mean businesses owned and run 'by real people with a passion for what they sell,' and let’s face it: those types of businesses are sadly becoming fewer and farther between at too rapid a rate. Here’s our interview with Dave Birss and Lea......

If you're an Armani junky with a Primark budget, help will soon be at hand: Oxfam has opened the first of a new chain of 'boutique' stores which will sell designer threads to West Londoners with a conscience (or without a trust fund). The new store in Westbourne Grove will still sell donated clothes – but beige cardies and discarded Christmas jumpers will be banned in favour of Miu Miu skirts (a snip at......

Credit crunch, you say? Bah, we're having none of it. Shops in the West End have punched above their weight so far this year: according to a new report from the British Retail Consortium, retail sales in London grew 10.5% in February, up from 3.8% in January, while footfall on the city's major shopping streets recorded a 4.3% year on year rise for March. All this in a climate where the national market is......

Rain, rain, go away…flirtatious spring-like temperatures and halcyon moments of direct sunlight belie this week’s forecast for April showers. At least that leaves plenty of time to soak up indoor activities on the cheap before we jet our wellies and get on with the picnic season. Monday: One of our favourite tucked-away speakeasy-esque bars is holding a book club tonight with the theme Dark Heroes. This ain’t no run-of-the-mill Richard & Judy-style book club:......

The weather is batty. One minute you’re showing some (pale) skin, reveling in the promise of summer, and the next minute you wake up to a snowstorm. What could, at first glance, be wonky hangover vision, is the undeniable truth: it is April, and it is snowing. And you can’t do a damn thing about it. So get out there, make a few snow angels, and then check out our guide to escaping the......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. La Bodeguita Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre SE1 6TE Nearest Tube: Elephant and Castle 0870 011 3810 Monday 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm Tuesday - Thursday 12:00 noon - 11:30 pm Friday 12:00 noon - 2:00 am Saturday 12:00 noon - 3:00 am Sunday 12:00 noon - Midnight Expect to Pay: £8-15 for mains (£5 two course lunch deal)......

We've spent enough time wading through the flytipped rubbish on our street or struggling to blast the grime off our bodies following a grubby commute home to realise that London's not exactly the cleanest of places. But is it really the dirtiest city in Europe? In a shameless promotion, travel experts Trip Advisor commissioned a survey asking tourists to rank their likes and dislikes across a number of continental destinations, and London cleaned up......

We like independent traders, specially those that are a bit different or even odd. Small set-ups doing interesting things with one eye on their ethics, the other on their speciality, the other one their customers in the style of a benevolent, entrepreneuring tri-clops. Well, our friends over at Qype are down with them too and have created the Hidden Gem Awards to celebrate them, to culminate in a "glitzy awards ceremony" later this year.......

If you're looking for the perfect London centrepiece for your lounge then you might be in luck. Cockney Designs are selling a range of coffee tables topped by an authentic London street sign. The signs are from the City of Westminster and were created by design guru Sir Misha Black. The road names avaliable are constantly changing and rare so if you see one you like, leap on it straight away. You can order......

Most travellers ever on London Underground, 7 December Yesterday was shopping madness Heathrow strike talks have started Olympic strike talk also begins... Catch any Bond this Christmas? Then "For Your Eyes Only" the Imperial War Museum's forthcoming exhibition on the life and work of Ian Fleming and 007 and how any of it was vaguely related to real life war type things is something you may wish to look forward to Image courtesy of......

Every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings... How do you get people to cycle more? Ken would like to know I'm sure. Well, let's hope someone buys him some Green Knickers......

Every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings... It seems that everywhere we’ve gone recently, we’ve had the opportunity to buy environment-friendly souvenir and decorative tote bags. Gone are the days when......

2007 is quickly slipping away, and with it the few remaining book events for the year. As most of us are busy buying books for the bibliophiles on our shopping lists rather than reading or going to signings this week, we thought we’d present you with an alternative Book Grocer today. For those of you already finished with your shopping (you overachievers you), the traditional listings follow. If, like Londonist, you go for the......

It’s the week before Christmas, and like us, you’re probably panicking because you’ve still got loads of shopping to do. If you have a spare night when you’re not out at wild and crazy office Christmas parties or fighting the crowds on Oxford Street, here are a few suggestions to keep you entertained. On TV, Londonist likes: Monday, 17 December Dispatches: How Safe Are Your Christmas Toys? (Channel 4, 21:00-22:00) If you’re Christmas shopping......

This is what we have learnt this weekend whilst you have been making your mince pies: The tube link to Heathrow Airport is celebrating its 30th birthday. Spicing up Christmas - they’re back and better than ever. Apparently. Appalling teenage violence continues. Perhaps they should all be kept indoors from the ages of 12-19. The Savoy Hotel has closed for a facelift. As one does when one reaches a certain age. ‘Cept this one......

Last full week before Christmas, we expect your bank account's feeling the strain. All that Christmas shopping and partying taking its toll? If you want to make the most of being out and about before Christmas cabin fever and complete exhaustion set in then we're here to help. Monday: Keep the braincells going through silly season. Go to the free lecture at Gresham College about why our society rewards celebrities, fads and fashions and......