Cath Kidston

Passed by this store, and saw it brightly lit and packed! I had to stop in and see what the hype was!
Lots of cute and girly things, and the prices were not too bad! My friend got some pens and a coin purse, all really cute. Lots of flowery dainty things and I especially loved the aprons here. I bought a lanyard here to wear for work with my badge, and although it’s cute, they’ve cut certain parts of the lanyard that digs right into your skin. Not cool.
Staff is very friendly, and the 2 level store is kept very tidy and clean.

I’m a blokey sort of bloke and the floral charms of Cath Kidston generally fail to attract my shopping pound. However, a lot of my female acquaintances do indeed like shopping here and so, vouchers are generally a nice gift
So, off I pop to Cath Kidston last Saturday to buy £30 pounds worth of gift vouchers for a friend’s birthday. There are indeed signs in this Covent Garden branch encouraging the shopper to buy vouchers with a display of all the available values of vouchers available
Now, how hard do you think can it be to buy £30 worth of vouchers at Cath Kidston? Well, let me tell you the tale, nay saga
Firstly, the open till system with no obvious place to form a queue was causing chaos with no-​one sure who was first, second, etc in line.
Secondly, a lot of the staff on the tills didn’t seem to be able to carry out what seemed to be simple transactions but had to get the manager to authorise a lot of transactions
Thirdly, when I get to the till and ask for the vouchers, I’m told that only specially trained staff can sell me vouchers and so, I wait until another member of staff on another till is free to serve me
Fourthly, after the server has rung up my vouchers and taken the money from my credit card, she discovers that she only has £10 vouchers in the till. Now cry you, why can’t she just give me three £10 vouchers. Well, apparently, she has inputted one £10 and one £20 voucher and this is what I must now receive
Fifthly, a search then ensues at the tills for £20 vouchers and yes, you guessed it. No £20 vouchers. My server then says they must be in the safe and yes, they’ll need to find the manager to open the safe
Sixthly, the safe is opened and you may have guessed by now that there are no £20 vouchers in the safe either
Seventhy, my server then says she has to now refund me £20 on my credit card and put through the £20 voucher as two £10 vouchers. She is unable to do the refund on her till
Eighthly, she has to find the manager to do the refund on my card. The manager can’t do the refund on the till either
Ninthly, I hear the manager whisper to my server to just put it through. I thought that meant that I would receive three £10 vouchers in total. So, I was a bit surprised to see that my server only put two £10 vouchersinside my gift card and give me to me
Tenthly, when I question this, she shows me that she has written in pen £20 after the printed £10 on the gift card. I point out to her that this is now a rubbish present for my friend who has to run the embarrasssment of trying to explain to the store staff where she spends her vouchers that her £10 voucher is really worth £20 by virtue of someone having scribbled the number £20 on it!
Eleventhly, I ask if I can have three £10 vouchers but am told that I can’t. As I don’t have the will in the world to walk to another Cath Kidston store and they can’t refund me my money either on their till, I have no choice
So, half an hour after I walked into this shop, I walked out with two £10 vouchers which apparently have the value of £30 and a rubbish present for my friend
I do have to give some credit to the young server who was serving me because she was apologetic but the manager gets a big fat nought for obviously hiding when this issue was taking place rather than stepping in to solve it
Cath Kidston, you need to buck up your ideas about customer service. Give me three £10 vouchers and you sort out your paperwork later. Out of my 1641 reviews thus far, I’ve only given 11 one star reviews up to now. You deservedly earned my twelfth with your ineptitude

As my friend said, «Cath Kidston is like the British version of Vera Bradley.» It is very true, I think… Cath Kidston has made a market out of cute and busy prints covering any number of items, from clothing and handbags to everyday items like tea cups and aprons to more unusual but domestic items like knitting cases and coin purses. Everything is more expensive than I would like, but they are all cute, and yes, designer. The store is charming, located in trendy Covent Garden. It is jam-​packed with merchandise, so you can spend some time there during a shopping spree. Just leave your children at home… this is no store for kids or strollers.

This is one geuinely one of my Happy Places.
Even if I don’t need (and let’s face it, does anyone really NEED heart shaped buttons and a travelcard holder with stars on?) anything I love a little schmooze and a peruse. More often than not there is nothing new to look at and their website is MUCH better for spotting new items but I can’t resist a look in.
At sale times there are real bargains to be had however do not go on a Saturday as I did recently, your patience WILL be tested. The shop is way too crowded and carrying an armful of plates is perilous, if not just downright stupid (I didn’t drop any, thank god). Staff are brilliant and did a superb job of wrapping up my haul fantastically well.
Their range of commemorative goodies for the forthcoming Royal Wedding is delightful and far nicer (and cheaper) than the official stuff…(£35 for a mug? No ta).

Feeling blue? Winter getting to you? Inject some floral and carfty goodness into your life and visit this shop.
This is my kind of heaven, from floral oil cloth bags, to baby clothes and spotted tea dresses. From vintage inspired jewels to printastic passport covers. If you are looking for a British inspire gift idea or feel like indulging yourself in a world of Yummy Mummy cuteness then I would suggest popping in here.
Avoid it in the afternoon when it gets swaped by Japanese tourists but apart from that this shop can do no wrong, no wrong I tell you!

Cath Kidson’s bright kitsch designs always lure me in to the shops but then I’m always met by bitter disappointment when I realise how expensive some of the stuff is. I wanted to buy my friend some bright floral (and fairly hideous) oven gloves as a joke moving-​in present but then I discovered that they were £26. This felt a bit steep for something that will no doubt get burnt and covered in oven gunk.
Nonetheless I have to give them credit for their great staff. Someone is always on hand to help you out and tempt you with fancy tea towels. I was close to purchasing a picnic set for 6 one day just because of the chat a lovely girl in the shop gave me. She assured me that this would revolutionise my social life and that my friends and I would now spend our time eating homemade sandwiches in the park and sipping champagne from tiny glasses. Sadly I looked out of the window to see floods of rain and this dream suddenly crumbled around me, British weather rarely agrees with the picnic set!
Cath Kidson is the kind of place I might visit for a couple of one off items but I’m far more likely to recommend it for gift ideas. Be careful though, buy more than a couple of things from here and risk the floral touch looking a bit over the top. There is a fine line between pretty and kitsch and looking like you live in a funeral parlour!

My sister tells me that they sell Cath Kidston bags in Tesco for £2 so perhaps this signals her arrival to the masses, whether that’s a good thing or bad. Nevertheless, Kidston’s floral and polka-​dot prints remain as popular as ever with her loyal followers.
It isn’t really to my taste, but I can certainly see the appeal of her gingham and paisley classics, their old country charm that never goes out of fashion, whether it be the older generation or the younger ‘kitsch’ fans buying. I’ve only bought the hand salve from the shop, which is nice enough but won’t make me run back for more. Doris Day eat your heart out.

Cath Kidson designs aren’t necessarily to everyone’s taste but it does sell some lovely bits and bobs which are great for present giving.
It’s a happy sort of shop, bright pastels colours and clashing patterns everywhere you look. They sell predominantly homeware such as bathroom, bedding, home furnishings, and kitchen goods, but also has a an accessories and clothing range. In fact Cath Kidson started off selling vintage fabrics and old furniture, and it is through all these vintage prints that Cath Kidson came up with her own designs but with a modern touch.
You’ll find products of all colours adorned with patterns from roses, polka dots, stars and stripes. There is evidently a personal touch to each design and one can tell the thought and care which that has gone into each product.

A close friend of mine refers to my visits to Cath Kidston in Shelton Street as me going to church. I’ve been known as a devotee of shabby chic since long before such a catchphrase was even coined, and to have everything I want in once place is a dream.
My visits are usually on Sundays, and it’s sometimes a trial to wade through gaggles of excitable foreign students buying book bags — time your visit carefully. I’m a big fan of the bags (I have too many) and have any number of the small zippered pouches in various prints, which get used for filing passports, receipts, credit cards
My wish list includes the knitting bag and needle roll in Paisley, and the cake tins. Oh, and perhaps a few more of those zippered pouches

If you like shabby chic (I love it!) then you may well think you have walked into shabby chic heaven when you enter the Cath Kidston store. It is so beautiful and has such a wow factor that it’s worth a peek even if you’re not a fan (my husband even enjoyed looking at everything!) The shop isn’t huge but it is absolutely crammed with gorgeous goodies! I only wish my purse had more pennies! There is so much to choose from, be it that you’re looking for a piece of fabric to cover an old chair to a shower cap a gorgeous bag to a piece of clothing. The staff are also super friendly and the atmosphere in store is calm and lovely! The staff seem more than happy to help and seem very knowledgeable about the store items. I recommend a visit you will definitely leave feeling inspired and probably a little bit poorer!

I visited a Cath Kidston store when I was in London for the weekend a few months ago and I have been trying to remember which one it was and I am fairly certain looking at the map it was this store! Well I am a fan of Cath Kidston prints and have been since I first saw her section in Selfridges in Birmingham which is much closer to home for me. I love the pretty designs, Stanley the dog designs and pretty much everything! From this store I picked up a few cups in a flower design that were £4 each as well as a zipped purse that was £6 and on top of that a bedspread for about £80 so if you are a fan of her there is a wide range of items ranging from a few pound to well above what I paid for my bedspread (which was one of the cheapest bedspreads in the store and also one of my favourites, thankfully!) The staff were lovely, they wrapped the cups well and even wrapped the case which I now use as a make up bag in tissue paper. Great shopping experience

A great Kath Kidston store, full of all her usual lovely treats. The shop is small to medium sized but they’ve tried to cram in as much as possible.
I went on Saturday and it was very busy, so go on a week day !
They have an excellent selection of childrens items (kids bags, babys vests, nappy bags, nursery bedding) and all the usual home items such as ironing board covers, buntings, table cloths, napkins, bedding etc, all in her gorgeous prints. They also had a brilliant selection of waxed fabric bags.