By Linda Steelyard

It might not be a shop you’d immediately associate with the fabulous foxes

at Shops HQ, so prepare to be amazed: we love Fenwick.

We know some people think this long-standing department store isn’t for them, but if you’ve dismissed it

because you think it only sells things that are of interest to older ladies and

gents, you couldn’t be more wrong.

Take, for example, the sizeable kitchenware department. It sells every gadget

and gizmo and brand and colourful silicon thingumajig you could ever want, from

a big, flower-shaped fly swatter to the tiniest, cutest yellow frying pan with

egg-shaped spatula, to the biggest paella pan, and everything in between.

It has a chocolate department, a news agents, a stationery department, a home

fragrance section and an inspiring haberdashery and craft department.

Its cosmetics department boasts fantastic beauty brands from Guerlain and

Yves Saint Laurent to Dr Haushka and Korres, Molton Brown, Pupa, Roger &

Gallet and Neal’s Yard.

In accessories and footwear you’ll find classic names, such as Dents (perfect

leather gloves), alongside must-have names such as Prada (amazing sunglasses),

Lulu Guinness, Fiorelli and Radley (great bags) and Crocs (we didn’t even know

they did wedges!).

The menswear department has a great Penguin range and brands such as Lyle

& Scott, Fred Perry, Ben Sherman and Ted Baker, plus everything you’d expect

to find in a proper, old-fashioned gent’s outfitters.

There’s also furniture, rugs, beds, two cafes, gifts, womenswear and more –

not surprisingly, as it has five floors.

It’s not expensive. Well, yes, premium brands are expensive of course, but

its buyers – it has a team of 21, just for Leicester – have an eye for great

items at affordable prices, such as the pink spotty wardrobe tidy we found for

£3.50. You couldn’t get a better bargain in Wilkos.

And keep your eyes peeled for its mouthwatering offers – half price on Jamie

Oliver crockery when we visited.

So the interior isn’t all big and modern and airy. It opened in 1876! What do

you expect? It’s a piece of the city’s history. Enjoy its nooks and crannies and

be glad the attractive building wasn’t knocked down years ago and replaced by

something akin to the concrete monstrosity next to the Haymarket. (Actually, it

opened as Joseph Johnson and was bought by Fenwick, which remains a family-owned

company today, in 1962).

Fenwick is a clever combination of old-fashioned and bang up-to-date. It has

a “ladies’ powder room” and sells polo shirts we’ve seen Brad Pitt wearing in

pap shots. It stocks sensible sideboards and fragrances by achingly cool Creed.

So go forth, take time to browse, revel in its quirkiness and, who knows, you

might find yourself falling in love.

Info

Fenwick is in Market Street, in the city centre.