Shopping

When to shop
Avoid Saturdays (particularly afternoon) at all costs if you don't like the idea of fighting the seething masses. Oxford Street is always hectic, however the most quiet times tend to be in the mornings between 9am-midday, and again there's a lull on the week days between 2pm-4pm. In addition the West-End (Oxford Street and Covent Garden) shops are open late until 7-8pm on Thursdays. Sunday is also a tolerable shopping day in this area. But it's also the day when most of the street and covered markets open and you can't fit everything in. Basic shop hours are Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm or 6pm.

British sizes
Women's fashion tends to come between 6-18. The average women being between 10, 12, 14, 16, or 18. Clothes are sometimes also very simply sold as 'small', 'medium' and 'large'. Size does vary according to the shop so it's best to try them on in a changing room before buying the item. If you're a US size 8 or 10, you'll be around a UK size 12.
Likewise with shoes, size 6.5 US is roughly size 5 in UK (38 continental). Size 7.5 US is size 6 here (39 continental) and so on.

Paying
These days nearly every shop accepts Visa, AmEx and Mastercard. Londoners tend to use Switch. There's cash machines everywhere if you want to pay in cash. So as far as paying goes, they make it extremely easy. Make a note though, bring cash to the markets as this is where you'll find you can't shop without it.

Banks
Banks are open Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 3.30pm. Some branches open later, with many opening on Saturday mornings until midday. All banks are closed on Sunday. However, cashpoint machines are outside most branches.

Where do I go for?

 Couture
 High street fashion
 Toys
 Food
 Electrical and home design
 A hidden gem
 Upmarket department stores
 London's top 6 markets