My Trip To Clarks Village Shopping Outlet
I’m really excited to share this blog post with you all! Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that I went to Clarks Village a couple of weekends ago for a shopping trip. Now for those of you not familiar with it, Clarks Village is an outlet shopping village in Street, Somerset, here in England. It was actually established in 1993 on the site of the old C&J Clark factory buildings. There are over 90 high street and designer retailers at the shopping centre, along with numerous coffee shops, restaurants and food stops. There’s so much going on there, which made such a great day out!
If you have followed me for a long time, you know what my relationship with collaborations and brands is like, and that I rarely take them on if I don’t like the product, concept, or idea behind it, which is why you hardly see collaboration style posts here and instead I focus on much more authentic content. This means that you know when I do work with a brand or company, it’s genuine, and that’s how I feel about this one. I’d always heard things about Clarks Village, mostly from my dad who loves it there, and some friends, but had actually never been myself, so when they reached out and spoke to me about heading along for a shopping experience and to share it with all of you, I couldn’t have been happier!
The journey from Bath to Clarks Village is about 50 minutes by car, so I decided to go with my mum and Adam, for a day out and enjoy the experience. I actually got to briefly see Wells Cathedral on the way too, which I’ve always wanted to visit, so that was a bonus! Clarks Village was extremely straight forward to get to and easy to find, so much so that my mum is planning on going back with her husband, and I will be going back at some point too. I had one of the best times there, as you can see from my Instagram highlights (click here to watch videos from the day), which is why it has been one of my favourite collaborations to date! So, let me show you around Clarks Village, what kind of shopping experience I had, and what it looks like!
Clarks Village Photos
So these are some of the photos I took around Clarks Village. The grounds are gorgeous, with so much greenery, flowers, nature… it’s truly stunning. The shops themselves are all together in little rows, giving it the appearance of a Swiss village, and scattered around are food vendors, seating, open grass to sit, and more. We were so lucky that the sun was shining since we went there during the Easter weekend heat wave, as it made it look even more pretty!
I thought everything was quaint and relaxing actually, and since the village is set out the way it is, it’s easy to go to all of the shops and not miss any. The route we took was by going left as we came in, which is where the shops started, across the road, down the side streets and back, then into the open area and followed the shops around in a circle/square, back to the middle, then on the way back we took a right at the entrance to hit the shops we missed on arriving. So it’s really easy to get around, there’s a lots to be seen, and I enjoyed the aesthetics of it, as you can see from the photos. If you’re going with kids, there’s a huge play area at the top for them as well.
The Food
Getting to the food, Adam and I decided to share the BBQ Pulled Jackfruit which was on a bed of wholemeal rice and red quinoa, which you can see above. We opted for a berry smoothie as well, since we went with the healthy options from Nourish, one of the food trucks. There’s quite a few different food trucks around and lots of restaurants as well. My mum had a burger and chips from a different van, but I liked the look of the Nourish van the best since I’m gluten free and prefer to eat healthily. You can’t miss it as it’s bright silver and yellow!
My Shopping Experience
Now getting to what I was actually there for… the shopping! As you can see from the photos, I had one of the best times. Starting out at the entrance, I quickly spotted Joules and Yumi, which are two of my favourite shops and I had to go inside and check them out. I probably actually spent the longest time inside Yumi to begin with as they had so many cute items to be tried on.
After that, I browsed around lots more retailers like Radley, Paperchase, and others, before stumbling upon Levi’s, which is one of the places I wanted to go to. They had a gorgeous embroidered denim jacket, which you can see above, but it was too big on me unfortunately, despite its beauty. I found a couple of other things which I liked though, which you can see at the bottom of this post.
I then headed round to Vans, but passed French Connection on the way, which is where I spotted that gorgeous red dress in the window, keeping it on my radar. Everyone on my Instagram stories seemed to really like it, so after Vans, I went back in and tried it on, and it was a keeper for certain – isn’t it stunning? GAP was up next and my mum actually ended up buying more in there than I did! There was 50% off the entire store, which was amazing, so if you’re a GAP fan, definitely check out the outlet!
I had a quick browse around Hobbs, the bedding shop, Roman Originals, Mint Velvet, Calvin Klein Underwear and others, before finally making a stop at Sunglasses Hut. Adam had spotted a beautiful pair of Ray-Ban mirrored lenses and I loved them too, so we agreed to share them! You can see them below.
As far as shopping is concerned here, honestly, it’s wonderful. All of the shops are in one place, next door to each other, so you don’t have to do much walking if you don’t want to, and the discounts are massive – it’s definitely worth the trip if you love the shops that are situated at Clarks Village! I always love outlet shopping since I don’t worry too much about seasonal pieces.
My Outfit
If you’re wondering what my outfit details are for the day, I was wearing this Urban Outfitters Floral Shirt Dress that I picked up last month in Cardiff, since the sun was shining, and teamed it with some RAYE Buckle Boots, my Senreve Aria Belt Bag in Tan, and some jewellery. We were really lucky to be able to shop on the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, when we had that mini heatwave, so I got to wear something summery. I’ve gotten quite bored of layering up and being cold all the time, so this couldn’t have worked out better! I really love this dress and it’s so lightweight, perfect for shopping days in the heat.
What Did I Buy?
And now finally, to the important part, the items I bought! First up you can see the Yumi Dog Print Shirt which was reduced to only £21! I couldn’t resist this, it was the first thing I spotted and fell in love with there, so I can’t wait to style it! I also picked up the light blue dress in Yumi that you saw I was trying on in the mirror above, it’s the perfect garden party style piece and can you believe it was only £16.50? I was shocked when I saw that on the price tag! Then moving onto French Connection, you already know I picked up that red floral dress, which was knocked down to £59! Their stuff is usually quite expensive, so I was happy with that price!
What you see underneath the shirt are 3 vest tops from Gap, which were £9.99 each, with 50% off, making them about £5! I chose a khaki green, grey, and pink! And the sunglasses on top of them are the Blue Mirrored Lens Ray-Bans that Adam and I liked, they were knocked down to £103! They weren’t the cheapest there, but they are stunning! Then finally, Levi’s! I actually picked up two sweatshirts! I don’t own anything in the way of t-shirts or jumpers from Levi’s, and I have always wanted to, so these were ideal. The prices were £35 each, or 2 for £60, so I opted to get 2! I went for the grey marl, which you can see above, and then also a white version exactly the same, which you will see soon in a styling. They’re so comfy and lightweight too, which is perfect for the cooler summer evenings!
So, I really hope you enjoyed this blog post as much as I enjoyed writing it! A huge thank you to Clarks Village for inviting me and letting me experience the outlet, it was wonderful. I can’t wait to share the outfits with these pieces next month! Let me know if you have ever been to Clarks Village and what you think of everything! I would love to know! Lorna xx.
*AD – This is a wonderful collaboration between myself and Clarks Village.
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Dear Lorna, you look super lovely in your floral look! And what an amazing place to shop!
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Author
Thank you, Rena! And yes, it was wonderful!
Happy weekend, dear Lorna!
xx Renate
Author
Thank you!
The outdoor mall looks really nice Lorna, you look fabulous! ❤️
Author
Thank you, John!
What a wonderful printed shirt dress. I also love that blue textured a line dress on you. It is so beautiful . I love to shop at outlet centers, unfortunately there aren’t any near me. It looks like you had a wonderful shopping excursion.
❤️❤️❤️
Elle
https://theellediaries.com/
Author
So glad you love the pieces! The blue dress was so pretty, narrowing down everything to buy was tough!
It looks amazing, I’ve been there once before, and it’s a lovely layout and really pretty. You look beautiful Lorna as always xx
Author
Oh I’m glad you liked it too! It is a great place!
The village is a wonderful place to shop! Looks like you had fun too! Love all the items you purchased too, can’t wait to see you wear them! 🙂
Author
Yay! I definitely did 😀
You find some amazing deals.
http://www.amysfashionblog.com/blog-home
Author
They had some great ones!
I would love to shop here! It’s so cute and love your outfit that you wore. Thanks for sharing. Those dresses look fabulous on you!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Author
Thanks so much, Kathrine! It was a great day!
Ok You make me want to go shopping.
http://www.comfycozyup.com
Author
Ha ha! You should go!
I love the floral shirt dress you are wearing as well as the dresses you tried on!
This looks like a great place to shop !
Julia x
https://www.thevelvetrunway.com/
Author
Thank you so much! It truly is, and I am glad you like it!
Such a nice place for a shopping day!
xx Elisa
http://www.francinesplaceblog.com
DIY & LIFESTYLE BLOG
Author
It is! You would like it!
Oh wow this looks like such a nice place to shop! I would love to spend a day shopping and dinning at this spot. You picked up some great items in particular the shirt. And love what you are wearing too. So warm there!
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
Author
Thank you! The shirt is so cute, isn’t it? Totally obsessed!
Omg, what a charming little place!! I spotted a few brands I love as well, like Radley 🙂 You look so stunning as well!
Much love <3
Kay | Style Unsettled
https://styleunsettled.com
Author
Yes 😀 Radley is wonderful! The fact it’s an outlet with so much discount is even better!
I love this look, and what a fun trip!
http://www.jessicabroyles.com
Author
So glad you like it!
I would love to shop here at Clarks Village one day. It looks absolutely delightful! That’s breally awesome too that you can shop with your mom. I love the Yumi shirt that you bought. It’s a unique piece and I can’t wait to see how you style it. Btw, your outfit for the day when you went shopping is beautiful. The print is my favorite and of course, your boots!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
Author
Thank you so much, Maureen! I do love that dress, I bought it on the spur of the moment in Cardiff and am just obsessed! But yes, Yumi is wonderful, you’d love it as they always have so many cute pieces!
this shirt dress you’ve got on fits you so well. The way you paired it with a belt bag is so chic. Lovely styling. Clark Village looks like an amazing place to shop….love the items you tried on.
Author
Thank you so much! It is! It’s a wonderful place!
This trip looks like so much fun! Your pics turned out fabulous btw!
http://www.manicuresandcocktails.net
Author
Thank you so much!
I get weirdly drawn in by outlet shopping villages and I have worked at one myself. you can actually get amazing deals and its such a fun day out.
❤︎
http://www.elenaisabelle.com
Author
Oh that’s cool you used to work at one!
Looks like a really fun day out! Such a summery dress you wore to go shopping, it looks adorable, as does that little red printed dress, I’m so glad you got that, definitely my favourite of everything you got, it’s so cute!
Hope that you are having a lovely weekend! We are off to a wedding! 🙂
Away From The Blue
Author
Thank you! I will be sharing it soon in an outfit 🙂
What a quaint little shopping mall! I love the dog top you purchased and your shopping outfit is super cute!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Author
Thank you so much!
How many beautiful stores in there!!
https://julesonthemoon.com/
Author
There are so many!
What a beautiful area. I do hope to visit someday. I love your floral dress, it looks beautul, the colors are gorgeous on you and fun with the booties. I love what you bought and Id love that doggy shirt!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Author
So pleased you like it! You should definitely visit one day!
This place looks so fun to go shopping !
I love outlets.
xx
Margot
https://troughthepasturesofthesky.com
Author
So pleased you love it too!
This was almost as much fun as going shopping myself (almost). What a quaint and pretty layout for outlet shopping! I love all of your choices – that dog blouse is the best and both of the dresses!
Ruth
http://www.VogueFauxReal.com
Author
So glad you liked it! It really is the cutest blouse!
What an adorable place! And those dresses are so pretty, especially the red floral one. So cute on you dear!
Jessica | notjessfashion.com
Author
Thank you, so glad you like it, Jess!
I love shopping at outlets! They always have the best deals!
Mai
✰ maidoesthings.com
Author
They do! You would love Clarks!
You made some lovely purchases. 🙂 The dog shirt is really nice – I love the mix of dog images and Dalmatian type splodges. 🙂 It’s a pity that the Levi’s jacket wasn’t the right size for you as it’s so pretty… you might remember that the jury is still out for me on whether or not I like embroidered denim… I think it’s really a case by case basis as to if I think it works. Levi’s is my favourite denim brand though so it would be a bit surprising if they didn’t get it right. 🙂
It looks like you had a really lovely day and beautiful weather for it too. 🙂 The summer dress that you’re wearing is lovely… it’s 2 months ago as I’m writing this and I can’t remember it being that warm. 😀
What does jackfruit taste like? I’ve never had it. I assume from the context of your dish that it’s used as a meat substitute so probably isn’t sweet? I just have no clue… Always curious about food though. 😀
Author
Ha ha, it was in April when we had just a heatwave for 2 days! Clarks Village is great though! Really enjoyed it there! And yes, I remember how you feel about embroidered denim, so it’s good to know you liked that jacket as much as I did. I actually didn’t try the jackfruit as I wasn’t sure what was in the sauce, it was Adam that ate it, so I can’t say! It’s supposed to be like pork?
Interesting… a fruit that tastes like meat… I might give it a try if I ever see it anywhere. 🙂 Oh yes, I think I remember that heatwave now… Looks like we are about to enter another one. :O
Author
I think it’s more the texture of meat, than the taste? I don’t think it actually tastes identical to meat, but when they put the sauce on like BBQ, it resembles the pulled port, that’s my understanding!