I don’t live very far away from the Bull Ring in Birmingham. And I was delighted when they bull dosed the old 60's bull ring shopping centre and built a brand new bull ring shopping centre for the west midlands.
One of the main reasons why I go to the Bull Ring to do shopping is that there is a Selfridges Department store here.

The Building
------------------

The Selfridges store building was the hot topic for discussion in the west midlands. There was a lot of controversy over the design of the building as the old church is right next to it. So you have this huge metal, modern bubbly building and then an old frail church right next to it.

The design of the building has been fantastically designed. It's a piece of art in its own right.
It’s a massive tall building on the end of the actual new Bull Ring shopping centre. The curvy shaped building has got large silver discs all over it making it look very space age and it glows at night!
There is a walkway from the building to the car park and above and below this walkway are two viewing platforms.

How to get there
-----------------------

There are many routes into Birmingham; the simplest way to travel to the city centre is by train. The nearest station to the Bull Ring is either New Street, Moor Street or snow Hill station. It is within walking distance from the train stations to the store.
You can drive to the store and it does have its own car park but it does get busy at weekends and bank holidays. There are 1200 spaces and the prices aren't cheap. Roughly around £2 for 3 hours.

Opening hours
---------------------

Selfridges and the Bullring have just changed their opening hours:

From Monday to Friday you can shop till you drop from 10am till 8pm.
On Saturdays they are open from 9am till 8pm and Sunday opening hours are from 10.30 till 5pm, but you cannot buy anything until 11am due to Sunday trading hours.

Access
-----------

I was really impressed with the access points for the disabled and for people in wheelchairs. There are ramps to enter the store, which are situated on Park Street or St Martins Square.
Disabled toilets can be found on each floor.

The toilets
---------------

While you are visiting the Selfridges store, as it is so big you are bound to need to use the toilets whilst you are there and they have to be checked out. The toilets can be found on all floors and clearly marked out so you can spot them easily. The toilets are amazing. The cubicles are massive and each one has its own washbasin and mini hand dryer too! You must check them out for yourself to experience these deluxe toilets

The escalators
-------------------

These look like they should belong inside a space ship! They are not fixed to a block like they are in normal shops so the floor space below it is not reduced in size. They look like they are just floating connecting the lower and upper floors. They feature a very curvy design and make the shop look very distinctive. See the pictures below.

The shop
--------------

The Selfridges name is one that is renowned for luxury, exquisite and fabulous items. From clothes to home ware to food. There are three stores in the UK, one in Manchester, one in London and one here in Birmingham.
As you enter the store, from whatever floor in the Bull ring you will be amazed at the size and the design of the building in the inside as well as the outside of the building. There has obviously been a lot of time and money spent designing this building to give their customers a totally different shopping experience. With its high ceilings, groovy lights, fantastic escalators, posh tills this store has it all!

First Floor
--------------

Here you will find Selfridges fantastic food hall. You can buy food from all over the world here from savouries to sweets to main courses to wine and coffee.

If you’re hungry during your visit then fear not as within the food hall are some great mini restaurants including a Sushi bar. Prices are not cheap!

Cafe Nero is also here too so you can grab a shot of caffeine to help you explore the whole store.

The home ware section. You have got to check out some of their furniture, it is divine! From luxury leather suites to see through designer plastic dining furniture there is something here for everyone’s taste but not for everyone’s purse strings. There are many designer pieces here too so if you are looking for a "statement chair" then this is the place to get it from. Just make sure you take your credit card or a rich man with you!

Within the Home Ware section there is the cook shop and luggage section, which has to be experienced!

The children's department is also on the lower floor and although I don't have any children I found myself wondering round checking out what there was to buy here. To my amazement I found a pair of baby girls Prada shoes for £100.00 and matching baby grows too! This certainly is the place to go if you have x amount of money to spend.

You can also find here the Teenage clothing section and a trendy flower shop that sells the most beautiful flower decorations I have ever seen.

Second Floor
------------------

Here you can find women and men’s casual clothing section. There are so many brands and designer labels here like Boxfresh, FCUK, Quicksilver and many other trendy names. The clothes are all hung on moveable steel rails and the layout is totally different to any other shop I have been in. The ceiling has been left "open" so you can see the vents, pipes, wires etc. Making it look very trendy and almost industrial.

As you walk around the ladies section there is a built in Nail Bar here where you can have a quick manicure, buy the latest colours in nail polish or buy some fake ones! For a full manicure this will cost you £25.00

There is a bookshop which I didn't venture into but was massive and looked like it had a huge selection of best sellers.

Technology is also situated here and there are gadgets everywhere you look. From the biggest wide screen televisions to the tiniest cameras this is the place for the men to gaze at lots of silvery looking items.

Third Floor
----------------

I had to visit the beauty hall, which can be found, on the third floor. Here you can buy all the posh makes of make up and beauty products from Gucci, Prada etc. The counters look very spatial and almost clinical. It's a maze of women in white lab coats getting you to test their products, occasionally offering free make overs. The staffs here are wonderful and they don't harass you when you're not interested.

Also the men’s wear and accessories can be found here as well. I had a quick wonder around and it's mainly very expensive suits and silk ties. If you're after some good looking men then look here as there are some great looking men behind the counters and also blokes wanting to buy a new suit for their high flying careers!

Forth Floor
-----------------

As I think you've probably got the jist of the shop by now after all of my ramblings I will just quickly mention that on the forth floor there is very expensive lingerie section, a formal ladies wear section which there are some beautiful accessories and outfits on show here, ladies shoes, of course! This had to by my favourite place in the store, as I am a shoe freak! They have some wonderful individual shoes, some very weird shoes and some classy shoes from designers like Roland Cartier and Prada. There is also the Gallery restaurant where you can get some first class food to keep you going on your shopping trip!

If you’re after the perfect present for someone but have no idea what to buy him or her, then get him or her some Selfridges Gift Vouchers. They can be brought in £5, £10, £20 and £100.
They also offer a wedding list service, which is free of charge.

----------
Overall
----------

I love this shop! It's got to be one of the best places to window shop. I spent three hours when it opened just checking the whole place out. It's shopping at it's most luxurious! I would urge everyone to check this store out just for the experience of the shop, the design of it all and the atmosphere. I only brought a pair of trainers whilst shopping here which where from FCUK for £20 in the sale. I just had to buy something to get one of their shopping bags!
So for the ultimate stylish shopping trip head to Selfridges. They sell almost everything!

For more information about the Selfridges department store visit thier website http://www.selfridges.com