Liberty - Great Marlborough Street W1

Ah Liberty - once best known (at least in my lifetime) for posh floral blouses and scarves worn by county, Mitford-esque women of a certain age but over the last couple of decades reinvented as a bastion of cool.  I love this shop - in fact if I could design a department store, it would be a lot like Liberty.  Firstly I love the building itself - an over the top Tudor tribute built in the 1920s from the timbers of two ships (the HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan) with an amazing exterior (complete with a huge golden ship weathervane) and an even better interior, with the beautiful central light wells and wooden staircases.  For the fellas, the menswear section in the basement is probably the best in London and the addition of Murdock Grooming, a contemporary twist on the traditional mens' barber shop is really cool (my dream is to ditch the morning Gillette routine and come here for a proper wet shave three times a week).  Also in the basement is the champagne and oyster bar - what better way to celebrate a close shave than a few glasses of bubbly?  I am a bit of a (wannabe) furniture aficionado so I love their home furnishings department - the prices are at the high end so I am more of a looker than a buyer (sorry poor misguided sales assistant who thought I was a sure thing to buy the £6,000 sofa...).  I know this is beginning to sound like a Liberty PR release but I think this place is a gem - I always feel good coming to Liberty and even if you are firmly anti-consumerism, if nothing else the building itself warrants a look.  So long live Liberty of London - a beacon of cool sophistication in Great Marlborough Street.