Summer is here and our shoppers at The Centre, Livingston are taking the opportunity to enjoy a day out at the mall, grabbing a bite to eat in one of our many restaurants, including wagamama and Nando’s, and refresh their wardrobes with some new bright, colourful staple pieces.
It seems we never know what to wear just now – one day it could be glorious sunshine and the next, temperatures are back down to 10 degrees, so layering up and having back up scarves and heavy jackets to hand seemed to be a common theme, echoed by a lot of the shoppers our Style Squad caught up with recently.
You can still find some warmer hues in clothing and homeware just now like Khaki and beige – however there’s lots of bright pastels too.
This season you definitely can’t go too far wrong with soft pinks and any shade of blue, whether you’re on the lookout for a floaty dress or tailored suit, or lighter blue shades which are very popular across menswear, womenswear and kidswear – and ‘black is back’, which never fails for day wear or night!
When it comes to styles, there’s so much to choose from this spring/summer, including 3D florals and sheers, perfect for layering over maxi dresses – which we might see a bit more of when the weather changes!
For a stand-out fashion moment, Quiz has the perfect mix of glitz and glamour with lots of sequins for special occasions, which was very popular on the SS23 catwalks.
And when it comes to accessories, it’s a real mixed bag when it comes to styles, shapes and sizes from heavily embellished clutches and boxed bags to soft slouches and crotchet totes.
The shoppers we caught up with this month were more than happy to tell us about their day out at the mall and their purchases, with lots of them ticking holiday must-haves off their list and as a ‘thank you’ they all received a £25 Gift Card to treat themselves to something nice at The Centre, Livingston.
First up was mum, Lynne Fowler from South Lanarkshire and daughter, Lia, a student nurse.
It was great to catch up with Lynne and Lia who were enjoying a special mother and daughter day out shopping and lunch at their favourite restaurant, wagamama.
Lynne said: “We’ve had the perfect ‘girls day out’ shopping, dining out and catching up at the shopping centre where I tend to drop into quite a bit as it’s easy to get to, there’s everything you need and the parking is great too.”
Lia spotted a beautiful light blue boxed-shaped handbag in Primark on her trip around the mall and mum picked up some summer staple t-shirts from River Island.
Taylor Higgins from Craigshill in Livingston.
Taylor, who was wearing a stylish purple blazer from Primark and on-trend crossover bag from River Island, stopped to tell us about all of the bits and pieces she still needs to get off her checklist ahead of the imminent arrival of her baby daughter. She also shared her favourite stores with us too, which include New Look and Quiz, especially if it’s for a special occasion. And when it comes to dining out – it’s always Nando’s!
“I’ve had a great day just nipping in and out of the shops, picking up some last minutes essentials I need ahead of the arrival of my baby daughter in the coming weeks and a birthday present for my mum in Bodycare.
“It was such a lovely surprise to receive a £25 Gift Card from the Style Squad team to treat myself to something nice – you’ve really made my day!”
Louise Beattie from Glasgow was next up on the Style Squad radar.
Louise was spending the day shopping with her best friend from school, Michelle, which they try to do as often as they can especially at The Centre, Livingston as it’s around halfway between Glasgow and Fife where Michelle lives.
She said: “Although we usually end up shopping for our kids, we always make sure there’s plenty of time allocated for a coffee and a catch up.
“There’s so many great places to choose from in the shopping centre to put our feet up for a bit and have a good chat – today it was Muffin Break, which always has great cakes!”
Louise was delighted to find a beautiful bright summer dress in Primark for her daughter, with plans to shop around a bit more to see what other outfits she could buy for her and also add to some of the beauty goodies she treated herself to at the new look Boots store.
Michelle Macdonald from Fife.
Michelle stopped to tell us about her ‘perfect day’ catching up with her best friend Louise and managing to snap up a pair of Nike trainers from Schuh for her fiancé and a very cute baby baseball hat for her little one from one of her favourite stores, Primark – although a day out shopping wouldn’t be complete without checking out H&M and M&S which she loves for kidswear. Superdry is also a must-visit for Michelle who is a big fan of their hoodies
Cameron Orr, a firefighter from Ratho.
Cameron was in the shopping centre, which he pops into frequently, to pick up some essentials for his forthcoming holiday to Turkey, including suncream from Superdrug and also high up on his shopping list was swimwear, with plans to check out H&M, River Island and M&S.
“It’s really handy for me to nip into The Centre, Livingston on a day off work. There’s such a great variety of shops and I always manage to get exactly what I’m looking for especially when I’m going on holiday and there’s a few things on my list to get.”
Ashley Cannon from Livingston.
Ashley often pops into The Centre to enjoy a day out shopping – when we caught up with her, she was delighted to tell us about a beautiful red jacket she managed to find in one of her favourite stores, M&S.
“The Centre is on my doorstep, so I tend to pop in a lot for a browse as oppose to having a checklist to hand. Today I was thinking about a new summer jacket and I’m really pleased I managed to find exactly what I was looking at M&S, which I always pay a visit to when I’m in as I love the kids clothes.
“Deichmann is also usually on my radar to pop into as I think their kids shoes are great and then it’s off to Stack & Still for a treat afterwards.”
Patrick Robbertze, Centre Director at The Centre, Livingston, said: “It was great to be able chat to some of our visitors in the shopping centre this week and hear which stores they like to visit when they get here and also where they enjoy dining out, and surprise them with a £25 Gift Cards to treat themselves.
“With over 150 stores at The Centre, from M&S and Superdry to Quiz and Bonmarché, and places to eat like Five Guys and Chopstix, we really do have something for everyone all under one roof!”
If you’d like to speak to our Style Squad for your chance to take home a £25 Gift Card to spend at The Centre, Livingston, keep an eye on our social media to find out when they’re next in the mall!