Multrees Walk

It’s full of designer shops and it’s just a browsing street for me. I’ve been in Valvonna &Crolla before for a hot chocolate, which was a-​ok.
It’s a thoroughfare like Emily H says. And it’s not really a place where I shop as I just feel ripped of by designer names.
I can’t say it’s a high light for me but i can see designer followers getting excited by this.

Multrees Walk is a funny place — connecting St Andrews’ Square (posh) with the St James Shopping Centre (definitely not posh), it’s an ordinary lane that has been taken over by some of Edinburgh’s highest end shops.
Here you will find Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Harvey Nicks, Emporio Armani, Valvona & Crola’s Vincaffe and a heap of other higher end stores. More than you would have expected in the small space, actually.
So, for the upmarket stores, it’s good.
Unfortunately, being a reasonably major pedestrian thoroughfare, it really doesn’t have the luxurious high end feel of this type of location in other cities. It’s not a place to stroll or window-​shop because most of the people passing by are hurriedly trying to reach their destination. It also has the tendency to fall prey to retailers of the latest trend that start shutting down stores the minute their brand is no longer top — the location of the former Firetrap store must be cursed because I’m sure I’ve seen 2 or 3 different stores in there over the past few years.
So, I’m back to finding it a funny place. I don’t think it as an entity is a destination for shoppers. You don’t go to Multrees walk, you go to V&C or CK or Replay or Mulberry, or you just use it to pass through on your way to Poundland.

This is a nice place to browse and shop if you are into brands and have a big budget. Proper Fashion labels and a little posh bit in Edinburgh city centre.
Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Kurt Geiger, Armani. oh well you get the idea. It is not big — which adds to the exclusivity of the place I think. There are not many opportunities to shop for the likes of me, but I can imagine some crowds are really excited by it.
The thing I like about it mostly is that there is always some sort of a promotion going on. (Well at least at the times I walk through) — it could be break dancers, a raffle for a Maserati or a Bentley, mobile fruit juice counters and last time a voucher discount for any of the shops handed out by nice looking ladies with balloons and hot pants…
*…*
Valvona & Crolla have a shop here too and they have good coffee! You can sit outside and do some people watching.
One thing that is evident — there are no beggars found in this area
Anyhow I am very pleased with the Multrees Walk and do hope there will be more like those little gems

I actually wandered out of St James Shopping centre, and right onto Multrees Walk by sheer accident. As soon as you step across the dividing road, you can tell the difference in leaps and bounds.
Confronted head on with the huge windows of Sole, the rest of the shop fronts don’t disappoint. They look expensive, classy and then… then there’s Firetrap which I hate and really don’t think belongs here. But there it is.
The Vin Caffe is the perfect place to sit and watch the world go by, and what a world it is. Handsome mature gentlemen with Louis Vuitton shoppers, glammed up tanned babes squealing over the newest Mulberry handbag in the window and pampered 16 year olds getting some bling for a special birthday from Links of London. I hope they didn’t notice I was an imposter!
My favourites on this wee walk are undoubtedly the mammoth Harvey Nichols and Anne Fontaine, a fabulous unique designer store. If you have a few extra quid (make that a few hundred extra quid) then this is your shopping paradise.

Yes Multrees Walk host some pretty nice shops including Calvin Klein, Oscar and Fitch, Links of London and Kurt Geiger to name but a few. To be honest, for me, it is more window shopping than purchasing but whenever I walk down here it’s not always the shops that attract my attention but some of the other shoppers.
Multrees Walk seems to be home to ladies that don’t seem to get the concept of growing old gracefully and would prefer to end up looking like Michael Jackson. The other day I was nudged out of the way by a brazen old dear who was head to toe designer and had two bruised eyes, in fact her head was the size of a balloon. I’m guessing she either gets beat by her millionaire husband or had some pretty botched cosmetic surgery… I’m not sure what one is worse. I’ve seen quite a few women strolling around here looking like they’ve had some pretty dodgy cosmetic work, don’t they know if the wind changes their face will stay like that? I guess Multrees Walk is Edinburgh’s Harley Street.
It seems to attract people that think class and style equals how much money you spent on your handbag, which quite frankly makes me chuckle.

Now, I’m not a big shopper — and when I am in the mood, it never really means a lot to me to come somewhere like this.
Multree’s Walk has a slogan — ‘The Definition of Luxury’, and yes, I admit, all the stuff in Multree’s is luxurious and classy, but then again it is all something that is nice to look at and think about, but is very unlikely you will buy it. Really, if you think about it, this is no more than window shopping in all the places you could want in one handy area.
It does however, get an extra star — because some of the shops are actually really nice for gifts, and there are a few café’s which are nice too. But the actually shopping area is a bid of a dud.

This is what some might call the posher end of town, for shopping. The walk is lined with shops like Louis Vuitton, Reiss, Armani, Calvin Klein, Anna Fontaine, Kurt Geiger, Firetrap (?) and a Parker Pen shop. Basically, you need nothing but want everything. The Reiss here is lovely and the staff do anything for you. If all that shopping tires you out, you can pop over to Volvona and Crolla for a Belini — bliss.

I quite enjoy Multrees Walk. It is a classy part of Edinburgh which makes you almost forget you are surrounded by Chavs and buses. It’s a very small section so you won’t spend too long here, unless you have the mountains of cash to do so!
I love the Kurt Geiger store here. It is light and spacious and full of heavenly shoes. The sale is pretty good for the poorer amongst us. the Vin Caffe is the place to go for a coffee, forget Starbuck and Costa this café is much nicer. Actually don’t go there it’s awful… (Limited seating on a Saturday, don’t want to make it too impossible to get a seat). There is a store which seems to be devoted to selling white shirts in a variety of styles. That one always baffles me. There is a Calvin Klein underwear store and their male mannequins have huge packages, it is quite off putting.
Multrees Walk is a nice quiet section of Edinburgh full of expensive shops which are ideal for window shopping.

I have walked down here so many times and hadn’t realised it had an actual name. That’s probably because of the fancy window displays that sort of drag your attention, lift you up then throw you down cause you realise you can’t even afford the leg of the manikin let alone the bag.
It is basically the more upmarket area of shopping in Edinburgh, despite the fact that it sort of springs up from a rather chavvy area. The Harvey Nicols sets the tone and then the rest follow. There is also a Valvona and Crolla for a good coffee. The wealthier of Edinburgh are easily spotted, dotting around in high heeled Manolo’s and skimpy fashionable outfits.
However, this window shopping experience finished in about 5 minutes (if you don’t stop at every window). Then you are back to reality.

Multrees Walk is quite a random little oasis of plushness away from all the usual high street outlets, located between the St. James Centre and St. Andrew Square. It’s not a particularly long walkway, but its nice, wide spaces makes it pleasant to stroll through all the same.
There’s a good mix of hip and high class going on here, with Louis Vuitton, Harvey Nichols and Emporio Armani sitting alongside Reiss, Firetrap, Calvin Klein Underwear, and G-​Star, amongst others. If I had an hour to wander round Multrees Walk, I would start by staring longingly at all the beautiful skyscraper heels in Kurt Geiger, then grab a nice, strong coffee at the Italian Vincaffe. Then I would head to Oscar & Fitch, sellers of awesome spectacles, of which I am a fan, Links of London for jewellery perusing, then a quick peek in Harvey Nichols.
The only thing about Multrees Walk is that impulse purchasing is tricky, and I am a fan of the impulse purchase. Buying something snazzy from every shop on the walk would probably equal several maxed out credit cards, which would mean living like a hermit for about two years, which defeats the purpose of buying glitzy footwear and fabulous dresses in the first place. Of course, if you happen to be rolling in the Benjamins and have the ability to purchase as many Mulberry bags as you please (jealous), then this scenario obviously wouldn’t apply.

I’m not a fan of window-​shopping. If you ask me it’s cruel, mean, and unfair to taunt yourself like that and then not buy anything. Unfortunately for me, as a penniless student window-​shopping is about all I can do in most of the places along Multrees Walk.
It’s the ultimate «if only…» street, where you can wander along staring in the windows of Louis Vitton, Harvey Nichols, etc and dream about what you’d fritter your lottery winnings away on. Unfortunately, its only about 10 metres long, so the conveniently placed Valvona and Crolla café halfway along is the perfect place to stop and refuel, as well as buying yourself another half hour where you can legitimately stare in the nearby shop windows if you sit at one of their outdoor tables.
There are some normal shops along here too. Kurt Geiger, Bravissimo, G-​Star Raw Denim are also slotted in along here, but let’s be honest — you’re not going to ogle them when you’ve there’s Mulberry.
At one end of this little street is St Andrew Sqaure, and at the other end is the slightly more ‘down-​to-​earth’ St James Shopping Centre, with more realistic high street shops for once you’ve finished drooling over the Daniel footwear. One day…