Marks & Spencer (Marble Arch)

M&S is a is as British as the Queen, but with its underwear on display. The chain is renowned for its wide selection of reliably good-quality, affordable clothes — including suits once recommended by designer Paul Smith — and near-pricey ready-made packaged food items. You'll find a Marks & Spencer in every decent-sized town in Britain, but this is the mothership, conveniently located next to Selfridges, close to Marble Arch and very near art gallery the Wallace Collection [see entry]. It is safe to say that a large proportion of Londoners own something from M&S, usually socks and underwear. Other outlets include Long Acre in Covent Garden. Westminster Council currently is in a battle with M&S over the company's desire to bulldoze and reconstruct the building.