3 Best Places to Shop in Kensington, London

Specialists in bold costume jewelry where imaginative design gives you a lot of bang for your buck, Butler & Wilson's affordable glamour attracts fans that include the Princess of Wales. Semiprecious stones have been added to their foundation diamanté, colored rhinestone, and crystal collections. The noted British sense of humor is reflected in items like a champagne-glass brooch or crystal skull earrings.

Owner Lina Kanafani has scoured the globe to curate an eclectic mix of conceptual statement furniture, art, ceramics, glassware, textiles, and home accessories. Mint also showcases avant-garde works by an international selection of up-and-coming designers and sells plenty of specially commissioned limited edition and handcrafted one-off pieces, for a price. If you don't want to ship a couch home, consider a miniature flower vase or a hand-painted plate.

This is the brainchild of the late Sir Terence Conran, who has been a major influence on British taste since he opened Habitat in the 1960s, with its then-groundbreaking concept of advanced design at an affordable price. Although he is no longer associated with Habitat, his Conran Shops remain bastions of similarly clean, unfussy modernist design. Housewares from furniture to lighting, stemware, and textiles—both handmade and mass-produced, by famous names and emerging designers—are housed in a building that is a modernist landmark in its own right. Both the flagship store and the branch on Marylebone High Street are bursting with great gift ideas.