There are certain London-dwelling celebrities whose presence in the city is so ubiquitous it’s almost like a rite of passage to have seen them out in the wild.
Bill Nighy is the most obvious example, often spotted wandering Soho, dining in cosy booths at The Wolseley, purchasing quail eggs in Fortnum and Masons or browsing cravats in Liberty more times than anyone can count. Ask around, and you’ll find similarly bountiful sightings surrounding the likes of Ian McKellen, Helena Bonham Carter and Annie Lennox. But pop juggernaut and part-time Londoner Harry Styles is not typically one of those stars. Until recently, that is.
Styles can be easily forgiven for his furtiveness, given how he grew up with legions of obsessive fans and has weathered multiple incidents of stalking. However, since the end of his ceaseless Love on Tour performances last summer, he’s been everywhere. Lime biking through North London, grabbing sushi in central, hunting for croissants in local bakeries and even cropping up in the crowd of Luton’s recent game against Manchester United. Perhaps he’s given up on a life in hiding, or perhaps he believes that you can outrun anyone if you Lime bike fast enough.
Either way, we could all learn a little from Mr Styles, who’s been enjoying London like it's his playground. And now that he’s likely headed off to New York to accompany his rumoured girlfriend Taylor Russell as her play The Effect moves to the States, here’s how you can make your London life a little more Style-ish.
Lime bike everywhere
If I was a climate scientist or a marketing executive at Lime, I’d be kissing a poster of Harry Styles every night before I went to sleep. That man has done more for Lime bikes than Boris Johnson ever did for Barclays.
Styles has become partial to navigating London atop a Lime in recent months, and has been spotted enjoying bike rides with good pal James Corden, as well as his new love interest Taylor Russell. He’s not the only celeb to enjoy a good pay-as-you go ride, either. Kate Hudson, Stella McCartney and London-based DJ FredAgain have all been spotted cycling about the city on Limes recently. Whether it’s relatable, sustainable or just a new tactic for outrunning the paps, we’re into it.
Wild swim whenever possible
Our Harry is a big fan of wild swimming, and he’s not just one of those fairweather swimmers that heads for the water as soon as London gets sunny. He was spotted with Taylor Russell emerging from the Hampstead Heath ponds in late December, the pair of them looking disgustingly attractive for two people who just got out of freezing water.
But for the sake of kindness and not being weird, let’s explore some other wild swimming options and leave Hampstead for Harry, if you’re not already swimming there. If you’re an east Londoner, you can try the Hackney West Reservoir, near Manor House and Stoke Newington. Or if you want more of a cityscape with your paddle, the London Royal Docks near the Excel Centre are also east. For south, there’s the gorgeous Georgian swimming lake in Beckenham Place Park, and slightly more westwards is the Serptentine lido (it’s a lake, don’t be fooled) in Hyde Park.
Munch down on takeaway sushi and croissants
I don’t want to make you feel bad about your Deliveroo habit, but Harry Styles actually goes and picks up his takeaway, like in the good ol’ days. The star was spotted carrying multiple bags of Maido sushi around St John’s Wood recently, and we’re taking that as an endorsement. Plus, the vegetarian set starts at just £14. We can only assume this place was the inspiration behind Music for a Sushi Restaurant.
What’s even more wholesome is that Styles appears to be on a “croissant hunt” across the capital. One TikTokker who bumped into Styles in a bakery was told by said bakery’s staff that he said he was looking for the best in London. Maybe that explains all the Lime biking. He’s on a mission. If you endeavour to set out on a croissant hunt of your own, try KURO Bakery in Notting Hill, Hart and Lova on Belsize Road and Richoux in Soho for a “cruffin” (croissant muffin cross-breed) when it eventually reopens.
Football games for days out
If you, like me, have noticed your Instagram becoming dominated by a sea of blue or red-clad people at football games all weekend (get ready for everyone you know to be at the North London women’s derby this weekend, by the way) you know football stadiums aren’t just for the ultras anymore. Harry may have become a skinhead back in December, but it was well grown back by the time he made a surprise appearance in the stands of Kenilworth Road to watch Luton versus Manchester United a few weeks ago.
Just as blokecore has taken the city by storm, football games have become unsuspectingly chic days out. A man will undoubtedly get in touch with me in response to this to tell me about how football games have always been popular (like duhhh?), but the record breaking numbers attending recent women’s football games don’t lie. You might not be able to score a ticket to a Prem game at Kenilworth Road, but you could watch Mary Earps do bits for Manchester United Women’s team when they’re down in London this Sunday for the match against West Ham. Trebor extra strong mints optional.
Perfect your layered street style
Just popping out for a coffee? You’d better be wearing a side bag, an emergency tote, a jacket, a jumper, a hat and sunnies, then. Well, that’s what Harry would do.
Some of this heavy layering may well be for famous-person-privacy-related reasons — the sunglasses and hats in particular — but we all know the most stylish people in London are ones who know how to accessorise. Plus, layering is not just a winter pursuit. In May of last year, Harry was spotted stomping the streets of London while wearing a J.W. Anderson bumper bag, a North Face jacket, a hoodie, cap, oversized sunglasses and a tote bag by his own brand, Pleasing.
But Styles’ biggest fashion tip of late is rooted in his trademark androgyny: swapping clothes with your partner. Anyone particularly au fait with Harry’s paparazzi pics will have noticed a certain bright orange, vintage, quilted Nike jacket changing hands between him and Taylor Russell recently. Given that most sidebags, baseball caps and jackets are basically unisex anyway, why don’t you do a swap with a partner or friend of the opposite sex?
Now you have your to-do-list and you look the part. Go make Harry proud.
