Cocktail on arrival? Don’t mind if I do. Almost as soon as you set foot in the door of Taylor Taylor – a chic chandeliered salon only a stone’s throw away from Spitalfields market – you’re met with hospitality. (Naturally, at 11.30am, I opted for an espresso martini.) The boutique design here is just as extra as the refreshments (shout out to the Buddha-themed basement hair-washing room decked out with floor-to-ceiling gold tiles), but, luckily, none of the frills and fancy serve any extra purpose than to add to the overall ‘wow’ factor.
The staff, handpicked for their top-tier talent, really know what they’re doing: they’ve done the fashion week circuit, they’ve done the editorials, they’ve seen it, snipped it, dyed it all. You’ll never feel rushed out the door, here: although I was only in for a trim, my stylist Simon insisted on getting it just right, providing a great amount of chat and advice for future hair care. There’s a reason this place has insane customer loyalty, despite its slightly heftier price tag: a haircut here is a whole day out. (They also have a spot in Portobello and in Liberty, if you really want to make an occasion of it.)