Fashion: Style house

House of Fraser celebrates its Leeds revamp with a competition to win £250 and VIP invitations to the launch. Stephanie Smith reports.
French knot jumper, £59; Peter Pan collar shirt, £59; split skirt, £59; black bowler bag, £129. All Dickins & Jones.French knot jumper, £59; Peter Pan collar shirt, £59; split skirt, £59; black bowler bag, £129. All Dickins & Jones.
French knot jumper, £59; Peter Pan collar shirt, £59; split skirt, £59; black bowler bag, £129. All Dickins & Jones.

House of Fraser is a stalwart of the High Street, recognisable and reassuring, blending flair with dependability, and has long been a go-to destination for British style seekers, whether they’re looking for a reasonably priced pair of tights or a covetable Mulberry handbag.

As well as its own house labels, including Therapy, Biba and Dickins & Jones, House of Fraser stocks hundreds of brands, from high end designer names through to affordable High Street lines.

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Leeds city centre shoppers will have noticed that there has been much activity at the House of Fraser store on Briggate, thanks to a multi­million pound refurbishment which began in July and is due to be completed in time for the grand unveiling on November 4.

The revamped beauty hall will offer new brands Urban Decay, Benito Brow Bar, Essie Nail Bar and Laura Geller make-up, plus an in-­store Decleor spa and two luxurious treatment rooms. The womenswear department will span the first and second floors and bring 12 new brands including Michael Kors, Gray and Willow, Polo Ralph Lauren and Armani, adding to its own brands of Linea, Untold, Dickins & Jones, Biba, Pied a Terre and Therapy, plus there’s a new personal shopping suite on the third floor. Menswear on the lower ground will have a new accessories department, and look out for the Buy & Collect area for online shoppers.

Now with 59 stores across the UK and Ireland, House of Fraser began life in 1849 in Glasgow when Hugh Fraser and James Arthur opened a small drapery shop on the corner of Argyle Street and Buchanan Street. By the 1950s, it had expanded across Scotland and into England. In the ‘70s it bought stores including Dickins & Jones, Rackhams and Cavendish House, and in 1994 became a plc. Between 1997 and 2000, house brands including Linea and Therapy launched, then Jenners and Beatties become part of House of Fraser and in 2013 the first international store opened in Abu Dhabi. It continues to expand, especially online, under new Chinese owners.

We have teamed up with House of Fraser to celebrate the refurbishment of its Leeds store with a competition to win a £250 gift card to spend on all brands, plus a special VIP invitation to the opening night on Wednesday, November 4.

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There will also be £10 gift cards and VIP invitations for the first 50 people who arrive at 5.30pm on the night with any copy of the Yorkshire Evening Post or Yorkshire Post.

To enter, simply answer the following question and email it in to [email protected] or send it in on a postcard to: House of Fraser Competition, ℅Stephanie Smith, Fashion Editor, Features Dept, Yorkshire Post Newspapers, No 1 Leeds - 26 Whitehall Road, Leeds LS12 1BE. Whether email or postcard, make sure you add your name, address and telephone number. The first correct answer drawn from a hat after noon on the closing date of Wednesday, October 21, 2015, will win the £250 gift card and be contacted by telephone. Usual Johnston Press rules apply, go to: http://www.johnstonpress.co.uk/competition

Question: In which Scottish city did House of Fraser begin?

Good luck, and if you want to go along to the launch anyway, email an RSVP to: [email protected] to confirm attendance,