text: Going into Helen Bateman reminded me of the kind of bright, European shops that you see when you go on holiday, which all seem to be orientated towards life being a permanent summer break. Or maybe they just want to encourage people from colder countries to stop being so grumpy and dreary looking, because perhaps your body reacts in some way to wearing bright fuchsia pink that will make you immune to temperatures below freezing and allow you to stride down Princes Street blissfully unaware of the frostbite going on around you.\n\nI guess, in a very roundabout way, what I'm trying to say is that the offerings at Helen Bateman are very bright and cheery looking, with mostly handbags, shoes from the independent Helen Bateman range, and jewellery on display, plus a few kaftan items, presumably for people who have any prospect of lying on a beach. It is summer, so the range is probably strikingly bright for this purpose, and I would definitely allow some happy draping of several of the bags on show, as they were all nice and substantial in size, which I approve of for holding all my daily handbag junk.\n\nSome of the shoes are a bit too eccentric and full on in colour for my liking, in styles that probably aren't so much targeted at young people that are super into fashion, but a lot of the boutiques in this area target a slightly older age range, so I kind of expected that. Everything here is clearly high quality and well designed though, so it's worth taking a look, especially if you're in the mood to gloat about buying something for your impending tropical holiday.