Smythson of Bond Street

Originally founded in 1887, the luxury stationery and leather goods purveyor has managed to strike a balance between the venerable and the modern, thanks to its former creative director Samantha Cameron. The gorgeous lines of diaries, notebooks and travel accessories come in a variety of eye-popping colors, which have included fuchsia, aqua, clementine and lilac (if you fall in love with a particular hue, don’t wait to purchase, as some are discontinued after a season). Particularly fun are the popular fashion notebooks, with sleek side closures, that come with hot spot listings for Paris, Milan, New York and London. The stationery, which can be personalized, retains an old-world elegance featuring exquisite details like hand-lined envelopes, gilt edges and a large variety of stamped motifs. The 8,000-square-foot flagship store on Sloane Street opened in 2013.