On my first trip to London Fashion Week four years ago, I was a terrible traveler.

My first London Fashion Week show, Jayne Pierson Spring/Summer 2011 (Credit: Samantha Sault)

The Diplomat waited patiently at baggage claim for my over-stuffed suitcase, packed with clothes and shoes all wrong for London’s unpredictable weather, cobblestone streets, and could-care-less fashion crowd. At least, I think he waited patiently. I actually don’t remember a thing about arriving at Heathrow, let alone getting my bag and taking the tube to our hotel, because I didn’t know how to sleep on a plane.

In addition to the poorly chosen clothes and shoes—luckily, replaced with more appropriate items from Topshop and Ted Baker—there was the situation with the flat iron. I used to insist upon flat ironing my hair every day, but this proved impossible in London’s blustery, humid weather and small bathrooms. There might have been a temper tantrum before the Temperley party.

And trying to find my way around a city in which many locals carry maps?  I definitely missed a few fashion shows due to a few wrong turns.

As his name suggests, however, The Diplomat is indeed patient, and we laugh about my first trip to London now that I have impressive packing and travel skills and a preference for wild hair—as well as a deep, comfortable love for London.

London Fashion Week at Somerset House (Credit: Samantha Sault)

“You’ll like London, but you’ll love Paris,” said almost everyone before my first trip. They were wrong. I liked London, but I was completely frustrated by Paris and its rude waiters and unpleasant odors and disappointing food.

London doesn’t grab you like the sparkling Eiffel Tower, but it draws you in slowly, with a charming nod to the past while setting cultural and design trends for the future, with streets you’ve read about in your favorite novels now lined with your favorite cafes and shops, with fragrant parks and fresh air and pots of tea by fireplaces, and with severely underrated cuisine.

I liked London from the start, but on a cool, misty day in September 2011, I knew it was love. I left the venue for the Burberry Prorsum collection, a pristine white tent in Kensington Gardens, where I had snapped photos of Samantha Cameron and Sienna Miller and the delicious, luxurious leather trench coats for spring with the inner circle of the fashion industry. I said goodbye to the security guard who helped me get closer to the catwalk, walked past the Queen’s Gate, along Hyde Park, toward Knightsbridge, taking in the fashion and the taxis and the light rain and the smell of the park, which smells exactly like the color green. I knew my way, and I belonged.

Samantha Cameron and Topshop’s Sir Philip Green at Burberry Fall/Winter 2011 (Credit: Samantha Sault)

I’ve spent time in all four of the world’s fashion capitals, and several cities that might deserve the title, and without a doubt, London reigns above them all. Click here for a London travel guide for the smart traveler who appreciates style.