Breathless NY socialites, Anglophile fashionistas and hooky playing teenagers are expected to line the sidewalks of Broadway and file impatiently around the block upon the opening of British brand Topshop‘s flagship U.S store this Thursday.

After several months of setbacks, the 25,000 sq ft outlet will fling open its doors on April 2nd and welcome in a stampede for scones and jam – refreshments which play up to the key reason for its appeal. For the uniquely British quality of Topshop fashion is what many commentators believe gets American hearts racing. Considered square and frumpy during the swinging sixties, the high street chain has reinvented itself in recent years to become a favourite amongst trendy Britons. With artists and designers squabbling over the chance to design the next capsule collection, Top Shop doesn’t simply follow British fashion, but sets it. The brand, according to TeenVogue fashion news director Jane Keltner, captures that ‘great London street style’ perfectly. ‘British girls are such muses to teenagers in New York,’ she says. ‘They have such great personal style.’

Topshop, under retail tycoon Sir Philip Green, are keen to play up this connection. The US website is littered with union jacks, one of which is moulded into the shape of a crown, another of which is embraced passionately by a suitably skinny model. Londoner Kate Moss will be on hand to premier her new collection, and British designers Preen, Jonathon Saunders and Richard Nicoll will all showcase new fashions. UK purists have bemoaned the fact that once solely UK fashions are now available in America, but Topshop’s NY store only furthers its ethos – providing edgy, affordable fashions for as many people as possible.