Shopping in London

Shopping In London

There are so many varied opportunities to shop in London.  We are staying very close to The High Street Kensington Station on the Circle Line.  Nice main street just down from Kensington Palace for shopping and money to be saved.  Lots of big name chains, including TK Max (TJ Max in US) and The Body Shop.  Head over to Harrod's and window shopping is the do-able form of shopping unless you are in the market for tea, food and Harrod's wine label.  My kind of shopping is at the Spitalfield Market.  Having cut my teeth at $1.49 day at Woodward's as a child in Vancouver and at The Gap Warehouse store in L.A. in the 70's, I have a good eye for a bargain.  In fact, if it isn't a good deal, it just doesn't feel like a huge coup.  

The Sunday Market is good fun, particularly at the end of the day when they are closing up.  Many young designers are peddling their very unique creations and trying to  drum up business for their online ventures.  Others are copying designs of other designers like Desigual, and selling them as their own.  Shoes, jewelry, purses, coats, Lebanese baklava, baking, Turkish delight, vintage buttons, tea, hats - all there "for a very good price".  I managed a sweater, coat, hat, dress, skirt and earrings for under £100.

Trek down to Brick Lane and the area gets seedier and the clientele gets younger.  As well as tea and coffee, there is now also mulled wine and many Indian Food Restaurants.  There are many Vintage Shops and spaces are darker and have a clandestine vibe.  Authenticity of stones, silver, and "valuable" buttons are guaranteed but dubious.  It's the kind of place that evokes Dicken's descriptions of The Artful Dodger.  My kids would LOVE this place.  Next time...

The pièce de résistance was shopping for shoes on the second floor of Selingers.  There is a section for each designer to display and sell their latest collection.   The store is packed with no one seeming to bat an eye at dropping a substantial chunk of change for the latest and greatest addition to their own personal collections.  I'm fairly certain we could solve world hunger on this floor.  Larkyn use to bemoan the day when I would come to buy shoes when she was working in the mall.  Fortunately my girl in the Kurt Geiger Collection was very patient as I worked my way through ultra trendy and très chic shoes before settling on a stylish but  practical and responsible choice.

By departure day, I felt fairly certain that I was safe and could escape prior to any new expenditures.  It was busy when I arrived at Heathrow and the kiosk would not print my baggage tag so I waited quite awhile in line.  I thought I would have just enough time to head for the gate and read.  Interestingly enough, my gate was not posted on the display terminal until boarding time.  Once again I fell victim to the shopping mecca of Heathrow.  This time, one additional bonus was added.  NO VAT, the 20% tax assigned to all merchandise.  Fortunately, although Kurt Geiger and I were good friends, it was extremely difficult ( although not impossible) to get my very popular shoe size.  Although at many airports, there have been an increased adherence to carry on luggage limits, not so at Heathrow.  I arrived my my large purse, backpack, and array of bags and got nothing but smiles.