sloaney
Senior Member
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- Jun 18, 2006
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The summer sale in London is now in full swing! I was told that the sale would end at the end of August. The markdowns can be quite substantial, about 30 - 50%. One thing I found odd is that even high-end shops (e.g. New & Lingwood, Hilditch & Key, etc.) do not seem to mind having their sale prices (usually handwritten) displayed in large type on pieces of cardboard next to their items. There can be as many as fifty of these "price cards" in their display windows. I think it's quite traditional, but isn't this be terribly vulgar?
I spent the earlier part of the evening in Jermyn Street today, and bought a few items. How did I do?
Church's Balmoral Custom Grade Shoes in Black (these are very standard black captoes), GBP190, originally GBP265
A pair of shoe trees from Church's, GBP 22
(In the store, I saw a notice offering bespoke shoes from GBP 350 and up ... the shoes I bought fit me quite well so I didn't bother asking further)
Two Hackett City-Collar shirts, GBP 39 each, originally GBP 69
A Charles Tyrwhitt raspberry cashmere-cotton vest, GBP 45, originally GBP 70
The stores were rather quiet and pleasant to shop in, even for a Sunday. However, I can't help but notice some really regrettable tourists. At Charles Tyrwhitt, I saw a horribly dressed man (short sleeved shirt, faded jeans worn high on the waist, and white trainers) hardly catching his breath as he literally ran from one part of the store to another, touching this and that, as his attending salesman struggled to maintain compsure.
I found shopping in London a very civilized experience if you avoid Oxford Street and the major departmental stores. Especially Harrod's. A tackier store could not possibly exist. I was very dissapointed.
I was uniformly treated with respect and even deference. I initially found this rather odd, because the British are known for being snobs. The truth is that I've never enjoyed shopping in New York because of the attitude of the staff in the stores. I brought this up to my intercultural trainer, a rather aristocratic middle aged woman. She pointed out that in London, what matters is class. "Your postcode says everything," she points out, after describing how tattered Prince Phillip's suit was when she last met him at a tea party. In the US, salespeople evaluate your race, your age, and so forth. But when you walk into a store in London, the salesperson could care less. They are thinking "OK, this is a middle class person .... he's probably not going to rob the store ...."
The UK is still very class conscious, despite what some might want to believe. For good or bad, expatriates are usually placed on the upper echelons.
Till then, I need to make myself some dinner now.
I spent the earlier part of the evening in Jermyn Street today, and bought a few items. How did I do?
Church's Balmoral Custom Grade Shoes in Black (these are very standard black captoes), GBP190, originally GBP265
A pair of shoe trees from Church's, GBP 22
(In the store, I saw a notice offering bespoke shoes from GBP 350 and up ... the shoes I bought fit me quite well so I didn't bother asking further)
Two Hackett City-Collar shirts, GBP 39 each, originally GBP 69
A Charles Tyrwhitt raspberry cashmere-cotton vest, GBP 45, originally GBP 70
The stores were rather quiet and pleasant to shop in, even for a Sunday. However, I can't help but notice some really regrettable tourists. At Charles Tyrwhitt, I saw a horribly dressed man (short sleeved shirt, faded jeans worn high on the waist, and white trainers) hardly catching his breath as he literally ran from one part of the store to another, touching this and that, as his attending salesman struggled to maintain compsure.
I found shopping in London a very civilized experience if you avoid Oxford Street and the major departmental stores. Especially Harrod's. A tackier store could not possibly exist. I was very dissapointed.
I was uniformly treated with respect and even deference. I initially found this rather odd, because the British are known for being snobs. The truth is that I've never enjoyed shopping in New York because of the attitude of the staff in the stores. I brought this up to my intercultural trainer, a rather aristocratic middle aged woman. She pointed out that in London, what matters is class. "Your postcode says everything," she points out, after describing how tattered Prince Phillip's suit was when she last met him at a tea party. In the US, salespeople evaluate your race, your age, and so forth. But when you walk into a store in London, the salesperson could care less. They are thinking "OK, this is a middle class person .... he's probably not going to rob the store ...."
The UK is still very class conscious, despite what some might want to believe. For good or bad, expatriates are usually placed on the upper echelons.
Till then, I need to make myself some dinner now.
