Hello High Street!

Talking about Gok in the last post made me think about shopping... so I thought I'd give a quick rundown on the UK girly clothes shops here, as all the girls in my family love to shop! Yes! The most famous of the shopping streets in London is of course, Oxford St, but it is almost suicidal to go there in the weekend because of the huge crowds and well... you need to be prepared to just about strip in the shop and try things on when dressing rooms become too crowded, eg. during a sale.

Sales are events that often require planning in advance. Next (maybe like an upmarket Postie Plus with interior design stuff and also a kids section) has half price sales in July and there are signs outside the shop telling people how to queue and there are bouncers to control how many people are in there at a time!! Even in my neighbourhood Next.

I haven't shopped much but I have browsed a lot... and today I sucuumbed to a £10 pair of skinny jeans from DP because I was tired of hitching up my pants to stop flashing my knickers. (:
Here are my high street favourites, compared to their closest NZ equivalents:

Dorothy Perkins is endorsed by Gok Wan. Mixture of Glassons and Portmans. I like their jewellery for its quirky traditional/modern look and I've bought it when it reached 75% off. Check out the Gok tips for your body shape.

H&M Maybe like Max/Portmans/Jacqui E? I was curious about them for years after hearing the rave reviews as a Gap girl in San Francisco, The H&M building was being renovated while I was in the city... There really are some cool finds here, but you do have to look for yourself. They are always understaffed and/or inattentive. Check out the cool City Guides if you're on 'fast internet', there's a great one for London!

Zara is a Spanish chain, 30% cheaper if you buy it there. Your Cue/Veronika Maine.

Tiff will know all about Urban Outfitters! No NZ equivalent I can think of. They're pricey in the UK, I used to pick up their broken jewellery in $1 lots to make my own in the US. Gap is also here, though it's a watered down version of the US, uninspiring cotton things and not-so-great jeans. Banana Republic is somewhere in Knightsbridge? I haven't been...

TopShop has its own range by Kate Moss and is reputed for its 'throwaway fashion' but I don't find it all that affordable. Some cool stuff here and there though. Their Wonderland collection is neat.

And... Miss Selfridge looks fun, although I've only had a quick browse in the Oxford Street branch.

I have still to make it to Primark, home of cheap bargains you have to rummage for. Well, maybe I'm glad I haven't had a paycheck yet... it keeps me (mostly) from shopping! ^0^