Clothes Shopping

Thus far, I am unimpressed with my clothes shopping experience in London.

I am a discount shopper at heart. In the states, I love Marshall's and TJ Maxx. I dig through the racks to find what should be an expensive item (more like itemS to be honest) for some ridiculously low price and I go home proud and happy. But now I'm in London and instead of coming home with ridiculous amounts of clothes, I come home sometimes with just one little thing and a huge amount of wasted time.

Being a working mom, I take very little time away from my family that I could be spending with them. And when I do, I want it to be efficient. So, since we've moved, I have planned carefully ensuring I know how to get to the areas with the most shopping options and when the napping begins in my house, I dart out the door, speed walk to the bus or tube and charge into whatever store I've determined will be my best option. This weekend it was TK Maxx (not a mispelling, but in fact, the TJ Maxx of London) that I determined would be my best bet.

I went to Kensington High Street location, which I know is a big one and started digging. And lo and behold, there was an entire suit selection - for the most outrageous prices I've ever seen in a "discount" store. For example, for one Calvin Klein suit coat, it was 150 pounds. Assume a conversion of about $1.75. That is a $262.50 jacket. Uh. Nope. Not buying that. And it continued like that throughout the store, so I ended that visit quickly.

Next I went into Marks and Spencer. And there were plenty of clothes, and some at a reasonable price, but those items were the ones that were clearly made of lesser fabrics or had some rather snazzy buttons that I wasn't interested in. I like bargains but I don't like to look like I shop for bargains.

So I went into Jigsaw and loved everything I saw. Until I saw that a camisole was 99 pounds. And the shirt next to it was 129 pounds. And I left.

I did find a store called Kew that I have since been told is the younger sister of Jigsaw and is less expensive. I probably would have bought more there, but frankly, by that time, all my shopping enthusiasm had worn off and the time I had allocated for shopping had run out.

So, I bought myself a cornish pasty (and one to take home to Mike) and a 7 pack of the most American looking cookies I could buy (chocolate chip, peanut butter, you know, the basics) and I went home.

I am sure there is good shopping in London. I am sure there is great shopping in London. I'd just like to find good shopping that I can afford...now. Is that too much to ask?