Escape from the Witch Shopping Mountains

Let me just preface this post with this: Shopping in Switzerland is terrible. You wouldn't expect that, with all the money stashed in those Swiss bank accounts, but it totally sucks. Even basic stuff is outrageously expensive and there isn't a range of stores, it's either H&M or Prada. Not that I don't love Prada. But I can't afford to go knocking on Muiccia's door everytime I itch for a new frock. And there is no sense of individual style here. The younger girls look like they just walked out of Hot Topic and as they get older their taste don't get more sophisticated, it just gets more conservative and more...beige. I've never seen such a beige city that claimed to be metropolitan.

So this weekend I escaped to London.

I had to get the fuck out of dodge, pardon my French. To some, London is a land of great culture and sights, but some of us know the true reason for its existance is shopping. I was taken by the hip outfits worn by the girls standing outside the pubs as I was driven into the city. Color! Funky patterns! I couldn't wait to get into those stores.

My first stop was actually the BlissSpa London and now I'm addicted to several products that I really can't afford on a regular basis. The Plum Plum Body Butter is SO creamy and yummy smelling. And the girl who waxed my eyebrows was pretty convincing that I should be using the body scrub so I'm sure that's important too...I tried not to make the pounds to dollars conversion as I signed the credit card slip.

Conveniently on my way back to the tube station, I hit Paul Smith. I walked in, looked at the jewelry cases, pointed at two things and had them rung up before anything else could start calling out my name.

Somehow I found myself on Oxford Street...kind of like 5th Avenue in NYC...only ickier. But it's where the big stores are, including the flagship Topshop. Which is where Kate Middleton shops. Ergo, if I shop at Topshop, then I too will date the future king of England. Or, dress like I can? Or whatever. But it did supply print sundresses, one of which scandalized my co-workers today because it contained more than one color.

Aside from the new Tina Brown book about Princess Diana, which supposedly is scandalous, and a couple of fun magazines, those were the highpoints of shopping in Londontown for the weekend. Not a bad couple of days, to be honest. Should stave off the shopping beast for awhile....