Vanity Alert X Bags Search: Adventure @ Harrods

 

it is a “must-visit” for us

because Her Highness got a long shopping list

from the aunty

specifically for the Harrods bags

 

in summary

Harrods is a departmental store

but at the higher end

you name it, from LV to Paul Smith

(that’s probably the most affordable brand around)

and.. wow

Ralph Lauren bed accessories

they have them all under one roof

 

I feel like that I am under the poverty line

when I walk through session where

people are transacting a bag

for 1300 pounds

oh my, that’s more than the money

I have with me for the whole month in London

 

but have to go through these luxury goods area

since they are occupying the front door entrance

I dare not even look at the price tags

heads down, walk fast

 

there’s restaurant, café, ice-cream bar,

even a poultry and meat section

this is probably one of the most flooded area

offering chocolate, desserts, tea leaves etc.

mostly are tourists looking for souvenirs, I think

 

that’s Egyptian hall

escalator access to all levels

the design of the mannequin display

is really awesome

looking on from the balconies

at different levels

 

finally at level 3

Harrods shop at the end corner

after feeling so poor going through

the luxuries posh area

 

these are for sales, actually

if you really want them

1900 pounds each, 6 feet tall

 

first thing that came into sight

while Her Highness went looking for her bags

 

actually there were sales for the classic Kitty

thought of buying

for my niece and/or besties

can’t make up my mind

phoned her up to ask

with camera, displaying this photo

which one she would like to have

 

finally Her Highness

gathered all the items that her aunty wants

she was here and there

with pen and paper in one hand

three to four bags in another

suddenly the aunty changed her mind

MMS and SMS are flying across time zones

 

these are beyond my spending means

and the designs are not that amazing, after all

the small one at 35 Pounds

the black clutch at 17.50 Pounds,

after a 50% discount

 

okay

I have to be frankful

I am not a great fan of signature bag

and of course, at the same time

branded luxurious bag

 

the only bag

which is close to attracting me

is this one and only

which is not so Harrods,

going at 40 pounds each

 

besides the Hello Kitty are

I kept loitering here with mouth-watering

one for 19.95 pounds

a pair for 25 pounds

should I?

 

and at one corner

this is apparently quite a popular thing in London

Penny Press mini game

whereby you insert coins

1 pounds and 10 pence in this case

to get a commemorative coin

and so Harrods has got its own version too

 

finally after one hour+

Her Highness has confirmed all the loots for her aunty

and here I was,

with my loots

 

as usual

the queue is like part and parcel of U.K. shopping

 

and aha.. the Harrods signature carrier

believe it or not

I have one of these at home, forgotten source

used it as exercise books carriers

during primary school

then moving on to high school

exercise books carrier is not a cool thing

dad picked it up somewhere I left it

and used it as the water bottle bag

whenever he is going to temples

I immediately texted him:

“the green temple bag of yours is 17.95 pounds!!”

 

after we paid

and preparing to make our way out of Harrods

I finally saw

what I wanted to buy

instead of the Harrods bears

at the lower ground pen & gift department

Paddington bear!!!!!!

 

small one going at ten Pounds

medium at fifteen (or thirteen?) Pounds

arrrggghhh…. nevermind

 

next stop

raining heavily..

never seem to stop

we need shelter, you see

 

knit basic cardigan going for 8 Pounds

remembering how back then

Cheryl was always eyeing for a black one

while I am craving for a navy blue

called her up again

it’s 12 a.m. in the morning,

thank goodness she doesn’t sleep as early as I do

 

after payment

Why?

Why do I have to see this?

just got pushed out from the

abandoned item rack at the fitting room area

 

finally after one whole day,

dedicated to marketing survey at London

 

loots of the day (afternoon session):

 

how to get to Harrods:

Brompton Road,

the nearest Underground station is Knightsbridge

or buses are easily available

if the buses are stopping at the Underground Station

which is one road across

and Harrods is not in sight

fear not

just keep walking

along the Burberry store, H&M, Zara, Topshop etc

Harrods is somewhere in the middle of the road

 

eg:

from Oxford Street

(another “infamous” shopping street in Central London)

just take a bus 10 towards Hammersmith

and you will land yourself safely at Harrods

 

that was our plan, originally

but after a morning at Primark

there were too much loots that

we had to return to hostel for unloading

and make another trip down to Harrods

in the afternoon

 

p/s

something at Harrods

which is worth the trip,

on top on the shopping adventure

Preliminary Survey X Preparatory Relay: Primarily Primark

first marketing survey at the U.K.

is conducted last week

at Manchester

which houses the largest  Primark in

the whole of the U.K.

 

heard of its price-friendliness

but it is even better than what I have imagined

in terms of store layout, designs and etc..

because low prices always come with a “price”

 

it is actually a pretty comprehensive departmental store

not so much of a difference

from the Zebra, Toptop or H-i-m stores

which offer the similar ranges

at different tiers of pricing

 

and during of the marketing lecture

the lecturer, who is once a marketing director

for some public listed company

actually makes a joke of

how Primark ridicules Zebra

by opening a huge stores

flooded by the Spanish communities

right opposite the headquarter of Zebra

 

here you go,

\

 

this is a preliminary round of marketing survey

• under the tight surveillance of my Ms. Manager
• just to grab a few essentials
• no point sweeping then transporting loots all the way to London and spend another 4 weeks here
• I would still look around at Zebra, Toptop or H-i-m stores

 

the most impressive department

which really drove me crazy is

the shoes area, canvas shoes particularly

 

girls were just trying

and throwing the shoes around

sales persons keep busy all time

arranging the shoes back to the original spots

 

and check out the price

it goes as down 2.50 per pair

for the plain black or white

 

the priority is to “settle” the besties’ wish-lists

Sue-yin who ordered a pair of oxford shoes

I have no idea how many pairs she have bought

since we last met..

so it’s kinda challenging

must find her something unique

 

isn’t this awesome

I thought of grabbing a few as souvenirs

since they are significantly U.K.

pretty easy to transport them back as well

 

but…

thought of keeping them for Primark at London

unfortunately

I actually did not see these at

Oxford St. branch, London

now I have to rethink what I gonna buy

 

for the friends

who are close enough

to give them something

but not so close enough

to receive a shopping list from them

I hope you get what I mean

 

loots of the day:

I finally go for the dark brown

because.. I don’t know

gut feeling tells me that

she is yet to own oxford shoes of this colour

 

bag(s) for Cheryl

something huge and handy

since she always has got quite a bit of stuffs

even more than me, I think

since she sometimes uses a ceramic water bottle

grabbed two, instead of one

I don’t know…

probably would give it to my boss sis

provided that she approves of the design

 

this is one of the essentials

I actually forgot to bring

7 pairs for 2 pounds

and they actually have neon colours too

the quality is not too bad

I have washed them twice

and hanged them on the heater

didn’t shrink in size

shoe liners…

erm.. a classy name for socks

 

umbrella is something I hardly use back in Malaysia

but given the unpredictable weather here

this is quite a vital kit

which has to be in the bag all the time

thank goodness I found this design

and it is super light weight as well

at the price of 4 pounds

 

three pairs of tights for 3 pounds

actually I would say it’s a pretty good buy

I wore them twice, not torn yet at least

washed them once, on the heater currently

not burnt out yet

 

Primark has a pretty “comprehensive”

legging/tights collection

opacity of 40, 60, 80, 100, 120

and they come in different colours

 

damn..

I forgot to bring the two pairs I purposely bought

and never been worn before

 

first time ever in my life

to wear a pair of tights/leggings

but it’s doesn’t actually feel as weird

as it is back in Malaysia

because given the cold weather here

wear it or shiver in coldness

 

that’s the first ever blazer

that’s the first ever tights

 

nautical bag for 4 pounds

so glad that I got this

did not see it at London, too

 

comparing it with my Roxy

which is like 4 times more expensive

that’s after 50% discount

no comment… no comment

 

everything..everything

for 35 pounds

 

consecutive Saturday

Primark again..

Oxford Street, London

where I put on a proper marketing survey

Shopping Cart X Queuing Herd: Crazily Primark

Shopping Cart X Queuing Herd: Crazily… Primark

second Saturday in the UK

first in London

after a long long week of classes

 

it’s time to go survey London for real

marketing survey to be exact

that’s what I specialize in

 

3 motivations to go today

and not tomorrow or next week:

• making full uses of our weekly travel card
• getting the souvenirs for others (fakefully)
• seeing London for real, before travelling elsewhere for the weekends to come

 

9.30 in the morning

we are considered late, already

because Primark opens at 8.30 a.m.

the one located at Oxford Street is

the second biggest in the whole of the U.K.

 

the biggest is,

I would proudly announce,

the one in Manchester

which I have already gone to last Saturday

will blog about it later on, for sure

 

queuing for the fitting room

 

the maximum amount allowed

per fitting session is eight

sadly, I threw one top out of my trolley

and one other hitched a ride into the fitting room

with Queen Atillah

 

I know I look ridiculous

but that’s the best I can dress up

given the weather and the insufficient clothes

4 layers

blazer - cardigan - flora cropped tank - tank top

 

finally,

that’s something more like it

I was doubtful about the fitting session

will coldness immediately attacks

when I wear something like this

thank goodness, I guess there are heaters around

 

I have been looking for chambray denim shorts

all over back in Malaysia

but hate the haggard kind with see-through holes

and sometimes the price is not lovely enough

and so much more

 

super skinny jeans

my pair (got it from a lousy cheap store)

is getting looser and looser

that it is no longer a pair of skinny jeans

I wear it as if it is a pair of Capri, instead

and guess what

this pair I am trying on now on

costs lesser than my loser jeans

but of better quality

 

this is another pair

super skinny

ultra soft super skinny

which is more like a pair of jeggings

 

my kind of blue

my kind of cotton material

 

I thought it is a mini dress

turned out to be a pair of romper

it’s for my boss sis

they call it playsuit here

 

it appeared that

my issue with long dress is not over yet

it’s always looking nice, hanging there on display

but doesn’t look good on me

I don’t know,

probably simple because I don’t like something

flowing here and there below my knee

same things go to jeans as well

whereby I would always fold them up

to become 9/10 jeans

instead of touching my ankle

 

contrasting the long dress

this is the right thing

 

another colour, turquoise

is something I have never tried

 

actually

we were supposed to go Harrod’s

after the Primark visit

but can’t really go on

these loots are giving our hands a bit of troubles

 

anyway

after unloading the loots

we came out straight

and both realized  we have something in mind

which forgot to buy

even after that many loots!!!

 

so stopped by the second round again

within 2 hours

because we had to

change to another bus

right here in front of Primark

 

there were more people

compared to few hours back in the morning

so glad that we were done

 

loots of the Primark adventure:

in total 21.50 pounds

the white plan canvas is only costing me 2.50 pounds

 

chambray denim shorts – 5 pounds

 

faded super skinny jeans – 11 pounds

 

super skinny black jeans – 7 pounds

 

ultra soft super skinny – 11 pounds

the reason being that I bought both is

black jeans can be easily be in disguised

as a formal pants

 

dresses

4 & 5 pounds respectively

bought them all

in preparation of “borrowing”

from my boss sis

 

from the men’s department

16 pounds, discounted to 10 pounds

at least I don’t have to wear my Mickey hoodies

have been wearing it straight for a week

 

I don’t really know why I bought this

but this is so fun right

and it is not something you see everywhere on the street

unlike the pink cat or

the flocks of frustrated birds

 

but actually

I am that kind of person

who always pack bags-within-bag

pouches especially

5 pounds for this

wow, can grab 5 at Daiso

I know right…

 

one pound belt

it’s the leather colour simple slim kind

because I have an one and only pair

but it goes with practically everything

 

souvenirs area:

dresses with bows for my niece, Jazmine

2.50 pounds each

she wears a lot of this

and even if she grows taller

mini dresses can still be worn

as long top, with a pair of leggings

 

new-born jacket

for the new member of the family

coming soon…

 

it’s strange that

I bump into Hello Kitty toothbrush set again

 

and this is for their mom

it’s always difficult to buy stuffs for her

always complaining

yet ready to “borrow” my clothes

even before I got to wear them

and I ended up not seeing them again

 

for besties Cheryl

she is a fan of zip-up sandal

and it appears that these things are quite durable

but I can’t stand myself wearing them

 

it was a friend’s birthday yesterday

and he asked me to grab him a shirt

now come to look at it

I don’t feel like giving it to him

 

spent a total of 114 pounds

happily, crazily, relentlessly

 

and these are the “free gifts” Primark presented

to me, for being such a loyal customer

and boosting the economy of the U.K.

 

happiness is…

a sea of new clothes

 

p/ps

loots from the 2nd trip

the same tube dress for 4 pounds

 

half price

going once

going twice

alright, alright you are mine

The Muppets featuring

Miss Piggy fashionista cropped jumper

 

something I grabbed in the process of queuing