Ok, I’ll say it.
Regent Street scares me.
I’m not sure why one of the largest shopping streets in the world should scare me. Michigan Avenue in Chicago doesnt scare me. Fifth Avenue in New York doesn’t scare me. The Champs-Elysees doesn’t scare me or even the Bund in Shanghai. But, something about Regent Street frightens me.
I think the Beaux Arts architecture and curved street leading from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus creates an imposing view that seems never ending. It definitely represents the excess that the British Empire had in the early 1800’s. The irony in that seems to be in the fact that most of the people going into the flagship Banana Republic are not from London. You end up surrounded by expats and tourists all of which are paying mostly full retail price for things in the stores in which they could shop at home. Part of me thinks that is madness when there are so many other things off Regent Street that people could do that are much more rich in culture and in history.
Don’t get me wrong, it is pretty cool to see that level of conspicuous consumption all in one place, with huge buildings and a sense of grandeur. But, please, Britney and Courtney from New Jersey, if you’re going to go to the Gap, go to Paramus, where you came from.
I mean, right now, The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman is playing with a star studded cast – Elisabeth Moss, Kiera Knightley, Ellen Burnstyn and Carol Kane. A legendary play with an extremely talented cast. Right near there, you can walk through the narrow streets of Holborn and some local pubs that have been there since the 1700’s
I think if I’m going to shop, it’s definitely Oxford Street for me or online.
American Expat in London 